The Rimac Verne may sound like a bloke who has had one too many drinks at the end-of-year corporate Christmas party, but like all drunks, the Verne is a potentially dangerous harbinger of the future. A future where humans are relegated to becoming autonomous living drones, eking out an existence on a living wage, and spending their days glued to the latest reality TV show. While reality TV shows are anything but real, the Rimac Verne robotaxi has become all too real.

Verne is a start-up company that positions itself as an ‘innovative concept of urban autonomous mobility’. Co-founded by Croatian engineer and entrepreneur Mate Rimac, Verne is set to launch a comprehensive ecosystem encompassing vehicles, apps, and services, starting in Zagreb in 2026.

Rimac, renowned for his namesake electric hypercar company, has teamed up with two colleagues from Rimac Group to make Verne a reality. Marko Pejković, now CEO of Verne, joins Rimac along with Adriano Mudri, the chief design officer famed for his work on the Rimac Nevera hypercar.

Statistics indicate that nine out of ten rides are single or dual occupancy. Verne’s interiors are designed to resemble living rooms, featuring an expansive 43-inch display for both entertainment and real-time journey information.

While numerous companies are currently developing self-driving cars, achieving fully autonomous operation in congested urban environments remains a formidable challenge. Verne has partnered with Mobileye to develop its robotaxi technology.

Mobileye’s advanced system integrates cameras, radar, and lidar sensors to monitor surroundings. Notably, the technology incorporates redundancies to ensure safety, such as allowing the camera system to operate independently in case of radar failure, and vice versa.

Plans for a UK launch in 2027 will commence after Initial testing in smaller cities like Birmingham and Manchester and will precede potential deployment in bustling London streets.