Sweden's Laferrari-Fighting Upstart Supercar Will Blow Your Mind – and Not Just Because It Has 1119Kw #1607, 02 June 2016, Page 100
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#1607, 02 June 2016, page 98. NEWby JOAKIM DYREDAND picsW JAMES HOLM 'ERA 'ERA Sweden's LaFerrari-fighting upstart supercar will blow your mind – and not just because it has 1119kW #1607, 02 June 2016, page 100. The Regera produces 704kW per tonne; a Porsche 911 Turbo S makes do with just 267kW per tonne #1607, 02 June 2016, page 100. ts streamlined forward using a combination of electricity and the Centre stack houses creator Christian internal combustion engine. With no gearbox, at low the batteries, von Koenigsegg speeds the petrol engine feeds its power through while touchscreen has been driving a patented lightweight hydraulic coupling dubbed infotainment system the Regera up until HydraCoup. compatible with Apple Carplay and Android now, and I’ve been Von Koenigsegg explains further: "The electric Auto for navigation and in the passenger motors, placed after the hydraulic clutch, are [the] audio functions seat, listening major power sources until the crankshaft and rear reverently to his axle are running at the same speed, as the internal I description of the combustion engine is in 'seventh gear' from the start, project. And having speed-wise." my mind blown From behind the wheel, even with the petrol in slow motion. I engine virtually at idle the speed slowly increases. want to understand The hydraulic coupling generally 'locks up' at around the Regera, but I can’t – at least not entirely. No 50km/h – felt through a barely perceptible jerk – gearbox? Hydraulic couplings? F1-style batteries? It’s though this can vary depending on throttle angle and no enormous surprise the price looks like a barcode speed. "[We] installed new software late last night," (US$1.89m if you're curious, or around AU$2.6m. And explains von Koenigsegg. "I think it locks the clutch a that’s pre-taxes…) little too late now. And that little twitch you felt at the The time comes to swap seats and while we’ree lock, we intend to remove that completely." spared the riot act for a 1119kW hypercar, von This new technology can be a little difficult to get Koenigsegg does give one warning. "Do not use the your head around, but the boss does his best to break headlight flasher,” he says, sternly. “We’ve replaced it down. "You are the first journalist in the world to that function with ignition-off, where everything will be switched off, even at speed." Imagine the scenario: a polite flash of the headlights before overtaking a slower motorist leads to the world's only Regera going dead, right at the crucial moment. This is the exact same car that took the Geneva Motor Show by storm in 2015. Normally, a carmaker's concept cars are not capable of more than walking speed, but this one is different. Koenigsegg'soenigsegg's tiny size means its concepts have to do double duty as development mules once their show duties are done, so this Regera has to be able to hit about 400 km/h and be a test bed for a completely new chapter in terms of design and technology for Koenigsegg. But it's not the finished article. The red Regera displayed at this year's Geneva show was not merely a repainted version of this prototype, but almost a totally new car thanks to some 3000 changes. As such, this is not the definitive verdict on the new Regera, rather a taste of Koenigsegg's imaginative new mechanicals. Some would call them revolutionary, beginning with the transmission which has just one forward gear. With no gearbox to operate, the steering wheel mounted paddles simply control drive direction: left for reverse, right for forward, or pull both simultaneously for Park. Drive engaged, the car moves #1607, 02 June 2016, page 102. drive a production car with an internal combustion The cabin is noisy, a result of this prototype lacking engine connected directly to the rear wheels," says any catalytic converters and the exhaust valves being von Koenigsegg. "The Regera is no plug-in hybrid permanently open. The 'fishtail' pipes are constructed in the usual sense. We only use electricity when we by Slovenian exhaust specialists Akrapovic and end in want to change the speed quickly, during braking or two narrow pipes that form part of the venturi tunnel. when reversing. At low speeds, the majority of the The large central chrome exhaust actually houses the power comes from electricity, but we also take energy cooling fans for the electric motors. "It’s only when the from the combustion engine into the hydraulic clutch car stops after a hard driving session that some hot air and let it get torque converted. However, the electric will come out of