Koenigsegg has unveiled a new electric drive unit capable of 250 kW, or 335 hp, that will sit at the heart of its new four-seater Gemera.
Dubbed ‘the Quark’ and utilizing what Koenigsegg calls ‘Raxial Flux’ – which combines ‘radial’ (power-dense) and ‘axial’ (torque-dense) flux – to create, what the Swedish supercar manufacturer assures is, an industry leading torque-power-weight ratio.
Koenigsegg Quark motor
Alongside the 250 kW / 335 hp output, the Quark boasts 442.5 lb-ft of torque from a drive unit that weighs just 30 kg, or about the same as an average-sized dalmatian. This is due to deft use of 300M steel, a proponent of motor racing and aerospace technology, and Koenigsegg’s own hollow carbon fibre, used across the marque’s rims, seats and steering wheels.
Standing just under 12 inches tall and 13 inches wide – for comparison, that’s a 300-ml can being used in the images above – Koenigsegg’s E-Motor development lead András Székely explains that, “without the extra driveline functions for the Gemera,” the drive unit could weigh as little as 28.5 kg.
“The Quark is designed to bolster the low-speed range of the Gemera, where you need it, for brutal acceleration,” E-Motor design lead Dragos-Mihai Postariu explains in an official statement. “The ICE [internal combustion engine] then focuses on the high-speed range. What this means in terms of performance for the Gemera is a big power surge followed by a continuous record-speed push to 400 km/h without any torque or power losses.”
It should be pointed out that peak power and torque are only available for the first 20 seconds for maximum, “brutal” acceleration. Thereafter, performance drops to a tidy 134 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque.
Alongside the Quark, Koenigsegg has also previewed the ‘Terrier’, which mates two of the aforementioned electric drive motors with an inverter and inboard planetary gear sets to produce a combined peak of 670 hp+ and 811 lb-ft of torque. Barely tipping the scales at 85 kg, the Terrier – so-called for its small, energetic and fearless demeanor – is an opportunity, in Koenigsegg’s own words, to create “the most power/torque dense, torque vectoring drive unit in the EV industry.”
“The Quark is unique in its high efficiency in combination with its class-leading torque-to-power-to-rpm-to-weight matrix,” brand CEO and founder Christian von Koenigsegg continues. “This means, when using the Quark in applications such as marine, aircraft or VTOL, there is no need for a step-down transmission, instead direct drive can be achieved, as the RPM of the motor is right from the get-go. Small high-revving motors can have higher peak power to weight ratio, but they need transmissions in most applications in order to get to the desired output rpm and torque, causing energy loss and adding weight and complexity to do the same job. So any benefit in size is lost.
“In other cases, like the Terrier application, the transmissions can be reduced in size and complexity compared to higher-revving, less torque dense motors, which is also a big win. I guess we’re trying to reach the edge of optimal in-betweeness.”
