Porsche Takes Another Slice of the Future with Rimac
Porsche’s minority stake in Rimac has more to do with supply chain than electric hypercars.
Porsche has a firm grasp on the future of motoring, especially with the recent unveiling of the production-ready Mission E Taycan electric vehicle. Croatian manufacturer Rimac, too, knows what’s coming around the bend, demonstrating their knowledge through electric hypercars like the Concept One and C Two, then sharing their knowledge with other OEMs looking to get into the electric circus.
Little wonder, then, why Porsche surprised everyone by taking a 10 percent stake in the young upstart. The Drive reports Porsche’s minority shareholder stake is meant to foster a development partnership between the two companies.
In a statement, Porsche board member Lutz Meschke praised Rimac’s impressive demonstration of “its credentials in the field of electromobility” through the development of its electric hypercar and core vehicle system portfolios.
“We feel that Rimac’s ideas and approaches are extremely promising, which is why we hope to enter into close collaboration with the company in the form of a development partnership,” said Meschke.
For Rimac, Porsche’s investment means its place as a supplier “for electrification, connectivity, and driver-assistance systems” is now as solid as a lithium-rich rock. Such diversification is already a smart play—though having its own set of amazing hypercars is a plus—since it supplies everything from turnkey solutions to high-performance components to the likes of Aston Martin, Koenigsegg, Siemens, and Brembo.
But what does this investment do for Porsche? For them, it means “a smoother path to full-line electrification” of its own collection of cars, perhaps going as far to develop an electric hypercar of its own. There’s also the possibility of Porsche entering other EV spaces, like bicycles. Rimac subsidiary Greyp Bikes builds and sells e-bikes that combine the best of both motorcycles and bicycles; why not a Porsche-branded e-bike?
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