SPX177 case study

Helix’s X-Division has developed the most powerful pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) motor the company has ever produced.

Application

Hyper car

Weight

28 kg

Continuous Power

650kW

Continuous Torque

398Nm

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SPX177

ParameterUnit
Power peak (kW)711
Power continuous (kW)650
Torque peak (Nm)408
Torque continuous (Nm)398
Speed max (rpm)25,000
Weight (kg)28.3
Overall motor length (mm)261
Stator length (mm)165
Overall unit diameter (mm)206.2
Materials category5

Going beyond

For the SPX177, X-Division used the ‘top end’ in materials. The focus was on ultimate performance, accepting that the machine would be more demanding to manufacture; in those terms, it is similar to an F1 or Formula E power unit.

“The SPX177 is a 2x 3-phase motor and to meet the phase current demands at ‘normal’ DC voltages at extremely high power levels we shared its current across two inverters. The package is extremely power dense and weighs just 41kg. Six high-voltage cables connect the inverter to the motor, while an LV connector carries the control signals.”

Helix Chief Engineer and project leader Derek Jordanou-Bailey

Developed for an unidentified hypercar manufacturer, one SPX177 will be installed per vehicle – the customer therefore specified a demanding 650kW steady-state power. Required peak power was also predictably high and the SPX177 delivered more than 700kW on the test stand, with obvious potential for more.

Weight was another important consideration and compared to the latest, highly boosted internal combustion engines, the SPX177 has less than 1/7th the mass for equivalent continuous power output. Since the battery pack is the major item around which an electric hypercar is packaged, the SPX177’s low mass enables creative options for where the motor is installed, helping designers optimise the car’s layout.

Unique architecture

X-Division engineered the SPX177 architecture to minimise losses and heat generation, especially at high-speed, winding the motor differently to reduce losses through resistance and creating a very low inductance unit. Switching in the inverter can generate noise and harmonics in any machine but is more challenging with a low inductance motor and the Helix software team developed a new way of controlling phase currents in the SPX177.

Through careful detail design, advanced software and an exceptional onboard cooling system, the SPX177 ran extremely well, delivering record-breaking steady-state power.

The revolutionary new 650kW Helix SPX177 continuous output
low-inductance motor and twin inverter.

Customer support

With the initial SPX177 delivered to the customer, Helix is supporting its integration into the vehicle. The motor and invertors were paired before shipping and the entire package designed as far as possible to be plug and play. A core X-Division team took the SPX177 from concept, through design, build and test in little more than two years. Work towards an initial small ‘production’ batch is under way.

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