Koenigsegg’s Record Lap Attempt Too Loud
Koenigsegg’s recent lap record attempt at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, with their One:1 hypercar, was cut short, but not for any mechanical or climate related reasons. Normally, one would expect a lap record attempt to be made at the famed Nurburgring, but with the political fall-out of a tragic GT3 crash at the ‘ring, speeds have been curtailed in some areas of that German track. Belgium’s Spa has welcomed the Swedish mad scientists with open arms though, with one catch: noise limits.
As one might imagine, a twin turbo 5-litre V8 with nearly 1,400-horsepower is going to make some noise. Spa’s public lapping allows for cars to hit 103 dB, so provisions were made to bump this to 110 dB for OEM testing. However, the One:1’s lap attempt was one day after the 110 limit expired, and went back to 103 for public lapping. Naturally, the One:1 went over the limit, so some hasty (and tacky) central turn-down pipes were fitted to try and direct the noise for a quick fix (an old racer’s trick). They still went over the dB limit.
Ending the day early was a bit disappointing, as Koenigsegg was looking to better their previous record lap time of 2:33.26, and they actually did surpass that. They just weren’t satisfied enough with the other lapping traffic, and claim to have run on a set of not-so-fresh tires. Eliminate those variables and Koenigsegg thinks they can manage a time quicker than the 2:32.14. That wonderful sounding feat you can watch below.
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via [EVO]
