Geneva 2009: Koenigsegg Quant Concept

Well, as expected, new pictures, details and information on the Quant concept has been released . We first got word of the car last month a little less then two weeks ago when the company leaked a teaser of the front end.

With the new releases we find out a lot of information we didn't know previously; very little details were supplied along with the original teaser photo. I'm in serious like!

Look at that long, flowing side body line that morphs right into the front fenders. It's a very futuristic look that still manages to be beautiful, an undoubtedly hard feat for designers to pull off. Beautiful and futuristic usually don't go together in the same sentence.

I don't know about you, but for me it's hard to believe that's a Koenigsegg design! 

Hopefully, it's a harbinger of a future styling direction from the company. The car serves as more then just as a design excercise though.

The Quant is an electric vehicle and some amazing claims have been made in that regard. There is an electric motor powering each rear wheel, which helps to save weight by eliminating the need for gears and a differential.

In fact, the entire car weighs in at only 3,924 pounds, an very low number for a electric vehicle of this size.

Some of the technology used on the Quant Concept is a result of a collaboration with a company called NLV Solar AG . NLV Solar lended it's expertise in solar technology, with it's special photovoltaic paint coating the entire vehicle. 

The battery pack technology, dubbed Flow Accumulator Energy Storage (FAES), weighs in at around 1,000 pounds and contains no hazardous materials or heavy metals. 

How does a 312-mile estimated range and full-recharge in 20 minutes from a commercial grade power source sound? (!!) If true, these represent huge steps forward for electric vehicles and battery technology in general.

Consider my interest piqued! For now the Quant is just a concept (and definitely not a thinly guised production model either) but Koenigsegg says it's exploring possibilities for production.

I'd love to see this make it to production; it's a large, luxurious Grand Tourer that seats 4 and would signal a whole new (and I think very prosperous) future for Koenigsegg. Sign me up!