Koenigsegg Direct Drive

Traditional hybrids represent a compromise when it comes to weight, complexity, cost, packaging and efficiency.

The Regera is not what we at Koenigsegg would call a traditional hybrid as it does not have the traditional shortcomings of a hybrid. Instead, the Regera is a new breed of hybrid. It is a new breed of Koenigsegg and a new breed of car, for that matter.

Traditional ‘parallel’ hybrids are compromised and heavy as they have two independent propulsion systems moving the car. While ‘series’ hybrids are less compromised when it comes to weight, complexity and costs, they are compromised when it comes to efficiency as there is too much energy conversion taking place.

The Koenigsegg Direct Drive transmission (KDD) was invented by Christian von Koenigsegg and developed for the Regera by the Koenigsegg Advanced Engineering team.

The patent-pending KDD replaces the combustion engine’s traditional transmission – the gearbox as you know it is removed from the car. In its place, the KDD provides direct drive to the rear axle from the combustion engine without the need of multitude gears or a variable transmissions, all of which have inherently high energy losses.

During highway travel, for example, the KDD reduces drivetrain losses compared to a traditional transmission or CVT by over 50% as there is no step up or step down gear working in series with the final drive – just direct power sent from the engine to the wheels.

The Regera has three YASA developed electric motors, which supplement the energy from the combustion engine. Aside from providing extreme responsiveness, these electric motors also allow for torque vectoring, regenerative braking and energy conversion. YASA´s axial flux motors are extremely power dense, making them a key-ingredient for the KDD. There is one YASA motor for each rear wheel, providing electric direct drive, and one on the crankshaft that provides torque-fill, electrical generation and starter motor functionality.

The three electric motors constitute the most powerful electrical motor set-up in production car history, replacing the gears of a normal transmission. This provides all-important weight savings as well as adding power, torque and torque vectoring capability.