2021 Koenigsegg Regera on 2040-cars

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Koenigsegg CC850 shown with 1,185 horsepower, fascinating gated manual

This is a big year for Koenigsegg. It's the 20-year anniversary of the Swedish supercar builder's first production car, the CC8S. It's also the 50th birthday of the founder, Christian von Koenigsegg. To celebrate, the company has put together the CC850, which is a reimagining of that original supercar, but using modern technology. It looks very much like the old car, but packs way more power and some wild features. The exterior is quite close to the original. The biggest changes are the switches to more flowing LED lighting up front and in the rear. It has reworked wheels with the phone-dial round openings and has a smooth, uncluttered design. Part of that is due to the hidden rear wing that deploys at speed. The car has the signature tumble-forward doors, powered hood and engine cover, and it has a removable top that can be stowed in the car just like the CC8S. The interior is much more modern Koenigsegg, and the highlights include the beautiful analog instrument dials and the gated shifter in the middle. That shifter features a wood knob with a Swedish flag, again like CC8S. As is often the case with Koenigseggs, the parts that make it go are as interesting if not more so than the swoopy shell. The CC850 is powered by a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 that makes 1,185 horsepower and 1,022 pound-feet of torque on gasoline. Put E85 ethanol in it, and power climbs to 1,385. Christian von Koenigsegg noted that these numbers are a bit lower than for the Jesko, which provided the base for much of the CC850. The reason is because the company went with smaller turbos for better response and less lag, since the car has a manual transmission, sort of. Ok, so let's talk about the transmission. It's a version of the Light Speed Transmission, which has a set of seven clutches and nine gear ratios and can jump from any gear to any other gear, unlike most dual-clutch transmissions that have to shift sequentially. In the Jesko, it's an automatic transmission with paddle shifters. Here, it has an automatic mode, but it also has a manual mode, complete with clutch pedal. The clutch pedal does actuate the transmission's multiple clutches, and it is possible to stall the car if you're not balancing your clutch and throttle inputs. And the shifter will tell the car which gear you want. Curiously, there are only six gates for the manual mode. Christian von Koenigsegg said that having to pick through nine gates would be complicated, so the company stuck with six.

Koenigsegg Quark e-motor puts maxi power in a mini package

It seems that what Koenigsegg enjoys just as much as making internal-combustion-powered teleportation devices shaped like cars is creating neat new tech to go in those cars. The new hotness from the minds in Angelholm, Sweden is the Quark electric motor, David silicon carbide inverter, and Terrier EV drive unit. Engineering teams have developed the Quark e-motor for the Gemera sedan, the four-door hypercar, fitting three of them to supplement the three-cylinder, 600-horsepower internal combustion engine. The two major topologies, or designs, for electric motors are axial flux, which emphasizes power density, and radial flux, which emphasizes torque density. The Quark combines both topologies into a form Koenigsegg calls "Raxial flux," fashioned with cost-no-object materials like aerospace-grade steel and a carbon fiber rotor. The result is a 63-pound e-motor about the height of two energy drink cans that produces a steady 134 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. When prodded, maximum output leaps to 335 hp and 441 lb-ft for 20 seconds. The engineering lead said the three e-motors in the Gemera are "to bolster the low-speed" performance "where you need it, for brutal acceleration," after which the ICE will take charge for the run to 400 kilometers per hour (248 mph).  We will undoubtedly be seeing more of this kind of innovation, and in fact, we've already seen it. Two years ago, we interviewed the principals at the Texas-based company Linear Labs, who had created the Hunstable Electric Turbine. The HET is an e-motor that sandwiches a radial e-motor design between two axial e-motor ends. Creators Fred and Brad Hunstable had said that "[for] the same size, same weight, same volume, and the same amount of input energy into the [HET], we will always produce – at a minimum, sometimes more, but at a minimum – two to three times the torque output of any electric motor in the world, and it does this at high efficiency throughout the torque and speed range." Even better, for EV applications, the Hunstables said their motor could operate as a direct-drive unit, eliminating the need for a gearbox. Koenigsegg hasn't gone that far, yet. Before the Quark, the Swedes developed a six-phase silicon-carbide inverter they call David. When two Quarks meet one David and a planetary gearset, they add up to one Terrier, an EV drive unit with all the torque vectoring every electrified hypercar needs.

Koenigsegg livestreaming debut of 'latest family member' at 12:00 EDT Friday

On January 1 this year, Koenigsegg teased a new vehicle on Instagram with the caption, "Dear 2022, here's our New Year's resolution - More ultimate performance through clever engineering and optimal design." The company broke its ensuing silence Thursday night by teasing a live debut to begin at 12 p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. Pacific in Pebble Beach. The teaser image boasts a silhouette that looks like the CC8, the Swedish manufacturer's first car, with the addition of a roof scoop. Beyond that, we have nothing more than gathered speculation as to what it could be. There's the entry-level Koenigsegg that founder Christian von Koenigsegg has said for a while that he wanted to release. There's the CC12 project with Swiss retailer and supercar garage Carage, which appears based on the CC8S production prototype and would satisfy the note about "ultimate performance and clever engineering," but the timing is off; in April, Carage owner Kim Struve said the CC12 would "be released in a year's time." The Supercar Blog has heard this new thing could be Christian's 50th birthday gift to himself, called the Annira or the CC850S, packing more than 1,300 horsepower into a 1,300-pound curb weight and fitted with a "magic transmission." Some surmise it's Koenigsegg finally reckoning with a battery-electric vehicle, but we think that's the longest shot of all. He told CarBuzz two years ago, "It actually would be much easier for us to just do a pure electric car, because we could throw away complexity but add weight. But I'd rather have complexity in the super expensive sports car than add weight."   That seems to us to be enough guessing for today. The only other rumors we've heard that we would believe true are that there will be a tiny production run and every unit is already sold out. We have but a few hours to find out what's really happening. Based on the company's products since, oh, ever, it will probably be special. Related Video Koenigsegg Coupe Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance Supercars Pebble Beach