Koenigsegg Agera R

Koenigsegg Agera R at a glance

The Agera name comes from the Swedish verb "agera", meaning "to act". The original Agera debuted in 2010 and was named Top Gear's Hypercar of the Year. The Agera R added an adaptive rear wing, flex-fuel tuning and other upgrades, putting it among the fastest-accelerating cars of its time. Koenigsegg's story is told in the history of Koenigsegg, and its earlier Koenigsegg CCX and other models are in the Koenigsegg catalogue.

Design and construction

The Agera R is a two-seat mid-engined coupé with Koenigsegg's "dihedral synchro-helix" doors. Its hardtop roof stows under the front bonnet, turning the car into a targa. The body is made of carbon fibre and Kevlar with lightweight reinforcements. The chassis is carbon fibre with an aluminium honeycomb structure and integrated fuel tanks, which help weight distribution and safety. The fuel tank holds 80 litres. Inside, the "Ghost light" system uses carbon nanotubes so that light shines through the aluminium buttons.

Aerodynamics, wheels and tyres

The adaptive rear wing is spring-loaded and adjusts itself to speed and head- or tailwind. Koenigsegg says this is lighter than a hydraulic or electric system, and the wing pylons also help extract hot air from the engine bay. The car's drag coefficient is 0.37, falling to 0.33 at high speed with the wing working, and the wing produces 300 kg of downforce at 250 km/h. Forged aluminium centre-lock wheels (19-inch front, 20-inch rear) carry Michelin Super Sport tyres rated for up to 420 km/h. Cornering forces reach up to 1.60 g. The 2013 Agera R, shown at Geneva in 2012, introduced carbon-fibre wheels, enhanced aerodynamics and engine upgrades.

Engine and flex-fuel technology

The 5.0-litre V8 uses two turbochargers and a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox with paddle shifters. A Flex Fuel Sensor detects the fuel in the tank. On low-octane petrol the engine produces 706 kW (960 PS), while on E85 biofuel the 2013 car reaches 838 kW (1,140 PS) at 7,100 rpm and 1,200 Nm.

World records

In September 2011 the Agera R set six production-car records. They included acceleration from 0 to 300 km/h in 14.53 seconds and 0–300–0 km/h in 21.19 seconds, which was recognised by Guinness.

The Agera family

The One:1 takes its name from its ratio of about 1 PS per kilogram, and Koenigsegg called it the world's first "megacar" because of its 1-megawatt output. The track-focused RS reached 0–400–0 km/h in 36.44 seconds, 5.56 seconds faster than the Bugatti Chiron's record at the time. It also averaged 447.2 km/h over an 18 km road run in Nevada. The last RS was completed on 4 April 2018, and production of the whole family ended in July 2018 after 65 cars. Its successor, the Jesko, was unveiled at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.

The Agera R in everyday use

Despite its performance, the Agera R was conceived as a road car that can also be driven on track. The roof stows under the front bonnet, and the car runs on ordinary pump petrol thanks to its flex-fuel system, only losing power compared with E85. The later One:1, by contrast, was openly track-oriented with limited luggage space. Koenigsegg described the RS as "the ultimate track tool".

Rivals: how the Agera R compares

The Agera R competed with the fastest hypercars of its time, such as the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, the Pagani Zonda R and later the McLaren P1. Its strengths are extreme power, low weight, record-breaking acceleration and the flexibility of running on E85. Its weaknesses are extremely limited production, a very high price and limited everyday practicality.