Koenigsegg – The Supercar Pro

Koenigsegg is a Swedish car manufacturer and was founded only around 25 years ago in 1994. These guys don't do things quite like other car manufacturers though. Where most architects when designing a car will start off with the basics such as, 4-wheels, engine, gearbox and maybe some nice aero - Koenigsegg seem to throw away the rulebook each time they build something and try and find new, better ways to achieve a better result. They are not constrained by having to deliver thousands of units every single year. They are still a business though and as they have now sold a share of their brand to Chinese company NEVS, they may be under slightly more pressure to deliver more units than before. The Koenigsegg Regera is a hybrid hypercar - it is powered partly by an internal combustion engine and partly by three electric motors. This gives it several advantages over a traditionally powered vehicle. Koenigsegg Regera What does hybrid mean? Well, that depends on what you're talking about. As this article is all about the Koenigsegg, I think it's safe to assume you're here to discover more about cars. A hybrid car is one that is powered by more than one type of propulsion system. What that means is that the hybrid car will have a combustion engine and an electric motor to deliver its power. This combination of powertrains can mean both positives and negatives usually, so let's have a look at these: Positives of hybrid technology in cars Fuel Efficiency - cars that utilize battery power alongside combustion engines are more efficient than a car that just has an engine. This is a good thing for other reasons apart from the obvious savings in gas. It reduces the reliance on oil and may even help to bring gas prices down if more manufacturers were to go in this direction.Regenerative Braking - typically, when you apply the brake in a car a lot of the kinetic energy is converted into heat - with regenerative braking some of that lost energy is used to charge the battery which has the effect of increasing the range of the battery.Less pollution - less combustion means a lot less waste products such as Carbon Monoxide - this is only a good thing for the environment of course.Torque - electric cars are typically able to produce more torque more quickly than your typical combustion engine. Negatives of hybrid technology in cars Cost - hybrid cars (and electric cars in general) are still more expensive, typically at least than the majority of regular cars. The technology around the production of batteries is still relatively new and although prices do appear to be coming down, it will still be a while before they are on par. Cost is not usually a factor though for the kind of person looking to buy a Koenigsegg!Longevity - there is some concern about how batteries degrade over time and the cost of replacing them can be high. Whereas many combustion cars can be maintained and run well in excess of 100k miles, this isn't always the case with electric cars. However, Tesla has said that their Model 3 will still have 70% of its battery life after 100,000 miles. Which I think is pretty good.Servicing - this might be a small point for the subject matter but it may be more difficult to find someone who has the knowledge to be able to service an electric motor rather than your typical engine. However, if you're a Koenigsegg owner, I don't somehow think this will be of concern to you! What type of powertrain does the Regera have? The Koenigsegg Regera has a hybrid powertrain. This consists of an internal combustion engine, mounted in the mid-rear of the car - this is a 5 liter, twin-turbo V8. The electric motor, on the other hand, consists of three YASA (a British company that makes electric motors and controllers) in total. One of which can be found powering the crankshaft and delivers torque fill-in. The other two YASA motors are situated on each rear wheel. The battery that powers these motors is a liquid-cooled battery pack that weighs over 70 kg which was created by Rimac Automobili. The car also utilizes regenerative braking using KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) - which, as mentioned earlier, reduces some of the energy lost through braking and basically, puts it to better use. The Regera's predecessor, the Agera did not have a hybrid powertrain so Koenigsegg has gone in a new direction with the Agera. It is likely that this choice of utilizing an electric motor for power will most likely remain for future models or perhaps even more likely - their next model will be fully electric. What is the performance of the Koenigsegg Regera? It won't come as any surprise that the Regera has phenomenal performance. The internal combustion engine produces 1,100 hp which equates to 1,115 PS at 7,800 rpm. It has 4 valves per cylinder and has a compression ratio of 9.3:1. The electric motor has a total capacity of 520 kW (697 hp, 707 PS) and also delivers 664 lb-ft of torque (which is 900 N-m). Koenigsegg Regera Power-TrainNorbert Aepli [CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)] What you're probably interested in though are the numbers. The Koenigsegg Regera will reach 62 mph (100 km/h) in a vomit-inducing 2.8 seconds. It's crazy to think that in the time it took you to read that last sentence, the car could have gone from a standstill to 60 mph and back to 0 again. Just think about that for a second! It will reach 200 km/h (124 mph) in 6.6 seconds and 300 km/h (186 mph) in just 10.9 seconds. If you're wondering how this compares to the astonishing Agera RS then you may be surprised to learn that it is faster. The 0-60 mph time is about the same but when you're looking at top-end, the Regera will reach 186 mph about 2 seconds quicker than the Agera RS - quite something. Its top speed is a somewhat lively 255 mph. Well, actually it's not - it is capable of speeds greater than this but is electronically limited, most likely due to the tires not being able to handle the enormous energy they would need to handle at higher velocities. Final Words The Koenigsegg Regera comes from the same mold as its predecessor, the Agera. It is not only a thing of beauty but delivers almost unrivaled performance. You could describe it as a piece of art and like the best paintings by the best artists in the world, there is a high price to pay if you want one in your garage - around $2 million. Watching Koenigsegg develop their cars over the last quarter of a century has been fascinating. I may never get the chance to own one (how rich do you need to be to own a $2m car?) but the technological advances they make in the development of their cars helps to advance aspects of cars that I may own in the future. I look forward to seeing what the next 25 years brings! Finally, if you're interested in supercars then you'll need to know about depreciation (unfortunately) - check out all the details here.