So, Agera nº1 for sale
Jan 7, 2011 | 09:40 AM
#52
Teamspeed Member
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 187
The hood is open, nothing more nothing less.
First of all, this is a much different way of saying it then the way you said it the first time. And this critique, if it can even be called that, always puzzled me. An analogy would be calling any boutique brand cruiser motorcycle that has a VTwin a Harley knockoff. At what point does the fact that Ksegg started with a Ford motor get left behind where it belongs in their history? And why does the fact that they started with a Ford motor taint the fact that they have built a hypercar from the ground up (with a little help from other OEMs, their engineers, and their parts bins) that is mentioned in the same sentence as Bugatti and Pagani? The Agera was named hypercar of the year by Top Gear and the CCX with a proper wing posted a top spot on their lap time list. But the steering wheel is ugly, really?
Some of you may look at anything that is not a Porsche or Ferrari and, with the exception of Pagani, choose to not accept the existence of this "hypercar" category without the inevitable kit car commentary. Some of you drive only white cars and can't be trusted
I would hope that the majority of you who get to see one of these in the flesh one day or even better go for a ride, or *gasp* drive a car like a Ksegg or Ultimate Aero (sorry but as an owner of both I feel the need to defend both of my children
) would be able to see past the fact that the steering wheel is a little strange looking, the wing and styling is a bit garish and otherworldly, and come to agree that cars and manufacturers like these deserve their fair share of respect in the rarified air of automotiive royalty.
First of all, this is a much different way of saying it then the way you said it the first time. And this critique, if it can even be called that, always puzzled me. An analogy would be calling any boutique brand cruiser motorcycle that has a VTwin a Harley knockoff. At what point does the fact that Ksegg started with a Ford motor get left behind where it belongs in their history? And why does the fact that they started with a Ford motor taint the fact that they have built a hypercar from the ground up (with a little help from other OEMs, their engineers, and their parts bins) that is mentioned in the same sentence as Bugatti and Pagani? The Agera was named hypercar of the year by Top Gear and the CCX with a proper wing posted a top spot on their lap time list. But the steering wheel is ugly, really?
Some of you may look at anything that is not a Porsche or Ferrari and, with the exception of Pagani, choose to not accept the existence of this "hypercar" category without the inevitable kit car commentary. Some of you drive only white cars and can't be trusted
I would hope that the majority of you who get to see one of these in the flesh one day or even better go for a ride, or *gasp* drive a car like a Ksegg or Ultimate Aero (sorry but as an owner of both I feel the need to defend both of my children
) would be able to see past the fact that the steering wheel is a little strange looking, the wing and styling is a bit garish and otherworldly, and come to agree that cars and manufacturers like these deserve their fair share of respect in the rarified air of automotiive royalty.
Jan 7, 2011 | 11:53 AM
#54
Teamspeed Pro
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 31,976
From: Minnesota
I would hope that the majority of you who get to see one of these in the flesh one day or even better go for a ride, or *gasp* drive a car like a Ksegg or Ultimate Aero (sorry but as an owner of both I feel the need to defend both of my children ) would be able to see past the fact that the steering wheel is a little strange looking, the wing and styling is a bit garish and otherworldly, and come to agree that cars and manufacturers like these deserve their fair share of respect in the rarified air of automotiive royalty.
) would be able to see past the fact that the steering wheel is a little strange looking, the wing and styling is a bit garish and otherworldly, and come to agree that cars and manufacturers like these deserve their fair share of respect in the rarified air of automotiive royalty.For instance, I really hated the way the steering wheel in the Carrera GT felt in my hands. Wayyyy too thin. Would that stop me from owning one (if I could afford it)? Nope.
Jan 7, 2011 | 12:14 PM
#55
Teamspeed Pro
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,866
From: TO
I think interior can look much better, if it had a better contrast such as this one in CCXR. And isn't the steering wheel bulky like that only to meet the airbag safety standards?
I still love CCX/CCXR more than Agera, but I'd have to see them both in real life to decide for sure. CCX pron
I still love CCX/CCXR more than Agera, but I'd have to see them both in real life to decide for sure. CCX pron
Jan 7, 2011 | 12:22 PM
#56
Former Sponsor
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 677
From: Seattle, WA
OH OH My turn now....
