Hyundai and Kia had invested in Rimac back in 2019 for help with their electric sports car project
The partnership also included a hydrogen powered vehicle, but this project was abandoned
Rimac works with other automakers to develop EV propulsion systems as well as working on its own hypercar
According to rumours, Hyundai has broken off its partnership with Rimac which is had formed in 2019 with the goal of developing an electric sports car.
The South-Korean automaker will reportedly continue on its own with the development of its N Midship Sports car that is expected to be launched early next year. Work on this vehicle started back in 2014, although the original plan called for a combustion engine, an idea that seems to have been discarded in the meantime. From the details that have been revealed as of yet, this all-wheel drive sports car will adopt a mid-engine (or battery) layout in order to compete with the Porsche Cayman.
Since Hyundai doesn’t have much experience with sports cars, the partnership was established almost three years ago, when the Hyundai-Kia group invested $90 million and took a 12% stake in the small Croatian company.
Rimac was founded in 2009 to become a supplier of electric powertrains to other automakers. Since then, the company expanded and it is now working on its own electric hypercar, the Nevera.
The original partnership with Hyundai also included a hydrogen powered sports car but this project has apparently been cancelled and there haven’t been any reports that hint at a possible revival.
Rimac Nevera | Photo: Rimac
Since 2019, Porsche increased its stakes in Rimac and in 2021, the small company merged with Bugatti to become Bugatti-Rimac, of which the German automaker owns a 45% stake.
This is apparently not the reason why Hyundai is pulling out of the partnership, but it might have contributed to the decision, considering that the resulting vehicle could compete directly with one of Porsche’s.
