1,800 HP Koenigsegg Regera Acceleration Sounds Odd, with V8 Growl, But No Gear Change

Not too far away in the past, many car aficionados believed the Swedish carmaker’s response to the LaFerrari, P1 and 918 Spyder was their Megawatt car. However, Koenigsegg didn’t choose to show Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche an internal combustion-only middle finger.

Instead, they came up with the Regera, a petrol-electric hybrid that plays the double or nothing card, delivering 1,800 hp.

So far, we’ve only seen the Regera accelerating at the pace of a soap box racecar at the starting line. However, the footage below comes to change that, offering us a decent taste of this monster hybrid’s acceleration.

Some of you might finish watching the clip with your eyebrows raised, as the K machine’s soundtrack almost reminds us of a CVT. That’s right, we have plenty of V8 burble, but no gear changes. That’s because the Regera doesn’t pack the kind of transmissions we’re used to.

Sure, the sprint seen in the footage isn’t exactly the kind that produces the announced 12s time for the 0 to 186 mph (300 km/h) time, but it does get the aural job done, demonstrating the soundtrack of the machine.

Instead of a conventional gearbox, the Regera features a piece of kit called the Koenigsegg Direct Drive. This consists of a compact, crank-mounted electric motor that works together with a hydraulic coupling to help Koenigsegg’s tried and tested 5-liter twin-turbo V8 deliver 1,100 hp to the rear wheels.

Each of the rear wheels features a dedicated electric motor, with the three units used offering a combined output of 700 hp. When the hypercar takes off, the hydraulic coupling is open, with the machine relying on electric power alone.

As the engine revs climb, the coupling starts closing, while the crank-mounted motor also begins to feed power to the wheels.

I’ve always felt that, on many occasions, the technical level of a company is measured by the effectiveness of its transmissions more than that of its engines. Well, these Swedes have basically eliminated the gearbox as we know it.

The 1,800 hp and 1,475 lb-ft (2,000 Nm) output is impressive and while most transmissions would have issues sending all that torque to the ground and keeping the car drivable, the Swedish carmaker ensures us its hardware works excellent.