Yes, Ben and I bought the Ksegg and it is here in Seattle. Yes, pics will be coming after a "special project" we are doing with it is complete. Yes Ben also owns an UA car as well..a true fine motor vehicle.
But after reading here..I think Ben and I have to decide which one of us will drive both the Ksegg and UA off a dock into the ocean...
Of course we have to do that AFTER we get ride of the "Refined" women in our lifes..I mean, after all, it has been pointed out here that "It came from a platform" and after I read that, I went OMG>>
This beautiful blone female, that now talks, speaks, dresses great, keeps me happy with all her "refined" things...etc etc..came from the "Platform" of a toothless flat chested ugly CAVE WOMAN!!
I think we should all just get rid of everything that has eveolved into the great advanced created item it is today...I mean think about it..EVERYTHING came from a "early platform" in one way or another..
Then again, maybe I can put it into the "Rental Car" program and get $29.95 a day for it with unlimited miles..
Yes, Ben and I bought the Ksegg and it is here in Seattle. Yes, pics will be coming after a "special project" we are doing with it is complete. Yes Ben also owns an UA car as well..a true fine motor vehicle.
But after reading here..I think Ben and I have to decide which one of us will drive both the Ksegg and UA off a dock into the ocean...
Of course we have to do that AFTER we get ride of the "Refined" women in our lifes..I mean, after all, it has been pointed out here that "It came from a platform" and after I read that, I went OMG>>
This beautiful blone female, that now talks, speaks, dresses great, keeps me happy with all her "refined" things...etc etc..came from the "Platform" of a toothless flat chested ugly CAVE WOMAN!!
I think we should all just get rid of everything that has eveolved into the great advanced created item it is today...I mean think about it..EVERYTHING came from a "early platform" in one way or another..
Then again, maybe I can put it into the "Rental Car" program and get $29.95 a day for it with unlimited miles..
Jan 7, 2011 | 01:18 PM
#57
Teamspeed Junior Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 65
From: N GA USA
Yea, if I had the money I'd pay the sticker price, comparisons at this level of game are useless, if you can buy a Ksegg, you can buy a Zonda, I really wouldn't care to put much thought into the decision, just buy one and live it up. Although the full carbon get-up on the Zonda F would be quicker to wet panties, imo.
Jan 7, 2011 | 04:14 PM
#58
Thread Starter
| Teamspeed Pro
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,406
GulfNews on the Agera
Low-cost DIY furniture might still be Sweden's most lauded export, but as I round the final corner of the Dubai Autodrome on the first major track testof the new Koenigsegg Agera, I know that's going to change.
We're in Dubai by happy coincidence,as Michelin arranged the drive for the launch of its new Pilot Super Sport tyre,but it's kind of fitting that our first driveof the Dh5-million creation takes placehere where the kind of men that can buy one call home.
The first production car left the factory just last month with 898bhp, courtesy of its monstrous 4.7-litre V8 twin turbo engine contained within a 1,290kg pre-impregnated carbon fibre and Kevlar chassis.
This is the prototype, armed with 800bhp, but as the V8 fires into life and settles to a stuttering, angry idle, it seems like more than enough.
Innovation is the game
The Agera has only two real rivals if we discount the American SSC Ultimate Aero, and most do. It competes with the most exclusive variants of the Pagani Zondaand the all-conquering Bugatti Veyron.The Swede is a different driving experience from the moment I nudge the starter button and the ceramic-coated Inconel exhaust — similar to Pagani's system — lets out a throaty roar. But it need not back down from either one.
It's a more muscular experience than the detail-intense and slightly fussy Zonda, from the design through to the drive.
Visually it's a big, bluff boxer of a car, with a smooth, curvaceous front end, powerful haunches and, when it's in place, a low-slung double bubble roof that gives the car a real stealth fighter look. Until the dihedral synchro helix door opens, swivels and pivots into position and jaws that had just scraped themselves off the floor hit the deck once again.
Christian von Koenigsegg is a designer at heart and loves these kinds of touches, has several patents on the engineering side, including a response charge system in the turbo system to improve the throttle response, and deserves more credit than he perhaps receives for innovation.
Possibly the biggest criticism is the visual similarity with the CC it replaces, but ithas a wider track, totally revised aero,a new interior and the infinitely cool ‘ghost light'. This uses carbon nanotubes to hide interior lighting until the car is turned on, when the lights appear to shine through solid aluminium.
