Christian von Koenigsegg, the CEO of the Swedish company that bears his name, has recently given an interview in which he talks about EVs and ICE cars. His stance is pretty obvious and not at all a surprise when it comes to fossil fuel-powered vehicles, but his take on all-electric cars is what might flabbergast some drivers.
From the start, you might consider Christian von Koenigsegg as being biased towards internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, but keep in mind he runs a car company – and an exclusive one as such. So, it’s natural for this man to have an eye on all the new technologies like the “raxial” flux motor. This means he’s open to innovations since his company is doing some of the most important ones at the moment. Automatically, this is a clear sign that he doesn’t simply dismiss EVs. His position, however, reveals some things we all might want to consider.
In the interview with Auto Motor und Sport, he says that it’s hard to differentiate between electric vehicles that are now on sale. The CEO gives a simple example: a customer will drive certain cars, will enjoy different types of engines, and will pick what he likes most from a bunch of options. Some might go for a four-cylinder, while others might like V12s. Who knows, maybe a diesel ends up as being more suitable.
His argument is that we can understand what’s under the hood of different types of ICE cars, and we make our informed or sentimental choices based heavily on this fact. It’s not always happening this way, but when we buy a car we really want, the engine matters a lot.
“Most car enthusiasts feel there’s a difference between a V8 and a V12. A flat-four is kind of fun. A flat-twelve is really cool. It has a lot to do with the fact that we grew up with them and have experience with them and that the differences are relatively obvious. (…) I don’t think we will ever perceive the differences in the way we have with combustion engines,” said Christian von Koenigsegg.
While he may be pessimistic about what enthusiasm EVs will bring to the table, he remains confident in their ability to provide engineers with a lot of fun. The CEO says there are multiple competing solutions on the market, and that’s good for consumers.
It’s hard to disagree with him because we have, on one hand, EVs that are silent, offer crazy power numbers, 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) times that seem to break the laws of physics in some cars like the Model X Plaid or the Rivian R1T or the Hummer EV, and on the other hand, we find the sounds made by V8s, V10s, V12s and even in-line five-cylinder cars to be intoxicating.
For now, we think it's good that drivers have to chance to choose between a plethora of options: ICE, mild hybrid (mHEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), range-extender (REEV), EVs, or even fuel-cell vehicles (FCEVs) are all amazing in their own way. Each car can find its way onto the next owner because that person has certain transportation needs. Moreover, this keeps the competition alive, which should also keep the innovation going. There's no real downside, apart from the environmental impact of using so many materials. The future might change this, and it won't be necessary for the better.
But Christian von Koenigsegg says we can’t know for certain what’s best yet when it comes to EVs because there are multiple components involved that need to work together to provide the best powertrain possible.
Watch the interview down below for yourself and share with us what you found interesting if you’d like that.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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