Quark, this is the lightest electric motor in the world from Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg once again aims to revolutionise the automotive sector. The Swedish supercar manufacturer has always stood out for its engineering. Now, the brand has taken a step further and developed an electric motor that weighs only 28 kilograms and is capable of delivering 340 CV and 600 Nm of peak torque.

This tiny unit is called Quark and has been developed for the four-seat Koenigsegg Gemera. The Quark motor combines radial and axial flux to offer a good balance between power and torque. Koenigsegg has pointed out that the Quark unit has an industry-leading torque-power-to-weight ratio.

The peak torque and power figures are only available for twenty seconds, which is common in electric cars. After that time, the figures drop to 135 CV and 249 Nm of torque. These figures are a perfect fit for the Koenigsegg Gemera, which features three electric motors and a three-cylinder engine that produces 610 CV.

This is Quark, Koenigsegg’s electric motor

Dragos-Mihai Postari, Koenigsegg’s electric motor design lead, has stated that “the Quark is designed to reinforce the Gemera’s range at low speeds, where it is needed, for brutal acceleration. Then, the combustion engine focuses on the high-speed range. What this means in terms of performance for the Gemera is a power increase followed by a continuous surge of record speed to 400 km/h without any loss of torque or power”.

The supercar brand uses all kinds of interesting materials in the development of the Quark, including aerospace/automotive-grade steel and carbon fibre Aircore for the rotor. Furthermore, the Quark is expected to be fitted to other models besides the Koenigsegg Gemera.

Christian von Koenigsegg, the brand’s CEO, has stated that “the Quark is unique in its high efficiency combined with its class-leading matrix of torque-to-power and rpm-to-weight. This means that when the Quark is used in applications such as marine, aviation or VTOL, there is no need for a reduction gearbox; instead, direct drive can be achieved, since the engine speed is right from the start. Small high-revving motors may have a higher maximum power-to-weight ratio, but in most applications they need transmissions to reach the desired rpm and output torque, which causes energy loss and adds weight and complexity to do the same job”.