He sketched out and modelled the base car and may not have even had time for cars if his previous inventions — a replacement for the Walkman that held music on a computer chip and glueless click laminate flooring — had been taken seriously. Others went on to do quite well with both of these concepts…
Incidentally, it looks better with the roof on, but under the blazing Middle Eastern sunshine it's only right to go alfresco, remove the hard top with a spanner and stow it under the front clamshell. This is a neat trick that even the Veyron cannot match: with the Grand Sport you have to make a choice and leave the roof at home, taking a ridiculous emergency umbrella out with you to guard against rainstorms. The Koenigsegg doesn't only fit the roof in that front end, it can even take golf clubs, and wins the practicality war by a mile.
Venturi tunnels underneath the car anda rear diffuser ensure it is not adorned with excessive visible aero tricks on the surface. But even the wheels are designed to create a vortex at speed and reduce aero drag, so the car generates 300kg of downforce at 250kph — more if you opt for the robotised rear wing.
Inside, the neat, minimalist feel continues with the trademark round centre console and an LCD that lends a futuristic feel, even if it's hard to read in the blazing Dubai sunlight. Then there is the driving experience, which will simply emptyyour brain.
Awakening the beast
I roll out of the near-deserted pit lane at the Autodrome and plant the throttle for the first time. The Agera, which is the Swedish word for the verb ‘to act', just goes mad. All that power ploughs through the rear wheels and sends the Koenigsegg scorching to 100kph in 3.1 seconds, way faster than the Zonda. In 8.9 seconds, 200kph is conquered, and the Agerawill go from 0-200-0kph in just 13.7 seconds, which will leave you with internal bleeding.
It won't run out of steam until well beyond 390kph, although the top speed isn't fixed yet and the Veyron could have a sleepless night or two. But it's not just the numbers, it's the sheer violence of the turbo-powered delivery that marks this car apart.
It's an absolutely docile creature until the revs hit 3,500rpm and then it bolts forward with a jolt and I'm at the next bend. Then on lift-off, as I prepare to hit the ceramic brakes and flick down two gears on the seven-speed paddle-shift, a fireball erupts from that cannon of a central exhaust and the whole car shimmies as the wastegates open and send a convulsion throughthe drivetrain.
It takes real muscle to force into the bends too. Whereas the Zonda and Veyron can be trained on the apex with the fingertips, I'm using shoulder muscles with the Agera.
That's a legacy of grip and physical force, rather than weight. It can produce lateral cornering forces of 1.6g, thanks to epic levels of grip from the Michelin Pilot Super Sports and a set-up focused on the cornering speed, while the Veyron Super Sport will give 1.45g. That means, theoretically, that the Agera will destroy almost anything on track if the driver can find the very limit of the grip without barrelling through that fine line.
I can still feel the car tugging to the outside of the circuit, understeering ever so slightly on a constant throttle. Of course you can balance the rear slip angle with a delicate right foot or push straight through into lairy, sliding oversteer with a hefty application of throttle, with the traction control switched off. But then with a turbo-powered car it makes sense to make it nose heavy. When a tail-happy car comes on boost mid-corner, in the wet, people die…
The brakes, meanwhile, are pin-sharp ceramics mated to six piston callipers and the car's stability under heavy deceleration is a testament to the engineering throughout. The Veyron and this are two of the only cars that brake in a perfectly straight line without a hand on the wheel.
Verdict
It's still a hardcore car and only a few special souls can truly appreciate its skills, but then Koenigsegg sells just 15 cars a year and only needs a few elite souls that truly ‘get it'.
Customers tend to be heads of state or self-made billionaires on the lookout for something different, more extreme and more hardcore than they can find elsewhere.
And now, Sweden has more to offer them than an inexpensive coffee table…
specs & ratings
Model Agera
Engine 4.7-litre V8 twin turbo
Transmission Seven-speed sequential, RWD
Power 800bhp @ 6,850rpm
Torque 1,000Nm @ 2,680rpm
0-100kph 3.1sec
Top speed 395kph+
Price Dh5m
Plus Brutal acceleration and even better handling
Minus Edgy at the limit
Rivals
Bugatti Veyron
Going by price, maybe the standard Veyron is more of a rival, but performance is the Koenigsegg's raison d'être, so the Veyron Super Sport it is then… It will obliterate the Swede in the top-speed stakes, but on track, the Agera could corner up to 20 per cent quicker, despite one less driven axle. If we were to choose between the two, a coin toss would suffice.
