Koenigsegg’s breakthrough EV motor could bury ICE supercars

Swedish hypercar manufacturer Koenigsegg recently spilled the beans on its newest and most significant innovation to date. Meet the Quark, a compact and lightweight electric motor that weighs just 63 pounds (30 kg). Despite this, Koenigsegg’s Quark EV drive unit pumps out 335 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, and you’ll find three of them under the upcoming Gemera four-seat hyper GT car.

Images: Koenigsegg

“The Quark is unique in its high efficiency in combination with its class-leading torque-to-power-to-rpm-to-weight matrix,” said Koenigsegg CEO Christian von Koenigsegg. “The Quark is unique in its high efficiency in combination with its class-leading torque-to-power-to-rpm-to-weight matrix.”

Koenigsegg

Quark is a Raxial Flux electric drive unit that combines the merits of a radial-flux and axial-flux electric motor. We won’t bore you with a plethora of technical mumbo-jumbo, but all you need to know is Koenigsegg’s Raxial-Flux motor combines the best of both worlds: the perfect balance of power and torque. Due to its compact dimensions and efficient torque output, Quark does not require a complicated gearbox to tame down the power output, helping to save more on drive losses and weight.

Koenigsegg Gemera/Koenigsegg

Quark’s 335 horsepower and 443 pound-feet output are only accessible for 20 seconds. After that, the power output reverts to 134 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. Since the Gemera has three of these, you can only imagine the savagery that unleashes upon stepping on the gas pedal. “The Quark is designed to bolster the low-speed range of the Gemera, where you need it, for brutal acceleration,” added Dragos-Mihai Postariu, electric motor lead design at Koenigsegg.

Koenigsegg Gemera/Koenigsegg

Upon reaching triple-digit speeds, the Gemera’s “Tiny Friendly Giant,” a compact 2.0-liter three-cylinder twin-turbocharged engine equipped with Koenigsegg’s Freevalve technology, takes over with its 600 horsepower output. It also means maximum push from zero to 248.5 mph (400 kph) with no interruptions or power loss. All told, the Gemera has 1,700 horsepower at its disposal – not bad for a four-seat hyper grand touring car.

Koenigsegg

In addition, the Quark is part of Koenigsegg’s Terrier EV drive unit consisting of two Quarks and a single David inverter. Koenigsegg claims Terrier is the most power and torque-dense torque vectoring drive unit in the EV industry today. Capable of producing 760 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque without weighing more than 187 pounds, Terrier applies to electric cars, marine vehicles, VTOLs, and other electric aircraft.

The Quark is making its production debut in the Koenigsegg Gemera by early 2023. The automaker has allocated 300 build slots for the Gemera, each carrying a hefty $1.7-million base price.