A report from Swedish news service Realtid is providing some clues as to what are Koenigsegg's plans now that they will be buying the Saab brand.
According to Realtid, Koenigsegg's Quant concept, an electric car which debuted at the Geneva auto show, will go into production using Saab's manufacturing capacity. Solar power technology on the model will be provided by Swiss firm NLV Solar AG.
Koenigsegg's Quant concept claims to have a range of 500 km (311 miles) and the ability to fully recharge its batteries in 20 minutes. That's quite a declaration given the current state of battery technology. One that warrants some skepticism. What's more, Koenigsegg and NLV Solar have said that the batteries do not degrade and can be re-charged an infinite amount of times. The car comes covered in photovoltaic panels (solar) and with regenerative breaking to help keep the batteries juiced.
Power numbers on the Quandt are the electrical equivalent of 512 hp and 715 Nm of torque. Top speed is 275 km/h. Okay, gotcha.
We have to take such reports with a grain of salt but there may be something to what the source of the report is telling Realtid. It could be that Koenigsegg has seized on the opportunity to buy Saab for a song, get government guarantees in the form of loans, and use the money and infrastructure to beat competitor Tesla to the production floor. Tesla is currently applying for government loans in the US in order to begin production on its 5-seat electric sedan model.
According to this source, Koenigsegg's plans to take Saab production up to 150,000 cars per year by 2011. Saab has the capacity for that, having produced 130,000 vehicles in 2006.
But the plan also includes maintaining the Saab lineup, with the 9-3 and 9-5 models being produced at the automaker's main plant in Trollhättan, Sweden, as well as a new 9-4X model to be produced in Mexico. Where the Quant fits into all this remains a huge question.
Still, all very interesting. If a car maker today could really build an electric car with a 500 km range and a 20 minute re-charge time, they've got something to sell.
