SPX177 case study
Hyper car
28 kg
650kW
398Nm
SPX177
| Parameter | Unit |
|---|---|
| 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 category | 5 |
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.
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.