Pagani Zonda F
The ultimate Italian performance car might have a German 7.3-litre V12 AMG heart, but the chassis and body are all Pagani. Also, it's normally aspirated for 594bhp. We're told it has sublime handling, and is one of the tamest supercars when driven on the limit. The F is a homage toJuan Manuel Fangio, which makes it extra cool.
1997 CC
The first Koenigsegg prototype weighed much less, 900kg, but then again, it was a prototype. It was the only Koenigsegg so far to feature a V12, 3.8-litres in displacement, and made 500bhp at 9,000rpm, thanks to a turbo. 0-100kph came in 3.2 seconds and top speed was 354kph.
On the images:
Motor - Dry sump lubrication, 1.5 bar of boost, carbon fibre intake manifold, ceramic-coated exhaust… The whole engine weighs just 173kg!
The Agera monocoque - 58kN of torsional rigidity per degree! Twice as stiff as a Ferrari F50 then… It only weighs 72 kgs, including fuelcells. For comparison, the carbon monocell in the McLaren MP4-12C weighs close to 80 kgs.
We're in Dubai by happy coincidence,as Michelin arranged the drive for the launch of its new Pilot Super Sport tyre,but it's kind of fitting that our first driveof the Dh5-million creation takes placehere where the kind of men that can buy one call home.
The first production car left the factory just last month with 898bhp, courtesy of its monstrous 4.7-litre V8 twin turbo engine contained within a 1,290kg pre-impregnated carbon fibre and Kevlar chassis.
This is the prototype, armed with 800bhp, but as the V8 fires into life and settles to a stuttering, angry idle, it seems like more than enough.
Innovation is the game
The Agera has only two real rivals if we discount the American SSC Ultimate Aero, and most do. It competes with the most exclusive variants of the Pagani Zondaand the all-conquering Bugatti Veyron.The Swede is a different driving experience from the moment I nudge the starter button and the ceramic-coated Inconel exhaust — similar to Pagani's system — lets out a throaty roar. But it need not back down from either one.
It's a more muscular experience than the detail-intense and slightly fussy Zonda, from the design through to the drive.
Visually it's a big, bluff boxer of a car, with a smooth, curvaceous front end, powerful haunches and, when it's in place, a low-slung double bubble roof that gives the car a real stealth fighter look. Until the dihedral synchro helix door opens, swivels and pivots into position and jaws that had just scraped themselves off the floor hit the deck once again.
Christian von Koenigsegg is a designer at heart and loves these kinds of touches, has several patents on the engineering side, including a response charge system in the turbo system to improve the throttle response, and deserves more credit than he perhaps receives for innovation.
Possibly the biggest criticism is the visual similarity with the CC it replaces, but ithas a wider track, totally revised aero,a new interior and the infinitely cool ‘ghost light'. This uses carbon nanotubes to hide interior lighting until the car is turned on, when the lights appear to shine through solid aluminium.
He sketched out and modelled the base car and may not have even had time for cars if his previous inventions — a replacement for the Walkman that held music on a computer chip and glueless click laminate flooring — had been taken seriously. Others went on to do quite well with both of these concepts…
Incidentally, it looks better with the roof on, but under the blazing Middle Eastern sunshine it's only right to go alfresco, remove the hard top with a spanner and stow it under the front clamshell. This is a neat trick that even the Veyron cannot match: with the Grand Sport you have to make a choice and leave the roof at home, taking a ridiculous emergency umbrella out with you to guard against rainstorms. The Koenigsegg doesn't only fit the roof in that front end, it can even take golf clubs, and wins the practicality war by a mile.
Venturi tunnels underneath the car anda rear diffuser ensure it is not adorned with excessive visible aero tricks on the surface. But even the wheels are designed to create a vortex at speed and reduce aero drag, so the car generates 300kg of downforce at 250kph — more if you opt for the robotised rear wing.
Inside, the neat, minimalist feel continues with the trademark round centre console and an LCD that lends a futuristic feel, even if it's hard to read in the blazing Dubai sunlight. Then there is the driving experience, which will simply emptyyour brain.