here," explains von Koenigsegg. Flying ghost emblem on power is available all the way up to about 400km/h, Approaching a roundabout, lifting off begins to Regera's engine cover a but with diminishing effect over 300km/h." charge the batteries through regeneration, however tribute to Swedish Air Force fighter squadron With the drivetrain locked in Direct Drive, a the production car's system will be much more push of the accelerator brings immediate, blazing powerful. The prototype uses the best available acceleration. Eradicating the gearbox reduces commercial batteries, but the production Regera powertrain losses by around 50 per cent, which utilises Formula 1 battery technology, which can be in the Regera's case means about an extra 37kW charged far more aggressively. "We can regenerate reaching those enormous 345/30 rear tyres, though 200kW, which is about three times more than any today the car is running on Michelin winter rubber other commercial battery pack," says von Koenigsegg. measuring 225/45 R19 front and 285/45 R19 rear. "Unlike other cars in this category, we have the same With 820kW/1280Nm from the 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8 amount of charge left in the battery after a flat-out lap augmented by a further 520kW/900Nm from the three on a racetrack." electric motors, it's little wonder the acceleration The slowdown has fully charged the batteries, focuses the mind. Combined, the two power sources however as I begin to accelerate again the car starts produce a maximum of 1119kW/2115Nm, for a faintly to move erratically. Von Koenigsegg tells me to pull ludicrous power-to-weight ratio of 704kW/tonne. A over and hit the headlight flasher to shut the car Porsche 911 Turbo S, for example, makes do with down immediately. The newly installed software has 267kW/tonne. misread the situation and doesn't have the ability to soft shutdown charging when the battery is full. Von Koenigsegg assures me it is a completely harmless fault and we activate EV mode to drain the batteries slightly. "We intend to offer EV mode on customer cars, but it's mostly designed to be used in the garage, or maybe if you come home late,” he says. “We have chosen not to type-approve Regera as a plug-in hybrid; it would take at least another six months of institutional tests. Theoretically, the Regera is able to deliver super-low CO2 values, but it is not a priority for customers and not why we electrified the car." Upon our return to Koenigsegg's airfield test track the software hiccup is quickly fixed by software engineer Alex Olsson, though it could also have been done wirelessly as the Regera is constantly connected to the 4G network. This Regera has been running around 20–30 hours per week since returning from the Geneva Motor Show last year. The number of #1607, 02 June 2016, page 102. Electric power is available all the way up to 400km/h, with diminishing eff ect over 300km/h #1607, 02 June 2016, page 104. Under hard acceleration the noise is almost deafening and the power nothing short of breathtaking #1607, 02 June 2016, page 104. Digital display custom made for prototype to display telemetry; production version will have very different instruments kilometres is hard to say, as the trip computer has been reset or replaced several times. This continual development has led to those 3000 changes which have been made to the final production version. Unfortunately, as we reach Koenigsegg's test area the rain begins in earnest, lowering the grip level significantly. And the traction control system is not incorporated yet. Still, this is not an opportunity to let slip, if you'll pardon the pun. The Regera driving experience cannot be compared to any other car. It's perhaps closest to a Tesla Model S, which also has no gearbox, or a car equipped with a CVT, while also being not really like either. Where a CVT will hold a certain rev point and wait for road speed to catch up, the Regera's Direct Drive system means once past the hydraulic coupling's lock-up point engine revs and road speed are directly correlated. If the car is scaling an incline the rear electric motors can compensate for the rise to maintain acceleration, and at speeds below 200km/h pulling the right-hand steering wheel paddle will engage the HydraCoup and allow some torque slip, increasing the combustion engine's revs which subsequently increases acceleration. Above 200km/h the twin-turbo V8 is revving at more than 4000rpm and generating so much power when supported by the electric motors that maximum acceleration is achieved without any torque multiplication effect being required. With a long, clear airstrip I apply a healthy dose of throttle and two long black strips of molten rubber to the latest Agera.