2021 Koenigsegg Regera on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Unplugged Performance reveals Koenigsegg-made carbon fiber parts

There are a number of Tesla models that rival Koenigsegg supercars in acceleration, and now the electrified American cars can have styling parts made by the Swedish supercar company. This is possible thanks to a collaboration between Tesla aftermarket parts company Unplugged Performance. Unplugged Performance makes a variety of parts for Tesla models, from performance items such as suspension and brakes to cosmetic parts like these Koenigsegg pieces. They are all carbon fiber exterior parts produced with the same materials and processes the Swedish car company uses for its own machines. The designs of the parts are from Unplugged, though. Most of them are spoilers for each Tesla model, some for either more downforce or less drag, but there are also special wide front fenders for the Model 3. Pricing varies depending on the product, from $1,745 for many of the spoilers to $8,845 for a pair of Model 3 fenders. The parts are available now, and Unplugged Performance hints at additional Koenigsegg-made parts coming in the future. Related Video:

Koenigsegg Gemera goes V8-only due to low take-rate for three-cylinder

It's been more than four years since Koenigsegg debuted the Jesko and Gemera just ahead of the 2020 Geneva Motor Show. The Gemera was the first home for a few of Koenigsegg's pet projects, a hybrid powertrain based around a twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter three-cylinder dubbed the Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG). The engine featured cam-less Freevalve technology and was assisted by three electric motors. The Swedes claimed a combined 1,676 horsepower and 2,581 pound-feet of torque — 592 horses and 443 twists from the TFG — and a zero-to-62-mph sprint in 1.9 seconds. Those three e-motors, one on the crankshaft and two at the rear, helped deliver all-wheel drive, all-wheel torque vectoring, and all-wheel steering. And it's all gone. Not the Gemera, but the Tiny Friendly Giant. Two years after the Gemera appeared, Christian announced that the automaker found a way to fit the Jesko's twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 into the Gemera's tighter bay. Once that happened, Koenigsegg said most customers switched to the V8 — reportedly a $400,000 option. "There were so few left that asked for a three-cylinder," he said, "we managed to convince almost all of them [to go for the V8 instead]. So for the time being, it [the Gemera] is V8 only. We could frame this as conservative buyers rejecting ingenious novelty, but that wouldn't be true. This is buyers giving up one ingenious novelty for another ingenious novelty with more familiar bragging rights. See, to get the Jesko's V8 to work, Koenigsegg engineers redesigned the castings, heads, intake, exhaust, and sump. They shelved the direct-drive transmission from the Regera they'd originally fitted, and created what they call the Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission (LSTT). This was an evolution of the nine-speed direct-drive Light Speed Transmission developed for the Jesko, but smaller, lighter, better. Then the whitecoats created a new six-phase e-motor to replace the original trio of three-phase Quark e-motors that had been paired with the TFG. This one motor to rule them all is called Dark Matter, designed as a blend of radial flux and axial flux topologies called "raxial." In the original powertrain, two of the Quark motors on the rear axle could each make a maximum 500 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, the third Quark on the crankshaft made 400 hp and 369 lb-ft. Their combined output when working together rang in at 1,100 hp. The Dark Matter makes 800 hp and 922 lb-ft.

Performance doesn't matter anymore, it's all about the feel

We've just had a week of supercars and high-end EVs revealed. Many of them boast outrageous performance specs. There were multiple vehicles with horsepower in the four-figure range, and not just sports cars, but SUVs with 0-60 mph times under 3.5 seconds. And it's not just a rarified set of supercar builders, comparatively small tuners are also building this stuff. Going fast is easy nowadays and getting easier. So what will distinguish the greats from the wannabes? It's all about how a car feels. This may seem obvious. "Of course it matters that a car should have good steering feel and a playful chassis!" you say. "Why are you being paid for this stuff?" But a lot of automakers have missed the memo. This past week I spent some time in a BMW M4 Competition convertible, and it's a perfect example of prioritizing performance over experience. It boggles my mind how a company can create such dead and disconnected steering; the weight never changes, there's no feel whatsoever. The chassis is inflappable, but to a fault, because it doesn't feel like anything you're doing is difficult or exciting. The car is astoundingly fast and capable, but it feels less like driving a car and more like tapping in a heading on the Enterprise-D. I also happened to drive something of comparable performance that was much more enjoyable: a Mercedes-AMG GT. It was a basic model with the Stealth Edition blackout package, and even though it had a twin-turbo V8 instead of a six-cylinder, it only made 20 more horsepower. The power wasn't the big differentiator, it was (say it with me) the feel. While not the best example, the steering builds resistance as you dial in lock, giving you a better idea of what's happening up front. Pulses and vibrations come back to you as you move over bumpy pavement in corners. The chassis isn't quite as buttoned down, either, providing a little bit of body roll that tells you you're pushing it. It's also easier to feel when the car is wanting to understeer or oversteer, and how your throttle and steering inputs are affecting it. The whole thing is much more involving, exciting and fun. 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Stealth Edition View 8 Photos That's also to say nothing of the Merc's sounds. That V8 is maybe not the best sounding engine, but its urgent churn through the opened-up exhaust gets your heart racing. It also seems like it's vibrating the whole cabin, so you feel it as much as you hear it.