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Watch a Koenigsegg Agera R do a 250-mph flyby of the Nürburgring pits

Zach Bowman — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Videos, MISC

The Koenigsegg Agera R recently took to the Nürburgring for a little fun. Not surprisingly, there were a few cameras on hand to see the 1,100-horsepower titan whomp its way around the course, including one lens stationed at the exit to the pits. At the end of the track's long straight, the vantage point allows viewers to see the vehicles on track at the peak of speed. For the Agera R, that means a flyby at somewhere around 250 mph. Now, we'll be the first to say there's no way of discerning just how fast the Koenigsegg is actually traveling when it comes by the pits. Sadly, "damn quick" isn't an acceptable unit of speed.

Check out the video after the jump to see what we mean. The first half of the clip shows the supercar simply cruising around. If you want to see the real action, we suggest jumping ahead to around 1:30.

Continue reading Watch a Koenigsegg Agera R do a 250-mph flyby of the Nürburgring pits

Watch a Koenigsegg Agera R do a 250-mph flyby of the Nürburgring pits originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Koenigsegg Agera gets official Guinness World Record for quickest 0-300-0 km/h

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:28:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg is officially amazing, at least according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The well-known record-keeping organization has granted the Koenigsegg Agera the record of quickest 0-300-0 kilometers per hour by a two-seat production car. The time? A scant 21.19 seconds, recorded at the Angeholm Airfield in Sweden on September 2, 2011, with Robert Serwanski behind the wheel.

That's just over 186 miles per hour, then back to a complete stop, in 21 seconds. Yowza. That's not the only impressive feat accomplished that day by the Agera, though it is the only one that was certified as a world record by Guinness. For the record, Koenegsegg's masterpiece scooted to 300 km/h in 14.53 seconds on its way to 200 mph in 17.68 seconds. It can stop with equal alacrity, taking an evil 6.66 seconds to halt from 300 km/h and 7.28 from 200 mph.

The final stat is arguably the most impressive: 0-200 mph and back to 0 in just 24.96 seconds. Want to know what's even better than that? The fact that it was all recorded on video. Click past the break to see for yourself.

Continue reading Koenigsegg Agera gets official Guinness World Record for quickest 0-300-0 km/h

Koenigsegg Agera gets official Guinness World Record for quickest 0-300-0 km/h originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Take a spin through the Koenigsegg factory with this excellent tour film

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Luxury, Koenigsegg

Video of the Koenigsegg factory - Click above to watch video after the jump

Sticking to images and music, not spoken words, this isn't exactly a tour of the Koenigsegg factory - more like an artistic representation of it. But the Agera and CCXR make their appearances, as do Christian Koenigsegg, burnouts and beauty shots.

You won't learn much, but your eyes will enjoy it, so follow the jump for the vid.

Continue reading Take a spin through the Koenigsegg factory with this excellent tour film

Take a spin through the Koenigsegg factory with this excellent tour film originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Koenigsegg releases full Agera R specifications

Noah Joseph — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:40:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, MISC

Koenigsegg Agera R - Click above for high-res image gallery

Koenigsegg certainly caught our attention when it unveiled the new Agera R at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month. With its Speed Racer paint scheme and 1,115 horsepower on tap, it darn well better have. But the exotic Swedish automaker has only now released the full specifications, and suffice it to say, they don't disappoint.

As we already knew, the Agera R packs a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine that produces a prodigious 940 horsepower on standard 95-octane gasoline, but fill it with E85 bio-ethanol blend and you're looking at a whopping 1,115 hp. Driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, that's good enough for a 2.9-second sprint to 60 mph.

The engine is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, however. The carbon-Kevlar body generates 300 kilos (660 pounds) of downforce at 250 km/h (155 mph), to which the turbine wheels contribute, wrapped in specially-made Michelin rubber. Koenigsegg says their latest supercar will also pull a neck-straining 1.6 g around the skid pad - enough to trounce just about anything else on the road. Follow the jump for the full specifications.

Gallery: Koenigsegg Agera R

Gallery: Koenigsegg Agera R: Geneva 2011

Live photos copyright (C)2011 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Source: Koenigsegg]

Continue reading Koenigsegg releases full Agera R specifications

Koenigsegg releases full Agera R specifications originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva 2011: Koenigsegg Agera R haunts our sweetest dreams and darkest nightmares

Jeff Glucker — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:59:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg Agera R - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's official: Koenigsegg now makes ballistic sex machines. The Koenigsegg Agera R is parked in front of us at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, and we can't get "Breaking the Law" out of our heads.

If you pour E85 into the oh-so-thirsty gas tank, the Agera R rewards you with 1,115 horsepower at 6,900 rpm and 885 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm. Additionally, the twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 engine produces 738 pound-feet of torque from 2,700 rpm up to 6,170 rpm.

All that power is funneled through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle-shifters and an electronic differential. The engine and the transmission work in concert to push the Agera R from 0-62 miles per hour in a scant 2.9 seconds. Stay on the gas, and you'll reach 124 mph in 7.5 seconds. If you decide to slam on the binders the moment you hit 124 mph, the entire trip will take 12.7 seconds to get back to zero. We know of cars that take that long to crest 60 mph.

