Yahoo Autos Rimac helps Hyundai build an electric, 810-horsepower hot hatch
Hyundai introduced the RM20e, its fifth mid-engined rear-wheel drive prototype. Developed jointly with Rimac, it's a massively powerful electric hot hatch built largely to test technologies that could reach production in the 2020s.
Don't be fooled by the Veloster-like body; nearly everything lurking under the surface is new. Instead of using a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, Hyundai leveraged its partnership with Rimac to design an electric powertrain that consists of a single 800-volt motor linked to a 60-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. It zaps the rear wheels with up to 810 horsepower and 708 pound-feet of torque, though the first figure is only available in 20-second bursts. Hyundai quotes a sub-three-second zero to 60 mph time, and a top speed of over 155 mph.
Engineers installed the motor directly behind the front seats to improve the RM20e's weight distribution while putting an electrified spin on the concept of a mid-engined hot hatch. Six-piston front calipers rein in the cavalry.
