Koenigsegg for 4

The supersaloon onslaught continues. Koenigsegg is the latest supercar manufacturer to unveil plans for a four-seater with this, the Quant. While it’s not a saloon in the strictest sense – there are just two gullwing doors, for instance – it intends to offer the space and luxury of one inside. As well as a 3102mm wheelbase and four individual seats, the side glass is split so that all four passenger gets a window each to operate.

The bigger news, though, is the Quant’s propulsion method. Following on from the E85 biofuel Koenigsegg CCXR, the all-new car will be ‘solar electric’. The Swedish supercar maker has worked with solar power pioneers NLV Solar on a new type of battery technology called Flow Accumulator Energy Storage (FAES).  FAES is said to be a lighter solution to notoriously heavy batteries that are partially responsible for the Tesla Roadster weighing around 50 per cent more than the Lotus Elise on which it’s based. The FAES accumulator still weighs in at 450kg, although it is early days for the technology. 

In addition, the car will be covered in incredibly thin photovoltaic film that garners the sun’s energy to enhance the range, said to be 300-plus miles on one charge, as well as providing an additional slice of power. A slippery 0.27Cd drag coefficient will help to stretch as many miles as possible out of the on-board power. A full plug-in charge will take 20 minutes.

The claimed outputs are 505bhp and 527lb ft of torque, and the performance claims are 5.2sec to 62mph and a 172mph top speed. Impressive stuff considering the rear-drive Quant weighs nearly 1800kg, a big gain over the company’s light-footed 1200kg hypercars thanks to its emphasis on luxury and the additional weight of the electric technology.

There’s a full-scale model of the car at the Geneva motor show, with Koenigsegg and NLV Solar currently working on running prototypes with production fully on the cards.