RIMAC NEVERA BECOMES A HANDS-ON STEM EXPERIENCE WITH CIRCUITMESS

The Rimac Nevera has become known for demonstrating what electric power can achieve at the end of automotive performance. Now, the Croatian electric hypercar has been reduced to 1:18 scale, not simply as a display model, but as a working project that can be assembled, programmed, and driven.

Created through a collaboration between Rimac Automobili and Croatian STEM technology company CircuitMess, the DIY R/C Nevera turns the engineering principles of the full-size car into an accessible hands-on experience. Builders start with the chassis and progressively install the components that give the miniature vehicle its movement and character, including electric motors, a servo-controlled steering system, wheels and tyres, LED headlights and a Li-Po battery.

The project reflects a natural connection between the two companies. Both emerged from Croatia’s technology community with an emphasis on developing complex systems rather than simply adopting established solutions. Rimac has applied that philosophy to electric vehicles and high-performance automotive technology, while CircuitMess has built its reputation around kits that allow users to construct and understand electronics, robotics,s and coding projects for themselves.

Founded in 2017 by Albert Gajšak, CircuitMess began with DIY electronics and early Kickstarter projects before developing its STEM Box and a broader collection of buildable educational products. The company says it has now shipped more than 300,000 STEM kits worldwide. Its projects span electronics, robotics, coding and engineering, with products designed for children, teenagers and adults. The Nevera collaboration brings that educational approach into a particularly automotive form.

The distinction between this kit and a conventional scale replica becomes apparent once construction begins. The model is designed to be assembled rather than simply taken from a box, allowing the builder to see how its individual systems relate to one another. The electric motors provide propulsion, the servo mechanism controls the steering, ng and the electronics operate the lighting and driving functions.

Once assembled, the model becomes programmable. It can be connected to a computer and configured through CircuitMess’ CircuitBlocks application, a visual programming environment designed to make coding more accessible. More experienced users can go further with C++, giving them the ability to develop their own driving logic, customise controller inputs, and create sequences for the integrated LED headlights.

That programmability gives the miniature Nevera a second life after construction. Building the physical model is only the beginning; its behaviour can subsequently be altered through software. In that sense, the project introduces a principle that is increasingly important in the automotive industry itself: a modern vehicle is shaped not only by its mechanical components, but by the relationship between hardware, electronics and software.

The kit also includes a Time Attack driving controller that is hand-assembled as part of the experience. Its Boost Mode provides another link to the performance character of the full-size Nevera, while giving the builder an additional piece of hardware to construct and configure.

Rimac’s own history makes the partnership particularly fitting. The company was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac with a vision of creating high-performance cars for the electric era. Its origins can be traced to Rimac’s decision to convert a combustion-engined BMW E30 into an electric performance car after its original engine failed during a race. What began as a garage project developed into a technology business specialising in electric hypercars and advanced EV systems.

The Nevera represents the culmination of that engineering direction. First unveiled in production form in 2021, it followed the Concept_One as Rimac’s next-generation electric hypercar. The car was developed around a four-motor all-electric powertrain and a sophisticated electrical and control architecture, establishing the Nevera as a showcase for technologies developed within the Rimac ecosystem. Rimac says the Nevera has subsequently set more than 27 world performance records.

That technical lineage is important to the CircuitMess project because the model is not merely styled after the Nevera. Its systems have been selected to echo the fundamental principles of an electric vehicle, allowing builders to engage with propulsion, steering, power storage, lighting and electronic control at a scale that can be physically understood.

There is also a wider educational idea embedded in the collaboration. CircuitMess has long approached STEM learning through construction, based on the premise that understanding improves when the learner has to assemble and operate the object themselves. Its current product range includes buildable robots, gaming devices, smartwatches, communications systems and NASA-themed projects, while its learning platform provides construction, coding and usage guides.

The Nevera therefore introduces automotive engineering into that same methodology. Instead of approaching an electric car solely as a finished machine, the builder is invited to consider the individual systems that allow it to function. The process can begin with physical assembly and progress into programming, creating a bridge between traditional mechanical thinking and the increasingly software-driven nature of modern vehicles.

The full-size Nevera’s design also remains recognisable at the smaller scale. Its proportions, body shape and lighting signatures give the finished model the presence of the hypercar, but the exposed process of construction changes the relationship with it. What might ordinarily be observed from the outside becomes something to investigate from within.

For Rimac, the collaboration also reflects the company’s interest in encouraging the next generation of engineers. Its own development story was built around the need to create technologies that were not readily available when the company began. The company now designs and engineers electric hypercars as well as core EV systems for the wider automotive industry, with engineering-led design remaining central to its identity.

The limited-edition DIY R/C Nevera by CircuitMess is currently available through the official Rimac Store at €159.99. Rimac’s current online shop places it within the model-car category alongside conventional Nevera scale replicas, making the distinction clear: this version is intended to be built and programmed rather than simply displayed.

Unlike a conventional collector’s model, the CircuitMess Nevera carries its own invitation to curiosity. Its most interesting component may not be the finished miniature car, but the process required to make it move, respond, and communicate through light and code. In reducing one of Croatia’s most advanced automotive creations to something that can be assembled at a desk, Rimac and CircuitMess have made the underlying idea of engineering unusually tangible — a reminder that understanding how something works can be just as rewarding as admiring what it can do.