2021 Koenigsegg Gemera
NEWSI OPINIONI GOSSIPI STUFFD
on’t be surprised by the
bucktooth grille; BMW
warned you this was
coming with 2019’s Concept 4.
It’s now been applied to a
sedan, and you can bet the
production i4 won’t be a radical
departure. The head of BMWU
ntil now, Koenigseggs
have been strictly
two-person affairs, but
the Swedish supercar company
wants you to take the kids with
you this time. At 248 mph.
Taking you there won’t be
Koenigsegg ’s usual 5.0-liter
twin-turbo V-8 but instead
a 2.0-liter turbocharged
three-cylinder hybrid. Yeah,you heard me. Eschewing
mechanically controlled
camshafts and timing chain
for pneumatic-hydraulic-
electronic valve actuators, the
Tiny Friendly Giant engine
makes 592 hp and 443 lb-ft.
The actuators give the
computer complete control
over valve timing, lift, and
duration to make big power
and, the company says, 20
percent greater efficiency than
a similarly powerful four-
cylinder of the same displace-
ment. Paired to Koenigsegg ’s
single-speed direct-drive auto-
matic and enhanced by three
motors, total system output is
1,677 hp and 2,581 lb-ft.Powered by a 15-kW-hr
battery, the Gemera will go 31
miles on electric power (per
the WLTP cycle) at up to 186
mph before the gas engine
fires. The car will top out at
248 mph after it hits 60 mph in
a claimed 1.9 seconds. Lighten
your right foot, and the car will
travel 590 miles on a full tank.
All that should be enough
to get the kids to look up fromi Design all but confirmed it
to us during a sneak peek. The
company thinks massive faux
grilles are the way to push
BMW into the future.
At least we can take solace in
knowing the grille is functional,
though not in the traditionalBMW i4 Concept
way. As the i4 is an EV, the
“grille” is actually a housing
for all the various forward-
looking sensors, like radar and
lidar. BMW insists on calling
it the “intelligence panel,”
though we think “body shop’s
nightmare” is also fitting.
As an EV, it’s more Tesla
challenger than Taycan
hunter. BMW claims a range
of up to 373 miles on the more
generous WLTP test cycle,
which winnows down to 270
miles on the EPA’s test. It may
or may not go as far as a Tesla,
but it’ll keep up, with as much
as 530 hp and a 4.0-second
0–60 sprint.Filed under BMW’s i
subbrand, the i4 retains the
minimalist, avant-garde inte-
rior design ethos we know and
love. A massive curved LED
screen seems to float in front
of the dash, and nearly all of
the controls not already incor-
porated into the screen are of
the touch-sensitive variety.
Look for a toned-down
production i4 next year.the built-in rear-seat enter-
tainment system, but warn
them first so they can put their
drinks back in any of the eight
heated and cooled cupholders
and get their devices out of the
four wireless charging trays.
That’s assuming you can get
your family into one of the 300
Gemera coupes Koenigsegg
will build. Expect to pay at
least a million dollars.