What happens when a university engineering project completely upends the power dynamics of the world's most elite supercar manufacturers?
In this episode of the MotoMan Podcast, we meet Dr. Tim Woolmer, the CTO and Founder of YASA Motors. Long before the automotive establishment fully embraced electrification, Woolmer engineered a radical departure from traditional propulsion: the axial flux "pancake" motor.
By rewriting the core physics of electric motor topology, YASA managed to strip away 80% of necessary iron, delivering an astonishing three-to-one power-to-weight advantage over industry-standard radial machines. It is the exact breakthrough technology quietly weaponized inside the apex hyper-hybrids of Koenigsegg, Ferrari and Lamborghini—and it is now stepping directly into mainline production as the core architecture of the upcoming 2027 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door.
Filmed on-site at YASA’s Oxford headquarters, this episode is a technical & narrative deep-dive into the realities of automotive disruption. We trace the journey from a crude 2006 PhD prototype to navigating tight venture funding rounds, partnering with Jaguar on the legendary C-X75 concept, and eventually executing a full corporate acquisition by Mercedes-Benz.
Chapters
00:00:00 - The Future of Italian Exotics Started in Oxford
00:01:26 - A Quick Note on the Vault Episode
00:02:11 - The Pancake Motor That Stopped the Room
00:03:04 - Why YASA Had to Exist
00:03:48 - Radial Motors, Axial Motors, and the Big Difference
00:04:37 - The Tiny Stator With 250 Horsepower
00:05:38 - How a Smaller Motor Makes Way More Power
00:08:58 - Motor Number One: The Oxford PhD Prototype
00:10:04 - Building an EV Startup Before EVs Were Obvious
00:12:03 - The Jaguar C-X75 Moment That Proved It Could Work
00:13:16 - The Hard, Messy Reality of a University Startup
00:15:30 - From ‘I’ to ‘We’: Growing the YASA Team
00:16:17 - The Car Guy Who Was Really an Electric-Car Guy
00:19:04 - Batteries, Motors, Roads, and the Path He Chose
00:21:01 - Morgan, Hydrogen, and the Project That Forced Real Progress
00:23:59 - The Material Constraint That Sparked the Breakthrough
00:26:53 - The Grid Problem Nobody Can Ignore
00:29:28 - Help Grow the Motoman Podcast
00:30:13 - Yes, These Motors Are in Ferraris
00:32:25 - So Where Does Mercedes Fit In?
00:34:30 - Mercedes Didn’t Just Buy Today’s Motor
00:35:13 - Two Generations Ahead and Still Moving Fast
00:36:22 - Inside the Oxford Factory Making the Future
00:39:20 - Ferrari, Mercedes, and the Non-Compete Dance
00:40:47 - Why New Car Tech Has to Enter at the Top
00:43:32 - Aerospace, Patents, and the Moat Around YASA
00:46:10 - Patents Matter, but Speed Matters More
00:47:40 - The Next EV Leap: Moving the Motors
00:49:42 - Why EVs Need to Get More Interesting
00:52:43 - Could This Reach Everyday Mercedes Models?
00:53:59 - DNA, Team, Luck, and the Formula Behind YASA
#YASAMotors #MercedesAMG #Ferrari #AxialFlux #EVTech #AutomotiveEngineering #Koenigsegg #Lamborghini #MotoManPodcast
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