SPY PICS: Rare Koenigsegg crash-tested at 'Ring

It has happened before, and will undoubtedly happen again, but the crash of an exotic ultra-high performance car is always newsworthy.

On July 18, Swedish hypercar maker Koenigsegg suffered an ignominy shared by many other hypercar makers when a test driver write off one of its few 1000kW One:1 mid-engined V8 two-seat coupes on the Nurburgring.

The crash happened during testing that was intended as a lead-up to a record attempt on the famous German circuit at “some time in the future”.

Said to be one of only seven examples in existence, the Koenigsegg One:1 (for one horsepower or 0.746kW per kilogramme) was wrecked on the “tricky” S-bend at the entrance to the “Adenauer Forst” section of the circuit.

Koenigsegg issued a statement following the crash, which said: “Koenigsegg Automotive AB can confirm reports online that a Koenigsegg One:1 was involved in a crash during testing as part of Industry Pool at the Nurburgring on Monday, 18 July. The driver was taken to hospital as per standard procedures in such situations and was released the same afternoon.

“Koenigsegg has participated in Industry Pool testing for a week in each of the last two months, working primarily on vehicle setups both for ongoing vehicle development and for an attempt at a Nurburgring lap record at some time in the future.

“A Koenigsegg is an extreme performance car and must be tested accordingly. This is an inherently dangerous undertaking that must be conducted progressively and methodically, working point by point on all areas of our highly adjustable vehicles. Our primary concern is always driver safety and any testing is structured and conducted accordingly.

“This incident is confirmation of just how difficult it is to drive at this level on the world’s ultimate proving ground. Obviously we are dismayed with this development but pleased that our safety systems worked as designed to protect our driver.”

The writing-off of a car valued at around US$2.8m (A$3.72m) is a rare thing, but not entirely unheard of.

In 2010 a Pagani Zonda C12 S was crashed by its owner in the wee small hours in Hong Kong; a Bugatti Veyron was written off in 2007 by a family member of the owner; Rowan Atkinson crashed his McLaren F1 in 2011 (his second crash as he had already rear-ended an Austin Metro in a previous incident) and in 2011 an expressway accident in Japan claimed eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini – and a Toyota Prius.