Take a Tour Inside Koenigsegg HQ: Sweden’s supercar builder opens its doors to Petrolicious
If you questioned where the best supercars hailed from in the early noughties, you’d put money on the answers being: Maranello, Stuttgart and Sant Agata. Yet in 2024 there’s a small town in Sweden which can claim the accolade of building the fastest and most expensive supercars on the planet. Welcome to the technologically advanced world of Koenigsegg.
Elbowing your way into the hypercar industry is something that an almost endless supply of companies have tried – and failed – over the years. The kind who make all the right noises, usually with an attention-grabbing top speed and a price to make even the richest sheikh wince. Yet before a production-ready model exists in the real world, that interest and a whole load of investment has fizzled and disappeared as quickly as its claimed 0-60mph time.
Yet Koenigsegg is one of the few brands who’ve not only achieved supercar status in the last few decades, but also forced the established makers to push further and faster in pursuit of the ultimate supercar. And what makes this all the more impressive is the fact Koenigsegg isn’t some artisan Italian machinist or German spin-off handily using BMW’s spare engines. It’s entirely self-sufficient, with a passion for performance and level of detail that goes beyond almost any carmaker on the planet.
You can likely blame the company for coining the term hypercar, too. There’s not a single Koenigsegg offered today – nor has been since the CCXR was introduced in 2007 – which produces fewer than a thousand horsepower. That’s a figure we thought would never be topped after the Bugatti Veyron, yet Koenigsegg’s latest model, Jesko, adds almost 60% more power onto that. The result? 1578bhp through its rear wheels with a cool $3 million-dollar price tag. Spicy, but that does allow you to enter the prestigious 300mph car club, though.
Christian Von Koenigsegg is the mastermind behind this success. A man who has the rare talent of being achingly smart, yet with the ability to articulate even the most complex technologies in such a way that mere mortals understand its principal without feeling dumb. Sure, the horsepower, speed and price are all headline-grabbing stats, but Koenigsegg back up all of their claims in real life. And they execute it using technologies and techniques rarely seen in top-end motorsport, let alone ‘production’ cars. So how did one man’s dream become a reality?
The Koenigsegg story officially starts back in August 1994 when – aged just 22-years-old – Christian Von Koenigsegg founded his own company having dreamt of doing so since a child. With zero experience of vehicle manufacturing and little funding available, Christian had to rely on his determination to learn and obsessive passion for performance to establish Koenigsegg as a serious brand. And, just two years later, the first working prototype was produced known as the Koenigsegg CC.
This wasn’t a static display model; it not only drove but thanks to a Ford-sourced V8 it had performance to match the distinctive appearance. So much so, it was displayed a year later at the Cannes Film Festival. But the big breakthrough was still yet to come. During the 2000 Paris Motor Show Christian unveiled the CC8S, a faster and more-refined version of the original CC concept which would later go on to take the crown as the world’s most powerful (and fastest) production car with its 655bhp twin-supercharged V8 powering it all the way to 242mph. Annoyingly, Christian was still only 30-years-old at this time.
In a nod to their history, Christian keeps an orange CCXR on display in the reception of Koenigsegg HQ – a car which still looks remarkably modern despite being 17 years old now, and arguably the model which pushed the brand from supercar into hypercar territory. Perhaps what’s telling of all Koenigsegg models, from the earlier CCX editions to the later Regera and Agera models, is they all share enough DNA to look instantly recognisably without the design looking dated or lazy.
Over the last three decades, an estimated 250 Koenigsegg’s have been produced and while that may not sound like a lot, it’s not exactly a car you can judge by modern manufacturing levels. Each car takes around 4,000 hours to build – that’s 166 non-stop days – and that excludes the years of engineering and development that predates every version released.
Almost all the components are made in-house, from the carbon fibre wheels and wiring looms right through to the entire engine assembly. And, naturally, if you’re the type of customer dropping millions on a ‘base’ car, they’re not about to turn their nose up at any bespoke requests you throw into the mix either…
So, what comes next for Christian and his team? Well, aside from showing a keen interest in letting the 1578bhp Jesko Absolut stretch its legs – all the way to a claimed 310mph – the next chapter for Koenigsegg takes on a completely different shape altogether: Gemera.
Consider this their answer to a more practical, family-friendly supercar. Boasting four seats and space for actual luggage, the Gemera comes with two engine options: a 2,300bhp ‘hot’ V8 with 2750Mn of torque, or a more sensible 3-cylinder, 2.0-litre TFG (Tiny Friendly Giant) with just 1400bhp (when combined with an electric motor). It’s safe to say Christian Von Koenigsegg doesn’t exactly do the term ‘sensible’, and the automotive world’s a much better place for it.
