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Koenigsegg Boss Walks us Through the Agera R Supercar's Painting Process

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

One of the good things about small-volume supercar manufacturers like Pagani or Koenigsegg is that, unlike bigger companies, you can get their bosses themselves to walk you through their cars.

Understandably, Luca di Montezemolo is too busy running the business to explain himself the details of the clear coat on the F12berlinetta. Horacio Pagani or Christian von Koenigsegg, on the other hand, can spare the time since their production is just a small fraction of that of Ferrari or Lamborghini.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Britain, like the rest of Europe, is facing a recession. Gulf States’ economies, on the other hand, are growing by around 6 percent a year. Add in the fact that the latter are the single largest producer of crude oil in the world and you can easily see why exotic supercars are flying out of the showrooms.

In Dubai, there’s a 20-month waiting list for the US$525,000 Lamborghini Aventador. It’s not just the Lambo: in the Gulf region, there’s every kind of supercar you can think of – and then some more.

Once a year, in the summer, many young affluent Arabs fly their hot wheels 3,000 miles away to London so that they can enjoy certain things that are forbidden in their homeland.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

As another year reaches an end – there's only 19 days left – many of us reflect on all things done in that passing year.

For YouTube channel owner and auto enthusiast Marchetinno, it’s all about the great sports cars he managed to capture on camera.

In particular, Marchetinno compiled a 12-minute long video with the best sports- and super-car sounds, ranging from pocket rockets like the Abarth 500 to the Swedish exotic Koenigsegg Agera R and pure racing models such as the Porsche 911 GT3 and F1 cars.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

There's nothing really special about the second generation of the European Ford Granada that was built from 1977 to 1985, which is probably why one owner in Britain chose it for a sleeper project.

Putting aside a handful of 1980s aero bits, the only other interesting bit about the exterior of this Granada are the Zzz-Zzz license plates.

Pop up the hood, however, and it's an entirely different story as this puppy has been fitted with 4.7-liter Ford V8 sourced from a Koenigsegg CCX supercar that is good for a whopping 1,700-horsepower!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

While some would be filled with joy if they heard the screeching sounds of an accelerating Koenigsegg CCX's twin-supercharged V8, others, like this young woman in Monaco, could be in for a fright.

A short but entertaining video follows after the break.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Making its world premiere today at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Show is the 2013 Koenigsegg Agera range that consists of the regular model and the more extreme 'R' variant.

The company that was founded in 1994 in Sweden by Christian von Koenigsegg has presented a number of updates to its Agera supercar for the new model year.

Beginning with the common changes, both versions of the Agera gain a new, in-house developed engine management system, which is claimed to provide added functionality whilst still meeting all OBD II regulations, and a standard electronic stability program.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

In a glitzy event held in Beijing, China, this month, the World Luxury Association (WLA), which is a non-profit research organization, named its Top 100 most valuable luxury brands of the year.

In the automotive field, the Top 10 premium car brands included some of the usual suspects such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini along with some surprise entrants like Saab's former owner Spyker and Koenigsegg. Not that it matters any more, but Daimler's Maybach brand didn't make the cut.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

When your ride packs a high-revving, 570HP V8 matched to a dual-clutch transmission for a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 320 km/h (200 mph) then you’re inclined to believe that you're the king of the road.

But as fast as your ride may be, there will always be something faster. And as the owner of a Ferrari 458 Italia found out, the Koenigsegg Agera R that was launched earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show is one of them.

Friday, November 25, 2011

With the European economy in a downward spiral and the U.S. having its own financial troubles, where is a supercar maker supposed to go and sell its high-six- or even seven-figure products?

Well, China is probably their best bet right now. Its number of billionaires grew from 189 in 2010 to 271 in 2011, according to data from Hurun Report, and the communist (…) country now has close to 1 million millionaires - 960,000 to be precise or 85,000 more than in 2010. Overall, Asia has some 3.3 million millionaires, more than Europe and edging close to the North America region.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Dodge Viper ACR is one of the fastest production cars around packing an 8.4-liter V10 with 600HP and 560 lb/ft (760 Nm) of torque that allows it to accelerate from 0-60 mph (96km/h) in less than 4.0 seconds. It has also proved its mettle by breaking lap records in famous and difficult tracks such as Laguna Seca and the Nürburgring.

But it's one thing going against a Corvette and totally different story when you're challenged by the likes of Koenigsegg and its CCXR that boasts a twin-supercharged V8 delivering close to 1,100-horsepower.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Koenigsegg Agera R was one of the stars of the Geneva show grabbing many headlines with its unusual high-speed roof-box that was proposed as an accessory. However, there was plenty of information missing about this Swedish hypercar. Up until now, that is, as the exotic carmaker came out with all the juicy details.

Starting with the performance numbers, the Agera R lives up to the company's reputation. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h [62mph] comes after just 2.9 seconds, while 0 to 200 km/h [124mph] takes only 7.5 seconds. Even more impressively, the 0-200-0 km/h [0-124mph-0] is covered in a mere 12.7 seconds, partially thanks to its ventilated carbon ceramic brakes.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Koenigsegg, the Swedish maker of exotic sports cars will bring its newest creation, the Agera R hypercar, along with the final production version of the Agera to this week's Geneva Salon. Building on the design of the 15-year-old CC, the Agera looks unmistakably "Koenigsegg".

The paint scheme of the car that will be displayed in Geneva is inspired by the legendary Speed Racer theme, as specified by the owner of the car. But as impressive as it might be, the design pales in comparison with the technology present beneath the car's carbon fiber skin.