From its 260-mile-per-hour-rated tires to the carbon fiber monocoque to its devil-developed engine, the Koenisegg Agera R is a true hypercar. Get a wet nap ready before you click through our high-res galleries below and the massively detailed press release after the jump.

Gallery: Koenigsegg Agera R: Geneva 2011

Gallery: Koenigsegg Agera R

Continue reading Geneva 2011: Koenigsegg Agera R haunts our sweetest dreams and darkest nightmares

Geneva 2011: Koenigsegg Agera R haunts our sweetest dreams and darkest nightmares originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Top Gear Award winners announced

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Maserati, Porsche, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, UK, Koenigsegg

Citroën DS3 - Click above for high-res image gallery

As we said before, it's that time when everyone starts rolling out their year-end "Best of" lists and revisits their favorite rides of 2010. Top Gear is in on the action, naming its annual award winners. Its list, as you can see, is diverse and loaded with forbidden fruit (at least for those of us in the U.S.)

Hypercar of the Year: Koenigsegg Agera
Cabrio of the Year: Maserati GranCabrio
Grand Tourer of the Year: Bentley Continental GT
Hot Hatch of the Year: Volkswagen Golf R
Family Car of the Year: BMW 520d Touring
Engine of the Year: Fiat TwinAir
Coupe of the Year: Peugot RCZ
Luxury Car of the Year: Jaguar XJ
Small Car of the Year and Car of the Year: Citroen DS3

Besides the standard categories, the three hosts also picked their favorites of 2010. Jeremy Clarkson is in love with the Pagani Zonda R, James May goes with the Bugatti Veyron Supersport and Richard Hammond is quite fond of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

Though we've given you the list, it's still worth a trip over to the Top Gear website to read the reasons behind each choice.

Gallery: Citroen DS3

[Source: Top Gear]

2010 Top Gear Award winners announced originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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21-year-old with giant supercar collection makes us jealous

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Middle East, Luxury, Koenigsegg

When we were 21, we were happy to ditch the fake ID and score cheaper insurance rates. Life's a little different for Dhiaa Al-Essa, a 21-year-old Saudi who owns a fleet of exotics that'd turn the average enthusiast's knees into Jell-O.

His 30-car (not a typo) garage includes enough Italians, Brits and Germans to re-enact World War II. The current stable includes four Ferraris, five Porsches, three Lamborghinis, two Rolls-Royces and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, which Al-Essa counts as his personal favorite. To wring maximum enjoyment out of his exotic empire, young Dhiaa spent this summer flying his fleet around the globe so that he and his friends could create their own driving tours in cities such as London, Montreal, Las Vegas and New York.

How is a young man like Mr. Al-Essa able to afford such amazing machinery? Well, he can't. His father just happens to be a billionaire who enjoys spending money on a cost-is-no-object basis for his son. To prove this point, Dihaa's father plans to hand him the keys to two more otherworldly vehicles. On his 22nd birthday, Dihaa will become the proud owner of a Koenigsegg Agera, which comes with a golden key. It's like the Willy Wonka of supercars. After the Agera, a Bugatti Veyron will join the family. The price for both cars? Around one Corvette Z06 under $5 million.

Sadly, Al-Essa's new Ferrari 458 Italia was recently lost to fire while housed at Heathrow Airport. Is he crying about it? Nope. He reportedly plans to replace it with one of the Ferrari 599 Roadster models rumored to have been shown at Pebble Beach last month. Thanks for the tip, dood!

Image Copyright (C) 2008 Alex Núñez / AOL
[Source: Metro.co.uk]

21-year-old with giant supercar collection makes us jealous originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Koenigsegg considering a challenge to Veyron SS speed record?

Zach Bowman — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:59:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Luxury, Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg Agera - Click above for high-res image gallery

Few things get the automotive universe fired up quite like a good old-fashioned grudge match, and from the sound of things, we may be on the verge of seeing the battle royale with the cheese of grudge matches. Evidently, Top Gear's Bill Thomas was strolling around the Koenigsegg factory shortly after Bugatti launched the Veryon Super Sport to 267.81 mph.

At the time, the Bug's record-breaking drive was still confidential knowledge, but being the kind of bloke we wouldn't mind buying a beer, Thomas felt the need to share Bugatti's accomplishment with Koenigsegg boss Christian von Koenigsegg, potentially igniting a powder keg of speed and competition the likes of which the production auto world hasn't seen in quite some time.

Apparently, upon hearing the news that the Veryon Super Sport was now top dog of the production car world, Koenigsegg immediately began rattling off possible places to do his own high-speed testing with his newest machine, the Agera. That sounds an awful lot like we can expect a new Swedish sports machine to arrive any time to attempt to whisk the title away from the French. And there might even be a little three-way action from America's Shelby SuperCars. See? Isn't competition fun?

