Croatia-based Rimac made a reputation for itself by creating electrical hypercars, however the model is open to exploring different sorts of powertrains. One of many applied sciences it is experimenting with generates electrical energy by heating liquid fuels, comparable to diesel and liquefied petroleum gasoline.
Talking to British journal Autocar, firm founder Mate Rimac revealed his engineering workforce is testing the viability of nanotubes. In easy phrases, this technique heats what’s described as “chemically different” liquid fuels to generate the electrical energy wanted to zap a motor into movement. He cited diesel, liquefied petroleum gasoline and hydrogen as examples. Early checks present nanotubes have an 80% working effectivity.
Rimac is engaged on the expertise with a start-up that hasn’t been recognized but, and it is too early to inform whether or not a nanotube-powered automotive will ever see the sunshine that awaits on the finish of a manufacturing line. If the system reaches the mainstream, it is going to work notably nicely in sports activities automobiles as a result of it is going to substitute the battery pack, which provides an incredible quantity of weight. The trade-off is that the system will emit CO2; not as a lot as an internal-combustion engine, in keeping with Rimac, however it is going to presumably fall on the improper aspect of zero-emissions laws.
The model has different non-electric initiatives within the pipeline, however they will not fall underneath the Rimac umbrella — not precisely. It purchased a controlling stake in Bugatti in June 2021, and engineers from the 2 corporations are at present engaged on the hypercar that may substitute the Chiron. It will not be electrical. “I knew exactly what I wanted the next car [after the Chiron] to be, and we started developing a combustion engine on our own,” Mate Rimac mentioned in December 2022. The “heavily electrified” automotive designed on a clean slate will get a “totally bonkers” hybrid system.
“Rimac isn’t exclusively electric — it’s doing whatever is most exciting at the time,” Mate Rimac concluded.
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