Koenigsegg: Supercars with Green Technology

Some automakers are not content with producing cars that become established members of the luxury car community ferrying the kids to school or the boss to a meeting across town. Super cars produced by Koenigsegg are for car enthusiasts who not only have the money to afford such an extravagant purchase, but also have the stomach to experience the speed and performance that is pretty much unrivaled in the performance car marketplace.

Koenigsegg produces limited production hyper-cars with engines that are created in-house to produce over 1,000 hp in some models, while also shattering the top speed 200 mph barrier. Koenigsegg cars are street-legal, managing to pass all stringent safety and emissions standards including the European pedestrian impact tests that low production cars such as those produced by Koenigsegg no longer have to pass. Koenigsegg has also produced models that run on biofuels such as Ethanol, which has a higher octane rating and leads to improved horsepower and better performance.

The current standards set by the new Koenigsegg One are hard to fathom. A theoretical top speed of 280 mph, a 0-100 km/hr acceleration of 2.8 seconds and a 0-400 km/hr time of 20 seconds are just some of the marks that this “world’s first megacar” can produce. In the Koenigsegg One, the automaker has achieved the unthinkable by producing a car with 1,360 PS that weighs just 1,360 kg. One PS/kg is what the Koenigsegg One is all about.

History of Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg CCX

Koenigsegg was founded in Sweeden by Christian Von Koenigsegg in 1994 with the purpose of producing a super car that would compete against the world’s best. After years of development, the company’s first street-legal super car was produced in 2002 with the delivery of a red Koenigsegg CC8S to a customer at the Geneva Auto Show. Four more CC8S models were produced that year and were followed up by the production of the Koenigsegg CCR in 2004 with a total of 14 cars produced.

The company was initially headquartered in Olofstrom, but moved to Margretetorp outside of Angelholm in 1997. In 2003, one of the production facilities caught fire and was badly damaged forcing Koenigsegg to move into a factory that was converted from two fighter jet hangers and an office building on the grounds of the Angelholm airport. Koenigsegg uses the airport to fly in clients and for shakedown runs on the runway with its vehicles.

In 2006, Koenigsegg managed to meet worldwide regulations for road use with the development of the CCX model. The stringent safety and emissions standards forced Koenigsegg to develop its own engines and related technologies in order to meet these demands. Koenigsegg even passed European pedestrian impact tests that eventually didn’t apply to cars with such low-volume production levels.

The early models of Koenigsegg cars used a Ford V8 racing engine that was based on the SVT Mustang Cobra model. The CCX model introduced in 2006 included a new engine that was developed by Koenigsegg with a dry sump system, separate oil pump and pistons cooled by an internal cooler that sprays oil onto them so they withstand the high cylinder pressures encountered with using 91 octane fuel. This enables the engine to run on ethanol and achieve higher horsepower and greater performance.

Koenigsegg CCXR

The Koenigsegg CCXR biofuel/flexfuel model introduced in 2007 was capable of running on both regular gasoline and high octane ethanol fuels. Koenigsegg introduced a special edition Trevita model in 2009 with a body of proprietary Diamond Weave carbon fiber. Only three Trevita cars were produced with the special Diamond Weave bodywork, double carbon rear wing, inconel exhaust system and more. This same year (2009) Koenigsegg came close to purchasing Saab but backed out when the timing of the finalization of the takeover looked too long and uncertain.

The Agera, released in 2010, became Top Gear Magazine’s Hypercar of the Year and still remains the standard Koenigsegg model with four different variations that are produced today. The Koenigsegg One was just presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March of this year.

Milestones and Innovations

Koenigsegg CCR

In February of 2005, the Koenigsegg CCR set a Guinness record for the fastest production car in the world by attaining a top speed of 241.63 mph on the circular Nardo Ring in Italy.
The Koenigsegg Agera 5.0 liter twin turbo V8 engine weighs only 434 lbs. It has a carbon-fiber intake manifold and aluminum construction to help keep the weight down.
The Koenigsegg One came out in 2014 with 1,360 PS, an output that equals one megawatt and also equals the weight of the car in kilograms.
The Koenigsegg Agera R is confirmed as the world’s third fastest production car behind just the Hennessey Venom GT and Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
The Agera R set several World Records in September, 2011, including a 0-200 mph acceleration time of 17.68 seconds and a 200-0 mph stopping time of only 7.28 seconds.

Koenigsegg Agera

The base Agera is anything but standard. With its Koenigsegg 5.0 liter twin turbo V8 engine that produces 927 hp at 6,900 rpm and 810 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, the Agera is no slouch with its 0-100 km/hr acceleration of only 3.1 seconds. The Agera is capable of reaching a theoretical top speed of 420 km/hr which is just over 260 mph. The Agera comes with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters.

The body of the Agera is made of carbon fiber/kevlar and the chassis is made out of carbon fiber with an aluminum honeycomb that comes with integrated fuel tanks for safety and weight distribution considerations. The Agera comes with a hardtop roof that can be removed and stored under the front hood lid. The base Agera even comes with Michelen Super Sport tires that are speed rated to 260 mph, an electronically adjustable rear wing and a new traction control system.

Koenigsegg Agera R

The Agera R has the same engine as the Agera, but can get 1,124 hp out of it using E85 biofuel and move the car from 0-100 km/hr in a mind boggling 2.9 seconds. The car is amazingly stable as evidenced by its world record time of 21.19 seconds for going from 0-300 km/hr-0. A Koenigsegg test driver stopped the car from a speed of 186 mph without holding the steering wheel. The Agera R can also handle quite well with its ability to produce lateral cornering forces of 1.5 G. Carbon fiber wheels, a drag coefficient of .37 or .33 at high speeds and Flex Fuel Sensor technology are all upgrades in the Agera R that allow it to produce a theoretical top speed of 273 mph.

Koenigsegg Agera S

The Koenigsegg Agera S is even more extreme and is built for markets lacking E85 biofuels. It can produce 1,016 hp on low octane fuel and adds all the performance upgrades of the Agera R with an engine optimized to run on regular gasoline.

Koenigsegg One

The Koenigsegg One made its debut earlier this year and is the ultimate Koenigsegg car with its low weight and high performance. It is the world’s first megacar that can produce 1 megawatt or 1,360 PS of output. The car is called “One” due to the fact that it produces 1 PS per 1 kg of weight. The One has an airscoop on the removable roof so it can’t be stored under the front hood. This enabled Koenigsegg to redesign the front to produce more downforce to keep the car on the road at high speeds. It only takes 20 seconds to reach a speed of 400 km/hr and 10 more seconds to come to a stop from that speed.

Luxury Lifestyle