Gallery: Koenigsegg Agera

[Source: Top Gear]

Koenigsegg considering a challenge to Veyron SS speed record? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Koenigsegg launches Agera online configurator

Noah Joseph — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:28:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Koenigsegg

In a perfect world, we'd all be able to afford a Koenigsegg Agera. (Well, not everyone else, 'cause that'd ruin the fun, but each of us anyway.) Unfortunately, as we're all to well aware, this is not a perfect world. But at least the magic of the Internet can bring us closer to the high-performance beasts we admire from afar.

In this case, Koenigsegg has launched the online configurator for its new Agera supercar. The interface is simple, with few options to choose from, but prospective buyers and enthusiasts alike can tweak around to find their favorite combination of exterior color, rear wing, wheels and interior. Three spoilers, three rims, eleven shades and ten cabins gives you 990 combinations to mess around with, so follow the link and check it out for yourself.

Gallery: Geneva 2010: Koenigsegg Agera

[Source: Koenigsegg]

Koenigsegg launches Agera online configurator originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva 2010: Koenigsegg Agera is the Swedish supercar evolved

Jonny Lieberman — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:29:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Koenigsegg

2010 Koenigsegg Agera - Click above for high-res image gallery

Talk about a super way to kick off the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. And yes, we intend the pun. We all know and love the Koenigsegg CCX, but it's getting a bit long in the tooth, at least as far as supercars go. Introduced to the world at large at (no surprise) 2006 Geneva Motor Show, the Swedish rocket has wowed enthusiasts for the past five years. But that was then-and in the case of biofuled, 1,100 horsepower monster CCXR, then was a few months ago-the Agera is now.

Designed to stay ahead of the hypercar curve, the Agera can be thought of as an evolution of the CCX. If the previous Koenigsegg had any flaw, it was its slabby, just kinda... there looks. The Agera changes that, with a much more sculpted, almost pinched front end. We find it much more attractive than the CCX, but as always, judge for yourself. Other design highlights include the wheels that generate a vortex in order to better suck hot air away from the brakes. You've also got the oval doughnut taillights, the doughnut part meaning that hot air escapes the engine bay via holes in the taillights. Pretty cool, no?

Of course, what we really care about is what lies under the Agera's carbon fiber skin. It's the same 4.7-liter built-in-house Koenigsegg V8 from the CCX, but with a twist. Unlike the dual-superchargers found on the CCX, the Agera's engine gets twin-turbos. Power is typically bonkers, with 910 hp at 7,250 rpm. Though the real story might be the force-inducted torque. Are you sitting down? 738 pound-feet of the stuff is available from 2,680 rpm to 6,170 rpm, with a torque peak of 811 lb-ft. Also, we should point out that the Agera weighs 2,832 pounds.

The (manufacturer claimed) numbers are equally head spinning. Zero to sixty miles an hour takes 3.1 seconds, 0-124 mph happens in 13.7 seconds and the top speed is somewhere north of 245 miles per hour. The top speed might be (slightly) down from the CCXR (supposedly that beast can go faster than 250 mph) but check out the road-holding. Koenigsegg is claiming that the Agera can pull 1.6 g. Holy Swedish moly, man.

Gallery: Geneva 2010: Koenigsegg Agera

Geneva 2010: Koenigsegg Agera is the Swedish supercar evolved originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva Preview: 910-hp Koenigsegg Agera

Damon Lavrinc — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:59:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Geneva Motor Show, Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg Agera - Click above for high-res image gallery

As if we didn't have enough to look forward to at next week's Geneva Motor Show, the exotic-obsessive folks over at GTSpirit have secured the first images of Koenigsegg's latest masterpiece ahead of its debut, and the Agera looks every bit as potent as its predecessors.

It's obvious that Koenigsegg didn't want to mess with a winning formula, so the Agera is more of an evolution of the CCXs that came before it, with a similar greenhouse and the same dimensions (169-inches long, 78.6-inches wide and 44.1-inches tall) as the outgoing supercar. The new front and rear fascias ditch some of the aging angularity of the previous iterations, and the new LED headlamps and hood are decidedly more racy.

Nestled within the carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb chassis lies the same 4.7-liter V8 as the CCX, but output has increased to 910 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque, allowing the 2,832-pound Agera to hit 62 mph in 3.1 seconds and top out at over 242 mph.

And as Koenigsegg has learned over the last 10 years, it's all about the little things. In addition to the bespoke sequential gearbox and carbon ceramic brakes, the exhaust is made entirely of Inconel, the fuel tanks are mounted on either side to optimize weight and balance, and the carbon fiber and kevlar body work, combined with the flat underbody tray, allow the Agera to produce 661 pounds of downforce at 155 mph. Oh, and there's custom luggage too.

According to GTSpirit, Koenigsegg only plans to produce 16-20 Ageras each year and orders will begin next week with deliveries starting later in 2010. We'll have more from the show floor in a few days, but in the meantime, check out the images below and hit up GTSpirit for more details.

Gallery: Koenigsegg Agera

[Source: GTSpirit]

Geneva Preview: 910-hp Koenigsegg Agera originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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