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# Building a hypercar from scratch

How do you build a 2000-horsepower electric hypercar? You abandon traditional supply chains completely. Instead, you write custom embedded code and engineer a billion-dollar architecture from scratch.

- **Speakers:** David Romić
- **Event:** World Congress 2023
- **Published:** August 11, 2023
- **Duration:** 31:37
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/607-building-a-hypercar-from-scratch

## Summary

Building the record-breaking, fully electric Rimac Nevera required abandoning the traditional automotive supply chain to achieve unprecedented performance milestones without compromising on comfort. Faced with prohibitively expensive supplier integrations and bulky off-the-shelf components, engineering teams opted to develop the hypercar's hardware and embedded software architectures from the ground up. By refusing to compromise on weight, volume, or 2000-horsepower output targets, Rimac accidentally spawned a billion-dollar business supplying bespoke high-performance EV components to major industry OEMs. Operating with a highly constrained embedded engineering team scaling from 12 to 80 members, the company optimized for development speed rather than manufacturing scale. They standardized their base software stack and utilized a single microcontroller across vastly different functions, powering both basic localized steering wheel buttons and the massive 900kW flexible inverters propelling the rear axles. Utilizing C99, MATLAB, and Simulink, the proprietary code orchestrates dozens of interconnected ECUs communicating via CAN and LIN buses, laying the groundwork for a future shift toward ARM platforms and centralized Automotive Ethernet architectures. Mission-critical vehicle systems leave zero margin for error compared to standard consumer electronics, dictating aggressive safety and drivability requirements. To secure rigorous safety-critical certifications, the engineering culture implements strict shift-left validation, committing to a 50/50 ratio of development to exhaustive software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop testing. Identifying architectural flaws at the system design phase ensures fatal edge cases are caught before ever reaching the physical test track, demonstrating how relentless validation combined with AUTOSAR Classic standardization defines reliable modern hypercar stability.

**Keywords:** hypercar ev architecture, embedded c99 programming, mission-critical embedded software, automotive safety certification, custom automotive ecu configuration, bespoke ev component manufacturing, software-in-the-loop validation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, powertrain distributed control, AUTOSAR classic integration, CAN and LIN buses, shift-left system design, automotive ethernet centralization, MATLAB and simulink modeling, NXP automotive microcontrollers

## Chapters

1. **Evolving from a garage startup to massive hypercar manufacturer** (00:14) — Evolving from a small garage team into a massive organization enabled the creation of cutting-edge electric performance vehicles.
1. **Establishing joint ventures and breaking electric vehicle acceleration records** (05:05) — Demonstrating rapid acceleration and dominant performance secured strategic partnerships with major historic automotive groups.
1. **Bypassing traditional automotive supply chains for custom hardware components** (06:37) — Building proprietary hardware elements natively in-house avoided the extreme costs and integration challenges posed by external automotive suppliers.
1. **Designing bespoke electromechanical vehicle systems without structural cabin compromises** (09:06) — Engineering customized hardware platforms tightly controlled interconnected vehicle features without sacrificing necessary geometric cabin space.
1. **Scaling software teams and reusing foundational microcontroller chip architectures** (12:05) — Optimizing overall development time required deploying a unified software stack and identical microcontroller models across varied vehicle modules.
1. **Addressing automotive mission-critical safety in embedded software development** (14:32) — Enforcing strict initial architectural decisions prevented unacceptable system faults and ensured absolute reliability for potentially lethal high-speed passenger conditions.
1. **Testing experimental distributed vehicle prototypes and validating ignition sequences** (15:47) — Networking modular hardware components successfully executed a highly complex distributed electric vehicle ignition and boot protocol.
1. **Shifting toward centralized automotive computing networks for future cars** (18:38) — Adopting entirely consolidated data infrastructure concepts promises to eliminate the synchronization failures endemic to heavily decentralized processing configurations.
1. **Selecting specific microcontrollers and fundamental programming languages for powertrains** (20:04) — Managing high-voltage propulsion securely necessitated adhering to rigorously compliant automotive-grade silicon and foundational languages like embedded C.
1. **Building proprietary automotive software ecosystems entirely in-house from scratch** (22:38) — Developing complete bare-metal code bases natively resolved the severe commercial complications associated with restrictive third-party car operating system licenses.
1. **Implementing automotive ethernet and connected remote vehicle telemetry applications** (24:43) — Replacing legacy serial standards with modern broadband networking linked robust internal telemetry logging tools seamlessly to commercial companion apps.
1. **Certifying safety-critical automotive software and deploying progressive testing strategies** (26:56) — Validating intricate code mechanics extensively across iterative hardware-in-the-loop server rigs thoroughly eliminated catastrophic physical risks prior to live vehicle testing operations.

## Related Moments

- [Origins of Rimac and internal vehicle technology](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/473-fleet-management-reinvented) (from "Fleet Management - Reinvented")
- [Concept and specifications of the Rimac Nevera hypercar](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/221-software-stack-under-and-over-the-hood-of-the-fastest-accelerating-car-in-the-world) (from "Software stack under and over the hood of the fastest accelerating car in the world")
- [Introducing software engineering for electric vehicle prototypes](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/499-for-the-cars-and-the-curious-android-drift) (from "For the Cars and the Curious: Android Drift")
- [Rimac Automobili company history and technology focus](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/221-software-stack-under-and-over-the-hood-of-the-fastest-accelerating-car-in-the-world) (from "Software stack under and over the hood of the fastest accelerating car in the world")
- [Tackling functional complexity with localized vehicle electronic architectures](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/258-on-developing-smartphones-on-wheels) (from "On developing smartphones on wheels")
- [Transforming modern hypercars into connected digital network platforms](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/221-software-stack-under-and-over-the-hood-of-the-fastest-accelerating-car-in-the-world) (from "Software stack under and over the hood of the fastest accelerating car in the world")

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