“A Glitch in the Matrix”: Mate Rimac Reflects on the Nevera and its Final Form, the Nevera R Founder’s Edition

In a new film released by Rimac Automobili, founder and president Mate Rimac speaks candidly about the Nevera and what it cost to bring it into existence. “This car for me is a mountain, Mount Everest of blood, sweat and tears of all the people who have been involved to make it happen,” he says. The Nevera was the world’s first true road-going electric hypercar with 2,000 horsepower — developed by an inexperienced young team, in a country with no automotive industry, with virtually no money. “Basically shouldn’t have happened,” says Mate. “It’s a glitch in the matrix that this exists.”

From that starting point — Concept_One to Nevera, Nevera to Nevera R — Rimac has grown into a company of over 2,000 people, with a campus in Zagreb that houses everything from hand-stitched bespoke interiors to fully robotized, high-volume battery production. The Nevera was not only the world’s first all-electric hypercar, but it went on to break more than 50 world records and established new benchmarks for performance that shifted the entire automotive industry. And then with Nevera R, it did it all over again. Without it, Mate argues, there would be no Bugatti Tourbillon, no automotive industry in Croatia, and no Rimac Group as it exists today. The Founder’s Edition was conceived to honour that journey, and the people who made it possible.

Each of the ten cars begins with a deeply personal configuration session at the Rimac Campus in Zagreb, where customers work directly with Mate, Design Director Frank Heyl, and the design team using V-RED visualisation software to create an entirely bespoke specification. Every car in the series bears the unique hallmarks of its owner: one features full purple leather throughout its cabin; another replicates a specific shade of indigo blue from elsewhere in its owner’s collection. A striking two-tone baseline design with an ultra-thin central roof stripe — measuring just two millimetres at its finest point — incorporates Rimac’s signature cravat motif and subtle circuit board graphics, while bespoke embroidery inside marks three pivotal dates in the company’s history.

Beyond the car itself, the Founder’s Edition unlocks an ongoing relationship with Rimac unlike any other. The ten Founder’s Club members receive priority invitations to product previews, a company card allowing direct access to Bugatti Rimac HQ, invitations to performance showcases and record-breaking runs, involvement in strategy discussions with Mate and his leadership team, and input into the research and development that will shape the cars of the future.

Specialist driver training will be provided by Rimac’s professional testing team — the people who have covered tens of thousands of miles developing the Nevera and Nevera R — with Mate personally delivering each of the ten examples. The first car was handed over to its owner at The I.C.E. St. Moritz in January 2026, displayed against the frozen backdrop of the lake alongside Mate’s own 40,000-kilometre personal Nevera.

The Nevera R itself represents the definitive evolution of the platform. Producing 2,107 hp through four individual motors controlled by Rimac’s next-generation All-Wheel Torque Vectoring system, it achieves 0–60 mph in a record 1.66 seconds and a top speed of 431.45 km/h (268.2 mph). Enhanced aerodynamics deliver 15% more downforce than the standard Nevera; new Michelin Cup 2 tyres reduce understeer by 10% and increase lateral grip by 5%. In 2025 alone, it set 24 verified performance world records. The Founder’s Edition represents the pinnacle of the 40-unit Nevera R production run.

For Mate Rimac, the Founder’s Edition is ultimately about legacy, and about the people who shared the journey.