If you thought you heard a new aircraft pushing its engines to the limit recently at the Råda military airfield in Sweden, you would be guessing wrong. The sound was a Koenigsegg Regera with an electric engine assisted twin-turbo V8 setting a new 0-400-0 km/h world record on the 23rd day of September 2019, as the car pushed past the previous record (set by another Koenigsegg car; the Agera RS), by 1.8 seconds with a time of 31.49 seconds.
Koenigsegg Automotive set the new record with Sonny Persson, a Koenigsegg factory driver, behind the wheel. The previous record was achieved using a production Koenigsegg Agera RS in Nevada in 2017. That record broke the former one which was set only a month earlier and also by the Agera RS at 36.44 seconds.
The Regera hypercar sports a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 engine along with three electric motors. That combination gives it a total of 1500 hp. Unlike other cars, it’s built with what Koenigsegg calls “Direct Drive” which is a replacement for the traditional gearbox. The vehicle features active aerodynamics utilizing front flaps, a large back wing, and active height adjustments, all of which auto-adjust to speed. Braking is handled by carbon-ceramic brakes, and that has proven to be an impressive feature. According to Koenigsegg, It took the Regera 22.87 seconds to hit 400 km/h from a standstill and only 8.62 seconds to get back down to zero in a distance of 435.26m.
“This was a good opportunity to showcase the true capability of the Regera’s one-of-a-kind Direct Drive transmission,” CEO and Founder Christian von Koenigsegg stated. “As the Regera only has one gear we had to make use of it from standstill to the record top speed of 403 km/h (or 250 mph) limited by rpm. The car reaches its top speed like there is no tomorrow, but then there are no more gears. This actually suits the philosophy behind the Regera, which is ‘whoever gets to 400 km/h first wins’.”
Despite the success of the run, according to the founder of the company, it could have been better. The surface was not ideal, and the run was not done in a straight line as some bumps had to be avoided. It was something that Koenigsegg noted while also marveling at the braking system of the Regera.
“What is really impressive is how incredible the Regera brakes – 8.62 seconds from 400 km/h to 0 km/h is just unheard of,” said Koenigsegg.
The only changes made to the record-setting production car were done for driver safety. The luxurious interior was fitted with a roll cage, and a four-point harness was installed.
The Regera has once again placed Koenigsegg Automotive close to the top of the hypercar mountain. Given all the success the company has had with setting records, there’s little doubt that there’s more to come. It’s only a matter of time.
