Koenigsegg Gemera's Dark Matter Electric Motor Breaks All the Rules

Koenigsegg’s unique Dark Matter electric motor combines both radial and axial flux in a 6-phase configuration.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

July 24, 2023

3 Min Read
Koenigsegg Gemera 34.png
The Koenigsegg Gemera.Koenigsegg

Innovative Swedish boutique carmaker Koenigsegg has revealed a new 6-phase electric motor for its four-seat Gemera supercar that establishes new benchmarks for power density. The Dark Matter motor employs the same “Raxial Flux” configuration introduced last year in the company’s Quark electric motors, combining features of both radial flux and axial flux functions into a single motor.

Normally, radial flux e-motors are better for delivering power and axial-flux e-motors provide torque. The Raxial Flux design promises to deliver the benefits of both in a single motor. The Dark Matter includes Koenigsegg’s Raxial Flux design in a new motor that is a 6-phase alternating current configuration rather than the usual 3-phase system.

Conventional 3-phase induction motors stagger the sine waves of three separate AC current supplies at 120-degree intervals to create mostly continuous power delivery. Dark Matter’s 6-phase system shortens the sine wave intervals to just 60 degrees, largely filling the valleys between the peaks of the 3-phase motor’s power supply.

Koenigsegg initially planned to install a trio of the Quark 3-phase motors in the Gemera, but has pivoted to using a single Dark Matter 6-phase motor. The motor delivers 800 horsepower and 922 lb.-ft. (1,250 Newton-meters) of torque from a device that weighs a paltry 86 lbs. (39 kg) and measures only 383.3 mm x 381.5 mm x 135.5 mm (15.0 in. x 15.0 in. x 5.3 in.).

E-Motor Development Lead András Székely explained at the launch of the Quark motor how Koenigsegg has minimized the weight of its electric motors, saying “We constructed the shaft within the Quark out of 300M steel used in motorsports and aerospace.”

Koenigsegg Gemera drivetrain layout

The Koenigsegg Gemera locates its V8 engine at the rear and puts the single Dark Matter electric motor at the front of the car, with power going to all four wheels.

That 300M steel is frequently used in applications such as aircraft landing gears, flap tracks, and airframe parts, according to supplier Tech Steel and Materials. It is a low-alloy, vacuum-melted steel with silicon, vanadium, carbon, and molybdenum, the site explains.

The Dark Matter motor also uses direct cooling as a weight-saving measure, continued Székely. “Direct cooling was chosen for its higher cooling efficiency and compact design. Even the rotor uses the renowned Koenigsegg Aircore hollow carbon fiber technology. We not only overcame the challenge of the Gemera’s powertrain requirements but also exceeded goals of making it lighter and smaller than any electric motors in this class.” 

When combined with the optional 1,500-horsepower twin-turbocharged “hot vee” V8 engine, the Gemera will pack an eye-popping 2,300 total horsepower and 2,029 lb.-ft. (2,750 Nm) of torque. "The Gemera HV8 is not only the most powerful and extreme production car on planet Earth, with an astonishing 1.11 hp per kg, but it is also the most practical and user-friendly sports car ever created,” boasted company CEO and founder Christian von Koenigsegg.

 

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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