It Hurts to Watch Rimac Crash Test Its $1M C_Two Hypercar Prototypes

The global validation of extremely fast performance vehicles—it's a process that involves different testing requirements on each side of the pond, and thus the destruction of either several highly expensive prototypes, or at least individual components possibly bolted to the same carbon fiber monocoque over and over again. When it comes to EVs, as proven by Richard Hammond's crash, Rimac took safety very seriously from the beginning. Yet for its second model to enter series production, the C_Two needs to take even more.

Christian von Koenigsegg's team famously turned the hybrid Regera into a certified product using one monocoque only. James Glickenhaus is hoping to do the same with the SCG 004S, while Gordon Murray has announced that in order for the T.50 to keep its schedule, they will have to build 13 XP prototypes. Where does that leave Rimac with its pure-electric hypercar? Back when the C_Two was little more than a show car, CEO Mate Rimac told me that it'll be around 30 test cars at a million a pop. Now, I got more accurate figures from Rimac, which stand at 13 prototypes, nine of which will be used for crash tests. Rimac will also build five preproduction cars, with all these excluding Automobili Pinifarina's rolling chassis.

While we've already had a brief look at how the Croatian tech company shredded carbon fiber within the walls of Continental's torture chambers back in August 2019, now, we get to see how the 1,914-horsepower C_Two performed during 40 percent offset frontal collisions at various speeds. Evaluating the results after each destructive run were Rimac's Petar Marjanović, mechanical engineer of trims, and Martin Mikulčić, the company's senior CAE engineer.

What's fascinating about the demise of these multi-million dollar dream cars is that while prior simulations can be very accurate regarding the behavior of metallic parts, the data on composites is still far from being fully comprehensive. That leads to excitement, as when the C_Two hits the deformable barrier offset first at 25, then at 35 miles per hour, the engineers will always end up learning something new while also feeling relieved that the prototypes survived without a single crack in Rimac's self-designed carbon-fiber tub. In other words, it confirms they're rebuildable.

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