Deep dive: Koenigsegg Gemera’s drivetrain

As the automaker’s first four-seater, the Koenigsegg Gemera proved to be an engineering challenge not only in terms of performance, but packaging, as CEO Christian von Koenigsegg explains in a video about the Gemera’s drivetrain.

The Gemera uses a variation of the Light Speed Transmission from the Koenigsegg Jesko. This 9-speed gearbox does away with synchros and a flywheel, allowing it to shift from any gear to another even if they’re numerically out of sequence, while allowing the engine to rev as quickly as possible.

Called the Light Speed Tourbillon, the Gemera’s transmission was developed with lessons learned from the Jesko, and carries over many of the same internals. But it had to be repackaged to fit into the back of the four-seat Gemera without compromising passenger or cargo space.

Koenigsegg’s solution was to essentially wrap the transmission around the engine. It sits between two outriggers that von Koenigsegg calls “cassettes,” which redirect power sideways to the wheels via a series of clutches, which also provided torque vectoring and eliminate the need for a differential. This arrangement allows keeps the crankshaft height below the wheel centerlines, lowering the car’s center of gravity.

The Light Speed Tourbillon still has nine forward gears like the Jesko’s Light Speed Transmission, but because it was designed for use with a hybrid powertrain, there’s no reverse gear. That’s handled by the electric motor on the front axle. That single motor can also power the rear wheels as well for all-electric driving.

A carbon fiber prop shaft sends power from the engine to the front axle, where it’s distributed to each wheel by a pair of clutches (which also enable torque vectoring) housed with the front electric motor and its inverter in an assembly Koenigsegg calls the Bulldog because of the amount of power it harnesses relative to its size.

This drivetrain was originally intended for use with a 2.0-liter turbo-3, which was to work with three electric motors (including two on the rear axle) to produce a combined 1,700 hp. But just ahead of the start of production last year, Koenigsegg announced an available twin-turbo 5.0-liter V-8 that boosts output to 2,300 hp. It then dropped the 3-cylinder engine, a move von Koenigsegg said was driven by customer demand.