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Koenigsegg unveils high-performance, ultra-lightweight electric motor

Koenigsegg presents a new, very light and powerful electric motor that will work wonders in electric cars… but not only.

Even if there are obviously exceptions, at present, we are mainly talking about electric vehicles in a general public or logistics context. When it comes to raw performance, on the other hand, you often have to look further. Manufacturer Koenigsegg seems determined to change that; it features a new lightweight yet extremely powerful electric motor unit.

Indeed, this engine called Quark was designed from carbon fiber and steel used in aerospace. This is a sector of industry where mass is a constant constraint; engineers have therefore been developing new alloys, concepts and production chains for decades in order to obtain materials that are extremely light, but also very efficient.

A philosophy that perfectly matches the philosophy of the Swedish brand with its recognizable cars among a thousand. They thus managed to reduce the weight of their engine below the 30 kg mark, with 28.5kg on the scale. A featherweight which does not however prevent it from being particularly ferocious; the manufacturer announces the equivalent of 335 horsepower, a power peak at 250 kW and 600 Nm of torque.

The best of both worlds

This engine uses a new proprietary technology called Flux Raxial. According to Electrive, it is a hybrid design halfway between two different electric motor technologies: axial flux and radial flux. Without going into detail, the former are very widespread today, because they make it possible to obtain a relatively large torque. On the other hand, they are much less competent in terms of power density. On this point, radial flux motors are the undisputed champions.

Koenigsegg has therefore developed a hybrid approach, which allows it to exploit the strengths of both technologies in the same engine block. “This means that one can develop a huge amount of power in a very short time and then keep pushing without any loss of torque or power.“, explains Dragos-Mihai Postariu, an engineer from Koenigsegg interviewed by Electrive. According to its designers, these features would simply “the engine with the highest power-to-weight ratio in the industry.

A new version of the Koenigsegg Gemera four-seat hybrid supercar will be the first vehicle to feature these Quarks. © Koenigsegg

The future best friend of eVTOL?

Obviously, Koenigsegg plans to equip some of its supercar models with it, with the promise of breathtaking performance. For this, the brand has developed an engine block called Terrier, composed of two Quarks according to Electrive, a version of this engine could propel the Koenigsegg Gemera, its ultra-sporty hybrid coupe model. It will accommodate up to three Quark engines in addition to a standard three-cylinder twin-turbo engine; the end result should be around 1700 horsepower.

But what’s interesting is that this miniature furious beast isn’t limited to electric cars; it could also find a place in a whole bunch of other vehicles. Koenigsegg explains that he wants to explore applications in rail freight, the navy, and even aeronautics. And when you read its technical data sheet, it actually seems ideal for propelling small eVTOLs as we see them springing up everywhere at the moment.

At this time, we don’t yet know when and where this Quark engine will hit the market. But it will be interesting to see if other manufacturers choose to equip their electric vehicles with it, whether land, sea or air.

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