The electric motor (left) and the inverter.
LONDON: British-based electric motor manufacturer Helix has come up with a powerful new drive for a so far unidentified hypercar manufacturer.
Chief engineer Derek Jordanou-Bailey said the SPX 177 single motor uses "top end" materials and can deliver 650kW/872hp. It weighs only 28kg.
The motor delivered over 700kW/939hp peak on the test stand and "could potentially deliver more, we didn't push it," Jordanou-Bailey is quoted as saying on the company's website.
The power output represents a breakthrough in electric motor technology. If denser and thus scarcely heavier batteries are added, the upward weight spiral of the e-car could finally be reversed. Many contemporary EVs are hampered by the high weight of their batteries.
Carmakers can buy the Helix motor "off the shelf" and have it configured to fit a new vehicle. Possible customers cold be McLaren or Lotus after industry rumours a few years' ago indicated a UK manufacturer was looking to build an electric hypercar.
The winding technology and software control of the motor should ensure low temperatures - always an issue at up to 25,000 revolutions per minute. The drive unit is coupled with a 13-kilogramme inverter package that converts the battery's direct current into alternating current.
A proposal for an initial small production batch is in the pipeline and Helix said it is supporting the unnamed customer's integration of the power unit into the vehicle.
"Then there'll be liaison with their software team, but since the motor and inverter are already paired, we expect it to largely be plug and play," said Jordanou-Bailey.
