Koenigsegg is an automaker at the very frontier of innovation, never afraid to test new technology. The company is involved with camless engines which it wants to spread to mainstream carmakers, and it has produced some of the most exotic hypercars the world has ever known.
The Regera is the king of hybrid hypercars, with a simple-yet-complex powertrain we can barely wrap our heads around. It eschews a gearbox in favour of direct drive from the 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8, altering ratio via a hydraulic coupling (like a torque converter) and three electric motors fed from a 9.27kWh lithium polymer battery pack.
The net result challenges the Bugatti Chiron hypercar for power supremacy, at 1120kW and 2000Nm, with the kind of response you could only get by deleting a parasitic gearbox.
Two of the electric motors sit in the rear axle, providing toque vectoring, motivation below 48km/h and the ability to unleash demonic savagery on the rear tyres. Above this speed, the V8 kicks into life, in symphony with the electric motors.
The result can be seen in the video below which Koenigsegg posted on its Facebook page, with the spine-tingling V8 emanating from an innovative, narrow exhaust developed by Akrapovic. It blends on either side with the venturi undertray. The central pipe is to release hot air from the electrical drivetrain.
Did someone say party? We’ll bring the smoke machine!!!!
Posted by Koenigsegg Automotive AB on Monday, August 8, 2016
