What power does it make?
The Netgain HyPer 9 motor makes 173 lbs of torque at 0 RPMs. In most cars you’d drop this into is much more than enough power. For reference a 2020 Subaru BRZ makes about 151 lbs of torque. The HyPer 9 can do roughly 120hp but the actual in car horsepower largely depends on what car you put it into.
What is a synchronous reluctance motor?
The HyPer 9 makes this power using its Synchronous Reluctance Internal Permanent Magnet (SRIPM). Now I’m not an engineer, I’m an average dude, but I’ll do my best to describe what that actually means and what the difference between this and a typical induction motor is.
I’ll describe it in the simplest way I can so keep in mind this isn’t representative of completely how it works. In a typical induction motor, a rotor is propelled by being suspended between alternating electro magnets. This has been how most electric motors have worked since forever basically. This design improved with the introduction of a three-phase coil arrangement. The coil arrangement allowed for the ability to create a rotating magnetic field that moves the rotor. Not that long ago that design was improved with the invention of synchronous reluctance motors.
In a synchronous reluctance motor the rotor moves in sync with the rotating magnetic field created by the three-phase coil arrangement. But, there is some nuance to keeping the rotor in sync with the rotating magnetic field, so a motor controller using software controls the rotating magnetic field and is able to keep the rotor in the proper position at all times. The rotor is also shaped differently than a typical induction rotor, it’s essentially a long shaft that has plates along the whole thing. The plates have a tiny gap between them as well as they’re machined with non magnetic areas that help to create an optimal sync with the RMF (rotating magnetic field).
They’re essentially a software controlled motor. This is what Tesla uses for their motors. It makes a huge difference in output torque, efficiency, and longevity.
This is a great video if you want to learn more about synchronous reluctance motors.