Having a supercar and being able to push its high speed limits is not something you can easily do on public roads. That’s why the Vmax 200 event at Bruntingthorpe in England attracts some of the country’s best cars each year.
Evo magazine went along to the 2014 event and filed this video for us all to enjoy. The star of the day was a Koenigsegg CCX. Although, that V12 screaming its lungs out in the Lamborghini Aventador sounded very special indeed.
Koenigsegg reckons their Agera R, first shown in Geneva two years ago, still has what it takes to see off the latest hypercar challengers from Ferrari and McLaren.
Firstly, with 830kW (1115hp) available the Agera R has more power than the LaFerrari (708kW) or the P1 (675kW) and, crucially, at 1418kg with fluids they say it weighs less as well. The Huayra is lighter than the Agera R, just, but with a paltry 539kW on tap it’s little wonder Koenigsegg is having a wee chuckle.
Oh, and with a v-max of 420km/h the Agera R really does laugh at its competition, which are all wallowing in top speeds that start with a lowly three.
Koenigsegg is also confident it can see off any of its challengers at the track as well and on road tyres. Which is a not so subtle dig at Pagani who fitted its Huayra with specially made hand-cut slick tyres before handing it over to The Stig, who then set a new lap “record” around the Top Gear track.
Of course, the Agera R does hold a number of world records regarding acceleration and braking, so it’s no surprise they are so confident. All we need now is for someone to get all four cars in the one location and let them rip!
[Source: Cars UK]
The Geneva Motor Show is still underway over in Europe and while we’re sure almost all of our readers would love to be there we’re doing the best we can to bring you a little closer to the action. Here is the first installment of over 250 pictures from the show, from Alfa Romeo to Lamborghini, which includes some of the great and not so great models on display.
That Lamborghini’s not getting any prettier is it.
It’s taken us a while to get to this video from Drive, which takes us inside the Koenigsegg factory in Angelholm, Sweden. But it has definitely been worth the wait and we’re sure you’ll agree.
While Ron Dennis would probably have heart palpitations that the factory is not fastidiously spotless or organised, we think he’d get off on Christan von Koenigsegg explaining the finer details of carbon fibre production. Not to mention the detailed explanation of how the door hinges work and why they were created.
In fact, if you love cars and don’t come away from this video without a man crush on von Koenisegg then you must sell whatever machinery you love and trade it in for a beige Corolla.
Oh, one more thing, in the video von Koenigsegg makes mention of “the record”. If you need a reminder of what that is all about, click here.
After a couple of days for press previews the doors to the 2012 Geneva Motor Show are about to be opened to the public. Figuring you probably can’t make it we’re bringing you our biggest photo gallery ever. That’s right, there’ll be over 200 images from the floor of Geneva for you to enjoy.
We’ve kept things varied and ensured there’s dream cars, like the Ferrari F12berlinetta and Lamborghini Aventador J, as well as everyday stuff like the new Audi A3 and the Subaru Impreza Hatch. Then there’s the Valmet Automotive Dawn. We’re not quite sure what that is and you’ll see it in part 2 of our gallery, to be added later today.
After the break you can enjoy the first installment where we’ve taken an alphabetical approach and presented manufacturers from A–K.
21.19 seconds.
Back in early September the spectacular 830kW/1418kg Koenigsegg Agera R grabbed headlines around the world for claiming a total of six world records. The claims centred around brutal acceleration as well as braking performance.
The record for the fastest two-seat production car to go from 0–300–0km/h has now been ratified by Guinness World Records. For those keeping score at home the time was 21.19 seconds. It’s not immediately clear if Guinness has rubber stamped the other five claims.
Video footage of the Agera R doing its thing can be seen after the break.
The Koenigsegg Agera R hardly needs to prove to anyone that it’s a bloody fast car. A quick glance over its key stats will confirm that. It has an 830kW 5.0 litre V8 twin-turbo and weighs a relatively modest 1418kg. Surely, if you put 830kW into 1418kg you will get supersonic!
Not quite, perhaps, but the Koenigsegg website reveals a new list of production car world records waiting to be ratified by Guiness. They include standing acceleration and braking times. Here’s the full list:
Impressive, don’t you think. Koenigsegg say they will be posting video of these feats to YouTube very soon.
