Mate Rimac, the CEO of Bugatti-Rimac and the creator of the award-winning Rimac Nevera EV, gave an interview to CNBC where he admitted that modern performance vehicle buyers may be favoring traditional gas cars for a reason.
“For normal cars, normal people, the vast majority will be electric,” he said, adding: “The upper segment, like sports cars and upwards, are going to stay combustion for a very long time, exactly like watches.”
It’s this conservatism that Rimac blames for the sales flop that the electric hypercar has become. In a recent report, the automaker published a report according to which only around 50 Nevera units found owners, out of a planned production run of 150. Priced at €2,000,000 in Europe and nearly $2,500,000 in the United States, the coupe stands next to no chance of breaking even at this point.
The range-topping Nevera R is a spectacular vehicle by all accounts. Powered by an electric drivetrain rated at 2,017 PS (1,989 hp / 1,484 kW), it hits 100 km/h (62 mph) in as little as 1.74 seconds. It also completes a quarter-mile (402m) run in 8.23 seconds and can ultimately accelerate to a lofty 431 km/h (267 mph). With its 108-kWh battery pack full, it can cover up to 550 kilometers (342 miles) before running out of juice.
Apparently, no amount of power or speed can be a substitute for subjective criteria like driving immersion and enjoyment. Moving forward, Bugatti-Rimac doesn’t plan on introducing any new all-electric supercars any time soon, preferring to focus on ICE models and hybrids for the time being.