The British company Yasa Motors, which is part of the Mercedes-Benz concern, has officially announced the creation of the world's most powerful electric motor in terms of power-to-weight ratio. The new power unit weighs only 13.1 kg, but at the same time produces an impressive 738 horsepower. According to company representatives, this is an absolute record not only for the automotive industry, but also for the entire global machine-building industry.
The new electric motor demonstrates a unique power-to-weight ratio of 56 horsepower per kilogram. This is more than twice the current industry standard of 20 hp/kg. For comparison, the previous record holder was the Australian Equipmake HPM-400 engine, which weighs 40 kg with a ratio of 54 hp/kg. However, this unit is mainly used in aerospace and marine engineering, while the Yasa Motors solution is aimed at mass implementation in the automotive industry.
Testing of the new engine was carried out last week at a proving ground in the UK. Yasa representatives emphasize that in order to achieve record performance, the company did not resort to the use of exotic materials or expensive innovative technologies. In particular, no cobalt-iron laminates, faceted wire or components made using 3D printing were used. This is an important advantage, as it allows to reduce production costs and make the new engine accessible for mass use in production cars.
After the project is approved, Yasa Motors plans to produce up to 50,000 of these electric motors per year at its Oxfordshire plant. This will allow the company to satisfy not only the internal needs of Mercedes-Benz, but also to offer power units to third parties.
Yasa already has experience in supplying high-performance electric motors for serial hypercars, with the engines used in famous models such as the Koenigsegg Regera and the hybrid Ferrari SF90 Stradale. Now the company intends to take its technology to the next level, making it more accessible to a wider range of the automotive market.
Yasa representatives emphasize that although this record has not yet been officially registered, it is of great importance not only for the company, but also for the entire industry for designing high-performance electric motors. They believe that such developments could become the basis for a new era in automotive engineering, where power and efficiency will be combined with compactness and minimal weight.
Yasa technology is expected to find application in future models of Mercedes-Benz and other brands that are striving to reduce the weight of their electric vehicles, while increasing their dynamics and energy efficiency. The implementation of such solutions will significantly improve acceleration characteristics, increase range by reducing the overall weight of the vehicle and reduce the load on the batteries.