Established in 1994 by Christian von Koenigsegg, the Swedish based company Koenigsegg Automotive manufactures some of the world’s leading hypercars. What is a hypercar? Well let’s explain what a supercar is first. In short, lets say every hypercar is a supercar, but not all supercars are hypercars. A supercar is defined as having an excessive ability to accelerate and obtain excecessively high speeds. Add to that distinctions in design, performance and scarcity to define a hypercar. Hypercars are so rare in fact, only 1% of supercars earn the hypercar status.
The Koenigsegg Agera RS is a hypercar. The English translation of Agera is “to act” and that is exactly what Koenigsegg did, the company acted on the need for speed. The car clocked speeds of 278 m.p.h and if you don’t trust its speedometer, a GPS validation will confirm it. Perhaps the G-forces felt in the Agera RS upon corning will help underscore its velocity affects as the average car might pull in .65g’s yet the Agera RS can pull 1.60g’s.
So what is the meaning behind the emblem of the Koenigsegg? Turns out his family too, had a coat of arms dating back to the 12th century as the blue outlined geometrical red and yellow rhombuses represents the detail and sophistication of the car designs. Atop of the emblem is a monogram KCC, which stands for Koenigsegg CC, the prototype car that would lead to the company’s first automotive creation, the CC8S.
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But hold on… what is with the ghost figure on these models? Koenigsegg’s original plant burned down in 2003 and the company regrouped at a decommissioned air force base in Angelholm, Sweden. To honor the squadron of airmen of that time, Koenigsegg adopted the ghost figures that were painted on the airplanes with the slogan “The Show Must Go On.” Today, Koenigsegg’s mindset of having affixed these ghost figures on these super fast super/hypercars in fact allows “the show to go on.”
Before you spend a minimum of $2.5 million on the above mentioned Agera RS, you should know it is illegal to drive these cars in the United States. You can own one, but just can’t drive it as they do not meet some of the federal regulations making them legal for American roads.
Koenigsegg does not commission any subcontractors for their manufacturing of their cars. Each car is meticulously built by Koenigsegg employees directly under Christian’s management. I would be remiss by not stating should you elect for a carbon fiber paint upgrade on your new Koenigsegg, perhaps in red, green, blue or purple, the cost will increase to an additional $345,000.00.
My new book, Drop, Throttle, Oversteer: Collecting & Investing in Classic Cars, is available at Amazon! 10% of the net sales go to Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies, a wonderful organization we are thrilled to support. If you’ve read and loved the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Reviews are the #1 way other enthusiasts find the book.
Jason Paynter is a classic car appraiser, collector and unabashed enthusiast. He is also author of the book, Drop, Throttle, Oversteer: Collecting & Investing in Classic Cars, available at Amazon. He lives in Louisville, KY with his beautiful wife and three sons who are (heaven help him) of driving age. Jason is also a certified appraiser and would be more than happy to assist in helping valuate your collection or answer any of your questions about cars. Email him at jason@gdherring.com.
