According to Rimac (pronounced in Croatia “rim-atz”), its Nevera hypercar was named after “a quick, unexpected and mighty Mediterranean storm that races across the open sea off Croatia”. The headline figures that accompany the Croatian firm’s electric record-breaker justify the lofty epithet, but having toured the Rimac factory and spent time with its employees, it’s obvious that the name is as applicable to the company itself — and especially its founder, Mate Rimac (pictured below).

The starting point for all this is visible in a section of the factory called the “gallery”, where various crash-tested prototype Neveras share space with Mate’s own eclectic collection of vehicles. He has a few Ferraris and even a Mercedes SLR-McLaren, plus a Bugatti Chiron, of course (Mate is CEO of Bugatti Rimac as of November 2021), but he’s clearly a fan of BMW M cars, too. And there among the perfectly presented cars is the unmistakable body shell of the first-generation BMW 3 Series, the E30.

This is the car in which Mate first mixed his proven electronics expertise (from a very young age) with his love of motoring, all in his parents’ garage at home. The story goes that an engine failure prompted him to power the BMW with electric motors sourced from forklifts. His fellow trackday enthusiasts initially made fun of the car, but over time he developed his own electric components and the “Rimac BMW e-M3” went on to set five Guinness and…