Best Koenigsegg models ever launched in supercar history

Koenigsegg Automotive AB is a Swedish automaker renowned for its high-performance cars, many of which are counted among the fastest in the world. No wonder then that hypercar car enthusiasts are going gaga over Koenigsegg Jesko, whose most recent 24-carat gold accents version is one of the best models ever to have been added to the company’s storied list of high-speed cars.

Based in Ängelholm, Skåne County, Sweden, Koenigsegg was founded on 12 August 1994 by the then 22-year-old automotive engineer Christian von Koenigsegg. The first ever car made by the company was Koenigsegg CC, but it was only a prototype.

Swedish motorsports driver John Rickard Rydell was the first to drive the car in public at an event at Anderstorp Raceway in Sweden in 1996. Later, Picko Troberg and Carl ‘Calle’ Rosenblad, both Swedish racing drivers, tested the prototype.

As a company, Koenigsegg took off when the CC was showcased at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. To date, Koenigsegg has made and sold just over 200 cars of different models since the first one rolled off the production line in 2002.

It is apparent that Koenigsegg maintains a high degree of exclusivity, which is one of the reasons why its machines are loved by serious motor car lovers. The company labels all its machines, both current and legacy, ‘megacars’ perhaps to highlight the superiority of its cars in terms of speed, power and style over other high-speed car makers. Generally, it is widely known that Koenigsegg is a maker of hypercars, and its earlier models can be called supercars.

Yet rising demand and immense popularity of the Swedish car maker have perhaps made the company aim for a larger global footprint. Koenigsegg is, therefore, substantially raising the number of units in its current models and those on its list for the future.

Even though the numbers will still be limited, the figure is larger than before. For instance, Koenigsegg was planning to produce only 50 units of CC850, a hypercar set for production in 2024. But it raised the number to 70 because of high demand.

As of now, the in-production Jesko will be the most manufactured Koenigsegg with a total of 125 planned units. However, the crown will soon be taken by the Koenigsegg Gemera, a four-seater which will see 300 units made.

Indicating that Gemera has a special place in the Koenigsegg models list, the company inaugurated a new mega hub at the Koenigsegg Campus in Ängelholm in July 2023. Called Gripen Atelier, the 11,000-square-metre facility is dedicated to the development, design, production, and office and showroom space for the Gemera line-up and future models. The facility brought the total area of all Koenigsegg facilities to 30,000 square metres.

List of the best Koenigsegg car models ever launched

Koenigsegg CC8S (2002)

Eight years of hard work on development and design since the company’s founding led to the birth of the CC8S. The supercar was first showcased at the Paris Auto Show in 2000. It went into production two years later, becoming the first production car manufactured by Koenigsegg. Only six units were ever made till its production run ended in 2003.

Its engine was based on a modular Ford V8 architecture, but the Swedish automaker had to re-engineer most of it to satisfy both the power of 655 bhp and the emissions requirements that it aimed for. It reached a top speed of 390 km/h and accelerated at 0-100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds.

At the time of its production, the car set the Guinness World Record for the most powerful production engine. It also won several other honours, particularly for its design.

Indeed, design was one of its most defining elements. The car pioneered the detachable, stowable carbon roof as well as the dihedral actuation doors for Koenigsegg.

Koenigsegg CCR (2004)

The CCR was the third car produced by Koenigsegg. Only 14 were made during its production run that ended in 2006.

The car is described as “an evolution of the CC8S.” Its V8 cast aluminium, 4 valves per cylinder engine delivered a power output of 806 bhp.

It was tremendously fast, going over 395 km/h and accelerating at 0-100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. Koenigsegg CCR broke the Guinness world record held by the legendary Mclaren F1 since 1998 as the world’s fastest production car with a speed of 388 km/h at the Nardo test track in Italy, in February 2005.

The same car was then shipped to Geneva for the 2005 Geneva Motor Show the day it broke the record. Following the achievement, the CCR set more records at the Nürburgring and other tracks.

Koenigsegg CCX (2006)

The CCX has the distinction of being the first Koenigsegg to be sold into the United States market. Though it looked slightly similar to the CCR, the company calls the CCX its third-generation machine. One of its most significant features was its engine, which was designed and made completely in-house, unlike the engines of previous Koenigsegg models on this list.