The creation you see before you is the Koenigsegg Agera R. Normally, we would be quite scornful of the Speed Racer theme Koenigsegg have adorned this car with, but, on this occasion, we’re willing to forgive them. There’s two reasons why.
Firstly, the 5.0 litre twin-turbo V8 produces a maximum of 1115hp—that’s an astonishing 830kW. And, secondly, for that custom made Thule roof box. It’s as stupid as it is awesome. With that in mind, even the Speed Racer graphics look kinda cool.
The name Agera means ‘to take action’ in Swedish and that’s exactly what this Agera R will do. Helping get all that power to the ground are custom Michelin tyres, rated for speeds beyond 420km/h, and an E-diff that relies initially on traditional mechanical parts before electronics step in to complement the system.
To aid progress the Agera R features a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. But, like the diff, this isn’t what we’ve come to expect either. It uses a single input shaft and a combination of wet and dry clutch systems. Koenigsegg reckon their way is lighter and faster than the competition.
Speaking of lightness, the Agera R weighs in at 1330kg, or 1418kg with fluids and half a tank of fuel. Ooh, it’s going to be very rapid, isn’t it! Just as well the wheels have special spokes to aid downforce, then.
There’s more after the break and we recommend you download the full press release as that’s where you’ll find all the cool techy stuff.
Here is the AUSmotive photo gallery from the Australian International Motor Show industry day. There are 128 photos in all and you can simply click on each thumbnail to access a 2000px super image.
Highlights include a couple of track specials in the form of the awesome Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the rear-engined V6 Renault Megane Trophy. Others to look out for are the Toyota FT-86G concept, the Ford Focus RS, a trio of Lamborghini Gallardos and the highly desirable Audi R8 V10 Spyder, which looks great in all white.
Dedicated articles on the following cars can be access by clicking on the links below:
A big thank you to Daniel McKenna who joined the AUSmotive crew at AIMS and brought you many of the pictures you see here.
Koenigsegg have announced they are pulling out of their agreement with General Motors to purchase Saab. Months of negotiations have, ultimately, counted for nothing.
“We regret that after six months of intense and determined work we have come to the painful and difficult conclusion that we are unable to complete the acquisition of SAAB Automobile,” said Christian von Koenigsegg.
The Swedish supercar maestro had teamed up with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co to forge a deal that would see Koenigsegg have the backing to buy Saab, in exchange for handing over a minority share to the Chinese.
Christian von Koenigsegg explains, “Unfortunately, delays in closing this acquisition have resulted in risks and uncertainties that prevent us from successfully implementing the new SAAB Automobile business plan.”
For their part, GM are understandably upset, “We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” said GM President and CEO, Fritz Henderson. “Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create a sustainable plan for the future of Saab by selling the brand and its manufacturing interests to Koenigsegg Group AB. Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.”
[Source: Wall Street Journal | Pic: Carstudio.it]
The New York owner of this Koenigsegg CCX has just lived through his worst nightmare. His car was crashed by somebody else. Y’know, it would be one thing if a thief stole the car and crashed it. You don’t tend to trust a thief all that much, so as difficult as it would be, you could probably still deal with that scenario.
Imagine, then, how hard it would be to reconcile the situation if it was some schmuck from your local Koenigsegg dealership that did this to your pride and joy. It gets worse, too. Not only did the prize clown do that to the CCX, he also took down a Porsche 911 GT2 in the process.
Perhaps the only satisfaction from this ordeal is imagining how tight the sphincter of the culprit would have been when he made the phone call to the car’s owner. Ouch!
[Source: TopGear via WreckedExotics]
How’s this for a great story, Aussie tourist Mark, decides to check out the small city of Ängelholm in Sweden’s deep south. It’s a small town known mainly for Skälderviken bay which is well known for wave sailors, wind surfers and the like. But, it is also the home town of Koenigsegg. So, Mark gets himself to the factory and starts taking a peek around. Soon enough he meets this big bloke who suggests he probably shouldn’t be there. A few brief words and Mark has just become mates with Christian von Koenigsegg who then takes him on a private tour of his factory.
Nice going Mark, great story. Lucky bastard! You can read and see more on this PerformanceForums post (strong language warning).