The theme is clear at Geneva this year. Supercar platforms with the capability to run a variety of propulsion systems and fuels. The watchwords are technology, Innovation, efficiency and loads of other near incomprehensible technological terms that nobody has ever heard of but pretends to understand.
Is this techno-obfuscation from the boffins in white coats? Or is this genuine striving on the part of the car industry to develop new ways of doing things up against environmental and economic imperatives?
Whatever the reality, Koenigsegg have come up with something that looks, at least, pretty special. They call their green supercar ‘The Quant’, and in the first paragraph of the press release there are the Neo-acronym FAES ( Flow Accumulator Energy Storage), which sounds remarkably like the Flux Capacitor to us, and the term ‘photovoltaic’ which refers to the invisible coating that covers the car, thereby apparently increasing range potential.
We presume the photovoltaic coating somehow converts sunlight to propulsive power, but no one has thought to spell that out to us. The company reckon that combining solar and electric energy with a very low drag coefficient will allow a car like this increased range between plug-ins (Koenignsegg reckon 500 KM)
The projected curb weight of 1780 kg is very light considering that it is a battery-powered, four-seater. This is apparently partly due to the two-motor installation which, weighs in at only 140 kg. A motor that light is a remarkable achievement considering the power output of 512 hp and maximum torque of 715 nm which they reckon allows the Quant to deliver 0 – 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 275 km/h.
According to Koenigsegg Another reason for the car’s low weight is the utilisation of a carbon-fibre monotube backbone chassis, which houses the FAES system safely inside the centreline of the car at the lowest possible position, bringing down the centre of gravity and central mass point. The FAES itself only weighs around 450 kg and contains no hazardous material or heavy metals.
But what actually emerges in the release of these incredible bits of kit is that the communication continues to be a problem. Sure this technology sounds amazingly exciting. But where is the clear explanation of how it works? And how will this sort of staggering tech filter down into cars that we can use, as well as love and admire?
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