Swedish car-maker’s new Quark motors to do duty in new four-seat GT, the Koenigsegg Gemera
Swedish hypercar-maker Koenigsegg has lifted the lid on a revolutionary new e-motor claimed to offer benchmark performance.
Developed in-house for the Koenigsegg Gemera four-seat GT, the ‘Quark’ e-motor pioneers what engineers are calling ‘Raxial Flux’ topology – a combination that utilises radial (power-dense) and axial (torque-dense) power technologies.
Although the system has been developed primarily for the hybrid Gemera, which was first revealed in 2020 and is expected to be limited to just 300 examples, Koenigsegg claims the technology offers a wider market opportunity for EV powertrains in aerospace, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and marine applications.
“The Quark e-motor relooks at the fundamentals of magnetism, materials, cooling and packaging instead of following the norm, hence its name,” says Koenigsegg, referencing the Quark elementary particle’s unique ability to experience all four fundamental forces (electromagnetism, gravitation, strong interaction and weak interaction).
From left: Quark, Terrier EV Drive Unit, David
In the Gemera, three Quark e-motors team with a 450kW/600Nm 2.0-litre three-cylinder engine that is claimed to be “fossil fuel-free” thanks to its ability to sip on methanol or ethanol. Crucially, the intervention of those electric motors means Koenigsegg drivetrain is gearbox-free.
Koenigsegg electric motor design lead, Dragos-Mihai Postariu, says combining radial and axial flux layouts enabled the Quark e-motor to provide the best torque to power-to-weight ratio in the industry.
“The Quark is designed to bolster the low-speed range of the Gemera, where you need it, for brutal acceleration,” he said.
“The ICE 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 400km/h without any torque or power losses.”
Koenigsegg doesn’t explain what Raxial Flux topology specifically looks like in practice, but the Quark motor’s claimed 600Nm peak torque output from a 30kg motor is certainly impressive.
The bottom line is the Gemera rockets to 100km/h in just 1.9 seconds on its way to a claimed top speed of 400km/h. Not bad for a four-seat GT still capable of shuttling the family around.
Pictured next to a drink can for scale, the Quark e-motor shaft is fashioned from 300M steel seen in motorsport and aerospace applications. The rotor uses hollow carbon-fibre technology.
“We not only overcame the challenge of the Gemera’s powertrain requirements but also exceeded goals of making it lighter and smaller than any electric motors in this class,” explained Koenigsegg e-motor development lead Andras Szekely.
“The Quark presents new benchmarks in compact and torque-rich engineering with the first production version weighing just 30kg, producing up to 600Nm of torque and 250kW of power. Without the extra driveline functions for the Gemera, the Quark can drop below 28.5kg in weight.”
Koenigsegg chief executive and founder Christian von Koenigsegg explained the Quark e-motor took away the need for a traditional step-down transmission, opening it to myriad other applications.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
One particular application being touted by the car-maker is its Terrier EV drive unit, which combines two Quark e-motors with Koenigsegg’s David inverter to offer direct assembly to a monocoque or chassis without huge weight penalties or sub-frames.
Koenigsegg claims the Terrier is “the most power/torque dense torque vectoring drive unit in the EV industry” and says there is more information to come.
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Keyword: Koenigsegg debuts new ‘Raxial Flux’ electric motors