It came with an enlarged chassis and was designed to meet all the world’s standards for safety and emissions. One of its most significant achievements was on the popular BBC motoring show, Top Gear, where it set the top speed record in 2006, reaching 315 km/h.

Several variants of the CCX were produced till 2010. These include Koenigsegg CCGT which was designed to compete in the FIA GT1, Koenigsegg CCXR, Koenigsegg CCX Edition, Koenigsegg CCXR Edition, Koenigsegg CCXR Special Edition, and Koenigsegg Trevita. All variants had top speeds exceeding 400 km/h.

Koenigsegg CCXR (2007)

Koenigsegg calls the CCXR the “world’s first green supercar” because it could also run on recyclable ethanol of the E85 type besides regular fuel. A variant of the CCX, the CCXR’s flex-fuel twin-supercharged V8 engine was more powerful than its predecessor, delivering a power output of 1018 bhp.

The side badge of the car, therefore, came with a green ‘R’ badge. One CCXR model was exclusively designed to run on E100 fuel or pure ethanol. It, thus, bore a blue ‘R’ badge.

The CCXR also came fitted with the company’s first Chrono instrument cluster, designed for safety and aesthetics.

Members of the CCXR family include Koenigsegg CCXR Edition and Koenigsegg CCXR Special Edition. The former, of which only four were made, was designed for the track. The latter, which had a special double F1 wing and an all-clear-carbon bodywork, was the final limited edition of the flex-fuel-capable CCXR range, whose production run ended in 2009.

With just two units produced, the Koenigsegg CCXR Special Edition tied with the Koenigsegg CCX Edition and  Koenigsegg Trevita as the most exclusive Koenigsegg cars ever made.

Koenigsegg Agera R (2011)

Considered by many as one of the best Koenigsegg car models ever made, the Agera R is a variant of 2010’s Agera. The name means “to take action” or “act” in Swedish. The Koenigsegg Agera R differed from its parent car primarily in its engine.

The Agera R could run on any fuel — from 95 octane pump gas to E100 biofuel. Its power depended on the fuel used. For instance, the 95 octane pump gas produced 960 hp while the E100 or E85 took the output to 1140 hp.

The car could go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and had a top speed of over 420 km/h. The production run of Agera R ended in 2014, with only 18 units ever made.

Koenigsegg Agera RS (2015)

Koenigsegg originally planned to make 25 Agera RS cars but ended up producing 27 till its end in 2018 due to its tremendous popularity. Like Agera R, the Agera RS was part of the Agera family. Koenigsegg had introduced the Agera S and One:1 before Agera RS. Only five units of Agera S and six of One:1 had been produced.

The Koenigsegg Agera RS was a different beast altogether. First displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2015, the car marked a height that the company had reached in everything, from design to performance. Important lessons from the development and performance of the One:1, the first production car in history to feature a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, were incorporated into the Agera RS. However, unlike the extreme track version that the One:1 was, the Agera RS also combined the functionality of the previous R and S models without compromising performance.

Thus, the car came with the company’s highest-ever output at the time, of 1160 hp, on the back of the company’s own twin-turbo aluminium 5.0L V8 gasoline engine. Its features include advanced lightweight sound insulation, front winglets, side skirts, and an advanced dynamic underbody flap system, among others. It holds the top speed record for a homologated production car on a public road in the US, going as fast as 446.97 km/h, based on the average of two runs, on a customer-owned car — a record it set on 4 November 2017.

Koenigsegg Regera (2016)

Before introducing Agera RS, Koenigsegg launched Regera. To date, it is the most-produced Koenigsegg ever, with 80 units made and sold during its production run that concluded in 2022.

Koenigsegg Regera has reached an iconic status on the list of the best models that the Swedish hypercar maker has manufactured so far. Announced at Geneva in 2015 before its production launch the following year, the car is a technological marvel.

It is a plug-in hybrid featuring three electric motors, which are combined with a powerful twin-turbo V8 and a high-performance, ultra-light battery pack to produce 1500 hp of total output. Its 800-volt, 4.5 kWh battery pack made it the world’s first 800-V production car at the time of its introduction in 2015. The powertrain technology behind the car is the company’s own Koenigsegg Direct Drive.