The monocoque chassis weighs only 70 kg and the dry weight of the car is 1,330 kg, which makes it the lightest fully homologated hypercar in production, according to Koenigsegg. That's all the more remarkable given the fact that the 5.0-liter V8 bi-turbo engine is capable of 1,115 horsepower and 1,200 Nm when running on E85 ethanol biofuel (940 hp and 1,100 Nm on regular 95 octane gasoline).

Sunday, January 2, 2011

For most people a $50,000 car is well out of reach, while others happily spend double or triple of that amount on a ride. However, even those enthusiasts might not be so keen to whip out their checkbooks when confronted with the price tag of these vehicles featured in a special list compiled by Forbes.

These are the most expensive cars in the world, usually bought by the kind of people who don’t even break a sweat amidst the worst economic crisis. Forbes' list in not without its flaws as the publication added two vehicles (the Enzo's successor and the upcoming Pagani Zonda C9) that have yet to be revealed, let alone be priced. Nevertheless, you can check out the complete list of exclusive toys for the real tycoons after the jump.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Actress Bo Derek once quipped, "Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." Someone who would most likely agree with her is 21-year-old Dhiaa Al-Essa, a Saudi Arabian Engineering student and millionaire playboy with a collection of over 30 exotic supercars worth more than £4.5 million (US$7.3 million).

Al-Essa has recently taken delivery of his thirty-third exotic, the first Ferrari 599 GTO worth £345,000 (US$557,000). In his own words:

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Here's a car race with a difference: an automotive remake of the classic Tortoise and the Hare story, starring a Fiat 500 as the tortoise and a Koenigsegg CCX as the hare. Well, not a real 500 and CCX; these are 1:24 scale models, and the whole thing is filmed in stop motion. It was made by Swedish filmmaker and photographer Robin Danehav as an advertisement for Binero, a Swedish webhosting service.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Since we're suckers for speed, we jumped at the opportunity to show you these awesome videos from a sports car shootout, courtesy of the folks over at M5Board. If you haven't done so already, follow the jump to watch some mega power throwdowns including Switzer's Nissan GT-R P800 versus the Koenigsegg CCR Evo and BMW's M5 Touring going against its X5M SUV stable-mate.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Koenigsegg's Agera is a car of action. No, literally, "agera" is Swedish for "to act". It's name is also derived from the Greek "Ageratos", meaning "ageless". Being a Koenigsegg, the Agera puts out an insane amount of power (910 horses thanks to two turbos), oodles of torque (1,100 Nm / 811 lb-ft ), wears 6-egg-omelet-sized brakes (392mm discs in front and 380mm in back).

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

In a similar scenario to the Saturn - Penske story which ended with GM's decision to wind down the brand, tiny super car maker Koenigsegg, backed by China's BAIC, pulled out of a deal to acquire GM's Swedish Saab unit only a week away before a November 30 deadline. And even though the Swedish government has some hopes that a new buyer might be found to save Saab, the future of the brand looks very dim.

"For every day that passes the challenge gets bigger and bigger," Swedish Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson told reporters.

An insider told Bloomberg that General Motors' board will decide the future of Saab at its monthly meeting on December 1st. The person added that the automaker doesn't expect any other bidders to emerge and that a shutdown is imminent.

"They should just get rid of it," told the news site Tom Stallkamp, industrial partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, which took part in an unsuccessful bid for GM's Opel division. "Saab really doesn't matter in terms of technology, and there is no synergy like there was with Opel."

Easy to say when you don't take into consideration the fact that behind the nameplate there are people with families as Saab employs around 3,500 workers in Trollhattan while thousands of other jobs are also linked to the firm. If you take a moment to think about that, it actually does matter...

Unfortunately though, the harsh reality is that if GM were to restart the sales process of Saab, it would be extremely difficult to find a willing buyer to complete the deal in a short time frame. If it were to take longer, the Detroit automaker would have to continue to fund Saab and that, doesn't seem to be a viable option for GM today.

Many like Stephen Pope, chief global strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald in London, seem to agree that Saab's days are numbered. "That's it, goodnight, goodbye," Pope told Bloomberg. "Saab has reached the end of the road, there's nothing left in the tank."

There have been reports that China's BAIC as well as Geely, might be interested in Saab. However, Geely is already in talks with Ford for its Volvo unit so we seriously doubt that they will turn their focus on Saab at this moment while in what concerns BAIC, analysts believe that the if the Chinese firm decides to show an interest, it will most likely be for Saab's assets and not the company as a whole.

Sources: Bloomberg & ANE

BREAKING NEWS: Koenigsegg Terminates Agreement to Buy SAAB from General Motors

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

General Motors has just announced that the proposed sale of its Saab unit to a consortium led by Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg has been canceled. And this time, it's not because the Detroit automaker wanted to keep Saab as was the case with Opel, but because Koenigsegg backed out of the purchasing of the Swedish brand in the same way that Penske did with Saturn.

"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," Henderson added.

In September, Koenigsegg Group AB had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. Ltd. (BAIC) to explore growth opportunities in the Chinese and international markets for the products of both SAAB and BAIC.

The Swedish sports car maker has yet to release an official statement on the matter.

Oops... New York Dealer Crashes Customer's Koenigsegg CCX

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Of course, accidents can happen. But it's one thing getting into a fender bender with a Ford Taurus and another when you destroy a customer's $500,000+ supercar. According to the crash-addicted folks over at 'Wrecked Exotics', this accident happened when a New York dealer took his customer's 2008 Koenigsegg CCX for a joy ride only to end up crashing into a guardrail and then on a Porsche 911 GT2. We'd love to read the insurance claim on this one..

Via: Wrecked Exotics