Awakening the beast
I roll out of the near-deserted pit lane at the Autodrome and plant the throttle for the first time. The Agera, which is the Swedish word for the verb ‘to act', just goes mad. All that power ploughs through the rear wheels and sends the Koenigsegg scorching to 100kph in 3.1 seconds, way faster than the Zonda. In 8.9 seconds, 200kph is conquered, and the Agerawill go from 0-200-0kph in just 13.7 seconds, which will leave you with internal bleeding.
It won't run out of steam until well beyond 390kph, although the top speed isn't fixed yet and the Veyron could have a sleepless night or two. But it's not just the numbers, it's the sheer violence of the turbo-powered delivery that marks this car apart.
It's an absolutely docile creature until the revs hit 3,500rpm and then it bolts forward with a jolt and I'm at the next bend. Then on lift-off, as I prepare to hit the ceramic brakes and flick down two gears on the seven-speed paddle-shift, a fireball erupts from that cannon of a central exhaust and the whole car shimmies as the wastegates open and send a convulsion throughthe drivetrain.
It takes real muscle to force into the bends too. Whereas the Zonda and Veyron can be trained on the apex with the fingertips, I'm using shoulder muscles with the Agera.
That's a legacy of grip and physical force, rather than weight. It can produce lateral cornering forces of 1.6g, thanks to epic levels of grip from the Michelin Pilot Super Sports and a set-up focused on the cornering speed, while the Veyron Super Sport will give 1.45g. That means, theoretically, that the Agera will destroy almost anything on track if the driver can find the very limit of the grip without barrelling through that fine line.
I can still feel the car tugging to the outside of the circuit, understeering ever so slightly on a constant throttle. Of course you can balance the rear slip angle with a delicate right foot or push straight through into lairy, sliding oversteer with a hefty application of throttle, with the traction control switched off. But then with a turbo-powered car it makes sense to make it nose heavy. When a tail-happy car comes on boost mid-corner, in the wet, people die…
The brakes, meanwhile, are pin-sharp ceramics mated to six piston callipers and the car's stability under heavy deceleration is a testament to the engineering throughout. The Veyron and this are two of the only cars that brake in a perfectly straight line without a hand on the wheel.
Verdict
It's still a hardcore car and only a few special souls can truly appreciate its skills, but then Koenigsegg sells just 15 cars a year and only needs a few elite souls that truly ‘get it'.
Customers tend to be heads of state or self-made billionaires on the lookout for something different, more extreme and more hardcore than they can find elsewhere.
And now, Sweden has more to offer them than an inexpensive coffee table…
specs & ratings
Model Agera
Engine 4.7-litre V8 twin turbo
Transmission Seven-speed sequential, RWD
Power 800bhp @ 6,850rpm
Torque 1,000Nm @ 2,680rpm
0-100kph 3.1sec
Top speed 395kph+
Price Dh5m
Plus Brutal acceleration and even better handling
Minus Edgy at the limit
Rivals
Bugatti Veyron
Going by price, maybe the standard Veyron is more of a rival, but performance is the Koenigsegg's raison d'être, so the Veyron Super Sport it is then… It will obliterate the Swede in the top-speed stakes, but on track, the Agera could corner up to 20 per cent quicker, despite one less driven axle. If we were to choose between the two, a coin toss would suffice.
Pagani Zonda F
The ultimate Italian performance car might have a German 7.3-litre V12 AMG heart, but the chassis and body are all Pagani. Also, it's normally aspirated for 594bhp. We're told it has sublime handling, and is one of the tamest supercars when driven on the limit. The F is a homage toJuan Manuel Fangio, which makes it extra cool.
1997 CC
The first Koenigsegg prototype weighed much less, 900kg, but then again, it was a prototype. It was the only Koenigsegg so far to feature a V12, 3.8-litres in displacement, and made 500bhp at 9,000rpm, thanks to a turbo. 0-100kph came in 3.2 seconds and top speed was 354kph.
On the images:
Motor - Dry sump lubrication, 1.5 bar of boost, carbon fibre intake manifold, ceramic-coated exhaust… The whole engine weighs just 173kg!
The Agera monocoque - 58kN of torsional rigidity per degree! Twice as stiff as a Ferrari F50 then… It only weighs 72 kgs, including fuelcells. For comparison, the carbon monocell in the McLaren MP4-12C weighs close to 80 kgs.
Last edited by exRockstar; Jan 7, 2011 at 04:17 PM.
