#croatia

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Mate Rimac decided to follow that old saying, revolutionizing his 1986 BMW 3-Series after popping the motor during a track day in Croatia.

Instead of giving up on the car, or just shoving in another power plant, Rimac had a crazy idea: “I pulled the engine out of the car, looked at the empty space under the bonnet and wondered what to put in there,” he said. “And then it hit me. I’ll make an electric racecar.”

And what an electric racecar? Rimec’s creation boasts 900-hp.

It’s become a two-year project for Rimac and his company, VST Conversions, with the car being powered by 300 lithium-iron phosphate cells in a battery pack, providing a range of roughly 110 miles.

Helping churn out the 900-hp is a DC motor designed by VST with a possible top speed of 174 mph. Rimac has further plans on developing the car to become faster and lighter and has set a goal of developing a 1,088-hp electric supercar by 2012.

[Source: Wired]

Check out the video of the BMW after the break.