Koenigsegg unleashes Agera at Geneva

Koenigsegg's proposed buyout of Saab may have come to nought, but Sweden's ultra-niche purveyor of uber-supercars is still pressing ahead with development of its own products.

Pictured here is the Agera, debuting at this week's Geneva motor show, and the swoopy coupe is ostensibly a revamped version of the outgoing CCX (Competition Coupe X; the X commemorating the 10th anniversary of the first 'CC' vehicle) -- even though the company is billing it as an all-new model.

The Agera retains the CCX's 4.7-litre twin-supercharged engine (which is based on a US-sourced Ford Modular V8), and this unit cranks out a Bugatti Veyron-rivalling 669kW at 6850rpm and 1100Nm at 5100rpm. 

The Koenigsegg weighs substantially less than a Veyron at 1290kg, yet the Agera's performance is fairly similar (on paper). Koenigsegg quotes a 0-100km/h split of 3.1sec, 0-200km/h in 8.9sec and a top whack of 390-plus km/h.

Although it measures a compact 4.3m in length and just 1.1m tall, the Agera is almost 2m wide and this translates to a racecar stance. The image is reinforced by the car's tarmac-scraping front splitter, single central wiper and purposeful rear wing and diffuser.

Further benefiting its aero qualities, the flat carbonfibre/kevlar floor tray has Venturi tunnels towards the rear.  The chassis also remains aluminum honeycomb reinforced carbonfibre, and the whole lot rides on adjustable suspension. As per the CCX, the roof panel can be removed and stored under the bonnet.

New interior features include a carbonfibre centre console and a new lighting system that uses 'invisible nanotubes' to increase the visibility of the buttons, dials and instruments.

Koenigsegg plans to build just 16-20 Ageras annually and it's taking orders for the car at the Geneva show.

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