Regera has no gearbox, so the power goes directly to the rear wheels of the car. Its features include a rear subframe, in which the mounts stay soft and isolate engine noise under normal driving conditions. Its interiors are purely luxurious, including lush leather or Alcantara seats, and function buttons are specially designed with nano perforations for better lighting and dashboard fittings. It also has two cup holders, which is a rare feature for a hypercar of its type.

Koenigsegg Jesko (2021)

The ongoing production car Koenigsegg Jesko comes in two types: Jesko Attack and Jesko Absolut. The former is for the track and the latter is the road-legal production variant. Priced at around USD 2.9 million, the Jesko Absolut was launched in 2020 at the then-cancelled Geneva Motor Show.

The name Jesko is a tribute to Christian von Koenigsegg’s father Jesko von Koenigsegg. Commenting on the Absolut variant, Christian had reportedly earlier said, “The name Absolut comes from the fact that this is the absolute fastest Koenigsegg that we will ever make.”

And what speed! The car recorded a top speed of 531 km/h earlier in 2023, making it one of the world’s fastest cars ever made. The car has a power output of 1600 hp on E85 and 1280 hp on gasoline, which gives it all the boost it needs to fly on the road. Due to its incredible speed, some car enthusiasts label the Koenigsegg Jesko as a touch above the ‘hypercar’ tag.

Jesko won the Hypercar of the Year award at the 2022 Top Gear Awards for its aesthetics, performance, craftsmanship and technology.

Koenigsegg has been showcasing both Jesko Attack and Jesko Absolut in numerous colour schemes. These include Gray With Orange & Exposed Carbon Accents, Imperial Blue, Naked Carbon, On Point, Sweet Mandarin, Crystal White, Green, White and Black, Red and Purple.

One of its most talked about colourways on social media is the Jesko Attack with 24-carat gold leaf accents. According to reports, the particular colour was commissioned by an unnamed customer.

Koenigsegg CC850 (2024)

Koenigsegg CC850 pays tribute to both the company founder’s 50th birth anniversary and the original CC8 from 2002. The car, therefore, has an interior styling, particularly the analogue chronocluster, that is similar to the CC8. But both are worlds apart in terms of performance.

The CC850 comes with a twin-turbo 5.0-litre V8 engine, based on the Jesko model. It delivers a power output of 1185 hp on gasoline and 1385 hp on E85. It has a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, meaning that the entire vehicle is set to weigh only 1385 kg. The company says that this also means that CC850 won’t aim for any speed records.

According to Chris Bruce of Motor1.com, the car has a six-speed gated shifter, but its gearbox has nine cogs. This allows drivers to either manually shift through the six gears or change the drive mode to go into a nine-speed automatic.

The first 50 cars were sold out in the first five days after the car’s announcement in 2022, which led to the company increasing its production numbers to 70. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2024.

Koenigsegg Gemera (2024)

Launched in 2020 in an online broadcast at the cancelled Geneva Motor Show, the Gemera is described by the company as the world’s first Mega-GT.

It is also Koenigsegg’s first four-seater. The interiors are decked with the highest level of comfort, with full leather and suede interiors, perfectly padded memory foam seats, entertainment screens with Apple CarPlay, on-board Wi-Fi, three climate zones, four reading lights, wireless charging for all passengers, an  11-speaker sound system, and eight cupholders, of which four are heated.

It has a hybrid powertrain, combining the HV8 configuration with Koenigsegg Dark Matter e-motor for a total power output of 2,300 hp, which the company says is “a new world record for a production car.”

The company says that the car can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.9 seconds and has a top speed of 400 km/h.

The car will reportedly go into production in late 2024, with deliveries set to begin in early 2025 at a price tag of USD 1.7 million, making it the cheapest Koenigsegg in production.

(Hero and Featured images: Koenigsegg)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– Which is the best Koenigsegg model?

There is no way to ascertain the best Koenigsegg models out of the list of production cars the company has made. This is because all its products are exclusive and widely loved by fans of supercars around the world.

– Which is the cheapest Koenigsegg model?

The Koenigsegg Gemera is reportedly priced at around USD 1.7 million. Currently, it is the cheapest Koenigsegg model on the list of cars under production.

– Which is the most expensive Koenigsegg model?

There is no clarity on the most expensive Koenigsegg model as there is no concrete information on the prices of the cars previously in production. But Koenigsegg Jesko, priced at around USD 2.9 million and currently in production, can be called one of the most expensive.

The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

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