Ageless Acting

Written by Nicolas Bates
Photos by Koenigsegg

Perhaps you have never heard of Koenigsegg or the extremely high end sports cars they produce. In 1994, Christian von Koenigsegg sought out to create a world-class supercar, and thus, the inception of the manufacture. Eight years later, in 2002, the first Koenigsegg rolled of the line: the CC 8S. In 2004, the CCR was introduced and held the Guinness record for fastest production car in the world, being clocked at 241.63 mph. The Bugatti Veyron, with its speed of 253.3 mph, has only since beaten that record. Six years, and probably millions, if not billions of dollars in R&D later, and we are introduced to the 2011 Agera.

The 2011 Koenigsegg Agera seems to almost be in a class of its own. Its competitors are that of only the most expensive, best handling and fastest cars on the planet. Koenigsegg’s may not have the heritage, but they have the technology and force to take on any Porsche or Ferrari from the factory. The Agera, which means ‘to act’ in Swedish, and is also derived from the Greek, ‘Ageratos,’ meaning ‘ageless,’ pulls its power from a 4.7L V8 that has some help via twin turbos. Compression is at a very low 8.9:1, however, when coupled with the fact that aforementioned twin turbos are running at 1.5 bar (21.75 psi), it sounds just right. This V8 hurls the 2,832 lbs Agera from 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds and from 0-124 mph in 8.9 seconds, and has a colossal 910 hp at 7,250 rpm with 738 lb-ft of torque available throughout the range of 2,680-6,170 rpm, with a peak of 811 lb-ft of torque. Koenigsegg states this car is capable of doing upwards of 245 mph. Serious bodily harm could result from sudden acceleration if one is not careful. The Agera’s power to weight ratio is almost unparalleled. And just in case you might be worried about stopping such a car, its brakes are beyond F1 spec.

The Agera looks as if it was designed for a video game set in the future. Where your car might harbor missiles that deployed from above the rocker panels to destroy fellow warriors of the asphalt. It’s wide, and it’s low. The front end is slightly reminiscent of the McClaren F1 in that it seems to be slightly “pinched” forward, with the windshield being closer to the front than usual. Many mid mounted supercars are fond of this design, and the Agera is no different in that aspect. A long and wide scoop starts on both sides of the car at the doors and travels back to the rear fender well. A bubble like protrusion comes up from the flat and wide “body” of the car to create the ample and necessary room for human piloting.

Saying the interior of the Agera is futuristic would be to completely understate the sophistication of design and pure genius that went into its creation. Everything is smooth and slightly sloped. No hard or aggressive angles exist within. The main control console looks to be out of an alien craft with its smoothed edges and circular shapes. However, this is mainly due to Koenigsegg’s new “Ghost Light” lighting system where soft, light blue light emanates from invisible tubes called nano tubes, which shine through the console and the aluminum to make any and all symbols visible on the console and dash. The driver can select what information he wants to visualize in his cluster at any given time. Perhaps one would like to see lap times, g forces enacted, or, maybe just the navigation system or cd track number. Either way, you are covered.

Koenigsegg is not a manufacture that has history. It has not competed for a win at Le Mans, has not competed for trophies, for fame. It has no heritage. And it is certainly not old enough to provide anyone with the chance to own a classic Koenigsegg. Yet, with the 2011 Agera, Koenigsegg has created one of the most agile, fastest, competent and well designed and engineered cars Earth has ever seen. Koenigsegg does not produce many of its vehicles, only 15-20 Agera’s will be produced worldwide, so the chances you will ever witness one in waking life is slim to none. But if you do, consider yourself lucky to have seen such a feat on wheels.

For more info go to:
Koenigsegg.com