Mercedes has the engine that wants to revolutionize electric cars

Developing an engine, founding a startup and being bought by a company like Mercedes must be the dream come true of any engineer. Precisely, this is what happened when British manufacturer YASA. In 2009, members of the University of Oxford founded the company with one goal in mind: to create axial flux electric motors. After gaining clients like Ferrari, Mercedes saw potential and bought the company in 2021. Now they have created a “tiny” engine capable of delivering 1,000 HP.

In this type of motor, a magnetic field and the force that rotates the rotor occur in a system parallel to the axis of rotation. Parts such as the rotor or stator are arranged in the form of flat, facing discs. In a traditional radial engine we have the classic cylinder with the stator outside, the rotor rotating inside and the magnetic field goes from the center to the outside.

A axial flux electric motor It is a type of motor in which the magnetic field and the force that rotates the rotor run parallel to the axis of rotation. In a radial one, that happens from the center outwards. The radial is the one worn by the current hybrids and electricsbut the axial flow one arrives as a contender to revolutionize the interior of new energy cars thanks to a key advantage: space.

The axial ones are smaller because all the elements are plates on top of each other, which allows them to be much flatter and lighter, as well as capable of developing a lot of power. By polishing its design process, YASA affirms who have achieved a latest generation engine capable of achieving 1,000 HP.

The 1,000 HP engine to revolutionize electric vehicles

It was a few months ago when the Mercedes-Benz subsidiary announced a prototype of an axial engine thatwith just 12.7 kg of weight, is capable of delivering a peak power of 750 kW. That translates into the aforementioned 1,000 HP and the power ratio is 59 kW/kg.

The equipment surpasses the record they also held, that of the density of 42 kW/kg with a total of 55 kW which, in addition, weighed a few grams more, reaching 13.1 kg. Of course, that is the peak power, since YASA itself assures that the objective is for this new engine to be able to offer continuous power between 350-400 kW (about 530 HP).

According to the team, they have achieved this increase in power thanks to improvements in both design and thermal dissipation, making the motor more efficient and constant and without using “exotic materials” to achieve those improvements in dissipation and performance. Tim Woolmer, CEO and founder of YASA, claims that his creation “will change the game in the high-performance automotive sector.”

Because… yes, this engine is not focused on the electric street car at the moment. It is in the world of high performance where an engine this compact and powerful makes perfect sense. The less it weighs and takes up less space, the more the mass and volume are reduced. of the propulsion system, allowing more efficient chassis and larger batteries that improve final autonomy.

Examples of cars that already have YASA engines? He Ferrari SF90 Stradale with three YASA engines that add up to 217 HP and serve as support for the thermal V8 to achieve 987 total HP, the Ferrari 296 GTB with a 165 HP YASA engine on the rear axle, the Koeningsegg Regera with three YASA engines that provide 700 HP or the Lamborghini Revuelto two YASA on the front axle. Mercedes-AMG itself also takes advantage of its technology in the GT four-door coupe.

Now, the interest that this has for the average user is that these innovations They have the potential to end up reaching utility vehicles. At the moment, we drive cars with legacy technologies both competition and supercars, and scalable engines that are easy to mass produce and have a good relationship between weight, the power they deploy and the space they occupy is something attractive for the automotive industry.

The problem? Precisely, the great virtue of this engine: that it represents a paradigm shift. The build platforms have been optimized for radial motor manufacturing processes and changing everything to accommodate an axial flux motor would involve a considerable investment.

For the world of high performance, these engines are already a reality, but for the everyday car they still feel a bit far away.

Images | YASA

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