Ever since we heard whispers about the Koenigsegg Regera about a year ago, we knew it was going to be something special. Since then, those whispers have become shouts—bellows of a 1,000-plus-HP hypercar with no gearbox.
Of course, that last detail piqued everyone’s attention. The guys over at Top Gear—those lucky, lucky bastards—traveled to Koenigsegg’s home in Angelholm, Sweden and spent the day with chief madman Christian von Koenigsegg and his newest hybrid monster.
The Regera has a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8, as well as three electric motors that make 700 HP together. They bring the combined power output to a mind numbing 1,479 HP and 1,465 lb-ft of torque. And how is all of that power governed via no gearbox at all?
From the story:
Koenigsegg Direct Drive (KDD). At its heart is a simple torque converter (“but that sounded like something from 1922, so we call it Hydra-Coup) that allows clutch slip.
So both electric and internal combustion powerplants are managed by one, slightly flexible gear pushing through a 2.73:1 final drive, with the whole lot, a combined 1479bhp and 1475lb ft, controlled by your right foot.
As it turns out, the Regera is actually very pleasant to drive. Writer Ollie Marriage wrote:
As we pull out of the factory onto public roads it feels most like a lazy American V8 muscle car. The noise throbs and rises, but drive takes a second to catch up. That’s the torque converter doing its thing.
Then, at 30mph, if you’re only driving gently, the torque converter stops slipping, locks and gives you direct drive, the V8 churning away at barely tickover. It’s at that moment I start to love the Regera – the connection now feels natural and low rev thrust is unearthly as the electric motors add their bite. “See, like a Tesla, but half a tonne lighter and with another 1,000bhp!” Christian tells me.
[...] At the moment if you’re tickling along at 50mph with the clutch locked and put your foot down, the clutch opens, the revs rise faster than road speed and you have a slight CVT feel. The disconnect between noise and speed disguises the rate of progress – it feels like the clutch has slipped and you’re not accelerating that fast, but when you look down at the speedo you realise that all 1479bhp has found its way to the wheels…
Head over to the Top Gear story for more details and photos.