After difficult years, optimism is seeming to gain ground in Croatia. Gathered on Zagreb's main square, 768 people grouped together to create what was then the biggest human "smiley" in the world. Approved by the Guinness World Records, the performance beat the previous record, which involved 551 participants and was made in the Latvian capital of Riga.
The young Croatian innovator Mate Rimac, only 23 years old, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show the Rimac Automobili Concept One, the fastest electric sports car in the world, produced in Croatia. Equipped with four motors developing a total of 1224 hp, it goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and reaches 355 km/h, with a driving range of 350 km. Rimac inscribes himself within the tradition of many famous Croatian innovators, such as Ivan Blaž Lupis (torpedo), Ivan Vučetić (fingerprint identification), Franjo Hanaman (tungsten filament light bulb), Josip Belušić (speedometer), Nikola Tesla (induction motor), Slavoljub Penkala (mechanical pencil and pen with built-in reservoir) or Tomislav Uzelac (MP3 digital format).