Outrageously powerful cars are almost always cool, but not all of them are interesting.
Christian von Koenigsegg’s newest example of rolling hyperbole is both.
This car is so over the top, it doesn’t just make 1,341 horsepower. It generates one megawatt.
Maximum torque from the revised twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 is 1,011 pound-feet. And that’s without going all-out with boost. Doing that would’ve meant reduced driveability and response, as well as a higher rpm level in order for the atomic power plant to fully activate. Once the One:1 goes nuclear, simulations show it should be able to go faster than 273 miles per hour.
So, what makes this big-numbers monster so interesting?
A lot. For example:
1. The One:1 weighs 1,360 kilograms with half a tank of gas and all fluids topped off. (That throws off the implied ratio of one kilogram of weight for every one horsepower. I’m guessing the numbers line up somewhere in Koenigsegg’s paperwork. Perhaps the dry weight is closer to 1,340 kg.)
2. Pretty much everything except the tires is carbon fiber. Even the sun visors. And the springs. Mind. Blown.
3. The housings for the new variable geometry turbochargers and the titanium exhaust tip are 3D printed. What?!
4. Oddly, the front of the underside has cut-outs in it that weaken the carbon fiber. “Then there are hydraulic actuators which are actually used to bend the carbon fiber and direct the air through the body and out through the hood.” Those flaps are closed for maximum aerodynamic efficiency when the One:1 is in top speed mode.
4. Le Mans race cars inspired the new Swede’s top-mounted movable wing – a first on a road car.
5. Although this Koenigsegg is street-legal, it was developed “based on customer requests for an insane track car that could also be run on the road.” Mission accomplished. The company will take its development car to tracks around the world, calibrate the suspension for various sections, then feed that information into a GPS system. When the One:1 hits those logged portions, it will respond accordingly. A linked smartphone app will act as a convenient data recorder.
Only six (already-sold) customer versions of what Jalopnik’s Travis Okulski calls “one of the most obscene and amazing supercars that will ever exist” will be made, at a 30 percent premium over the Agera. The One:1 will be revealed at the Geneva International Motor Show.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
