Koenigsegg unveils tiny 670hp electric drive unit named “Terrier”

Koenigsegg has unveiled its first in-house electric motor and EV drive unit. Now, as we know, Koenigsegg likes to give names to its creations and the aforementioned things are no exception. The Swedish hyper maker has named the e-motor ‘Quark’ and drive unit ‘Terrier’.

The heart of the Quark motor has been developed jointly by Koenigsegg and Radial Flux. It has been made using hollow carbon fiber technology and offers an outstanding 335 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. Koenigsegg says that the Radial Flux programming plays a big role in the performance and stats the Quark motor offers despite its small size.

The ‘Terrier’ motor consists of two ‘Quark’ e-motors and the two are packed by Koenigsegg’s 6-phase ‘David’ inverter. As a result of the two motors, the Terrier produces 670 horsepower and weighs less than 100kg. Not just power, but the drive unit also offers torque-dense torque-vectoring and we are told that it can be mounted directly to a vehicle chassis. There will be no need for a subframe.

When explaining what this fascinating motor and drive unit combo will do in Gemera, Dragos-Mihai Postariu, design leader of the quark motor, said: "What this means in terms of performance for the Gemera is a big power surge followed by a continuous record-speed push to 400 km/h [248 mph] without any torque or power losses." 

While the Terrier will be seen in the Gemera, Koenigsegg believes that this compact drive unit can even replace high revving petrol engines and offer the same amount of performance and fun. Down the line, Koenigsegg might license the Terrier to other companies as well.