Though the 2020 Geneva Motor Show was cancelled due to to the increasing COVID-19 situation, Koenigsegg still wanted to unveil their car, and this is what we got. Its an engineering marvel that has pushed our idea of what we previously thought was possible. Its a spacious sedan that would crush any hypercar in its path. If you have a related fact that you would like to have mentioned, make sure to leave a comment below or visit my contact page.
The Koenigsegg Gemera is the companies new GT car (or as they call it a “Super GT” car). They do have good reasons for this though. This car has pushed the limits of what we had known was previously possible, especially for a car with four seats. It’s a 1700 hp hybrid that has reinvented the way we think about what’s possible in a car. The word “Gemera” means to “give more” and that is exactly what this car has done. Lets first talk about the new engine as part of the hybrid system.
The car has an incredibly weird engine (but it has now been called the “Tiny Friendly Giant Engine”. It uses a twin-turbocharged three-cylinder that is used to squeeze out a mind-blowing 600hp. The way it was able to do that is amazing. First of all, the engine has no camshafts to open and close the exhaust valves and intake. Instead, the engine uses pneumatic actuators. They are able to compress and release the valve springs to open and close the valves. This camless system allows for constant variable timing and allows for peak efficiency, emissions, and most importantly power.
A computer is able to control everything and give a great boost in power compared to those engines with cam-shafts along with eliminating a ton of friction. Also, the engine doesn’t need a timing belt or a throttle body thanks to the computer. Another odd thing that gives this car a boost in power is the twin-turbocharging system. I was very confused when I first heard about this. I wondered how it was possible to twin-turbo a 3 cylinder.
I’ll explain how this works. Each cylinder in the engine has two exhaust pipes. One pipe for each cylinder goes two one turbo and the same for the other pipe, therefore, dividing it equally. At low RPM’s, only one turbo spools while at higher RPM’s. This system almost resembles that of a mini straight-six. Also, the engine has a displacement of 2.0 litres and revs and to 8500 RPMs. For a three-cylinder, that’s pretty impressive.
The reason that Koenigsegg used a 3 cylinder is space. They still wanted to comfortably fir four seats and a hybrid system along with the engine meaning that it had to be tiny. Another interesting thing about this car is that the mid-mounted engine only powers the front wheels. Next up is the electric motors.
There are two electrical motors on the back axle and one in the crankshaft making 1100 hp. The car can also go up to 30 miles on just electricity which isn’t bad for a Hyper Hybrid. Each motor on the rear axle makes 500 hp and 1000 nm of torque each. Along with the 600 nm from the engine and the rest from the other motor, this car makes 3500 nm of torque all together. With 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel torque vectoring plus 4 wheel steering, it shoots from 0-60mph in 1.9 seconds and has a top speed of 250 mph. That’s as fast as the purely electric Tesla Roadster. The Gemera has a range of about 600 miles altogether as well.
Koenigsegg gave the machine a titanium Akrapovic exhaust to give you the real three-cylinder noise. Its got 22-inch carbon fibre wheels, and its got incredible butterfly doors that span almost the entire length of the car (this means that the car has no B pillar). It weighs 1850 kg giving it an almost 1:1 power to weight ratio (a feat that Koenigsegg achieved with the 1:1). Along with all of this performance, the Swedish company still didn’t forget that only the extremely wealthy would have the money to buy this car and would still want to be comfortable in the back seats. For each of the seats, there are two cup holders. One is warm and one is cold so that your drinks can stay at the perfect temperature. This means that as Christian Von Koenigsegg said: “You can sip your milkshake and watch Netflix at 400kmh”.
In the end, this is the ultimate family car that can get your kids anywhere instantly. It has pushed what we thought was scientifically possible and has even changed how the engine is built itself. It’s a brilliant car and has revolutionized the industry forever. Thanks for reading this article and please check out some of the other posts that I have written.