Koenigsegg Regera gets over 1,500 hp and 2,000 Nm

If you thought the so-called holy trinity of the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder was extreme, you haven’t seen anything yet. The Koenigsegg Regera you see here brings the hypercar class to a whole new level. It’s insane, this one.

Let’s start with the power figures first. The Regera has a “proven and extremely reliable” twin-turbo 5.0 litre V8 engine with 1,100 hp (on RON 95, as claimed) and 1,250 Nm of torque. On top of that, you get an extra 700 hp and 900 Nm of extra propulsion from three electric motors, for combined output numbers of “way over 1,500 hp and 2,000 Nm.”

That makes for eye-wateringly fast acceleration figures. Zero to 100 km/h takes just 2.8 seconds, 150 to 250 km/h (because that’s a vital everyday move, right?) is done in 3.2 seconds, while you’d get from 0-400 km/h in under 20 seconds.

It’s no regular hybrid either. Company boss Christian von Koenigsegg is “not a fan of hybrids,” apparently, as they are “generally compromised when it comes to weight, complexity, cost, packaging and efficiency.” So he created the novel Koenigsegg Direct Drive Transmission (KDD) for the Regera.

The KDD goes without a traditional gearbox to avoid transmission losses, and features direct drive to rear axle from the combustion engine. Koenigsegg claims the KDD reduces drivetrain losses by as much as 50% compared to traditional transmissions on a highway cruise.

Three axial flux electric motors work in tandem with the twin-turbo V8 – one on each rear wheel providing direct electric drive, and another on the crankshaft that gives torque-fill, electrical generation and starter motor functionality. Powering them are what’s described as “the most power-dense (620 V) battery pack ever created for a road going car with 9.27 kWh of energy.”

The Regera is claimed to have a bigger battery capacity (with full EV mode available) and more electric power (almost triple, actually) than its hybrid rivals. The entire KDD system, meanwhile, is said to be just 88 kg heavier (including the batteries) compared to a traditional combustion engine plus a seven-speed DCT transmission combo.

From a stand still, the Regera works with the KDD’s hydraulic coupling open, so the engine and the crank-mounted electric motor is disconnected. The car moves off purely on electric drive from the two wheel motors. As the speed picks up, the hydraulic coupling begins to close, bringing the crank-mounted electric motor into play. Finally, the combustion engine kicks in from about 48 km/h.

Designed to operate as a plug-in hybrid, the Regera has a unique “Battery Drain Mode.” When activated, it calculates the driving behaviour to make the best of the available battery power to get you to your destination. This “optimises” the battery consumption pattern to minimise fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

On the outside, the ultimate Koenigsegg features what the company calls the “Constellation DRL,” with LEDs scattered around the carbon-fibre headlight cluster. Round the back there’s a fully foldable and active top-mounted rear wing (world’s first, apparently) and a custom-designed titanium Akrapovic exhaust system with a “fish tail” outlet.

Yet another novel feature is the use of robotised hydraulics to operate all the body closures. It’s claimed that the “spectacle to open and close the entire car simultaneously (including the Dihedral Synchro Helix Doors) from the remote or smartphone, truly turns the Regera into a transformer.” Err, yeah, whatever that means.

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