Motor Shows
Motor Shows

Koenigsegg Regera revealed in Geneva, and its outputs are completely insane


We’ve already seen the Bugatti Chiron premiere this week in Geneva, and now we’ve seen the production version of one of the few cars anywhere that can match it — the electrified Koenigsegg Regera.


It’s rare that one reads a press kit citing a 0-400km/h time, but this Koenigsegg is a rare car…

Indeed, the battle between the giant and mega-rich Volkswagen Group’s Bugatti flagship and the upstart Swedish firm with the hard-to-spell name starting with K is fast becoming an epic for the ages.

We saw the ‘concept’ version of the Koenigsegg Regera at last year’s Geneva motor show. Numerous orders were placed at that time, and the ensuing 12 months to this year’s iteration have been spent getting the Regera’s development, testing and homologation finalised for “worldwide sale”.

In total, Koenigsegg made a claimed 3000 changes to bring the concept to production fruition. Ever bold, the company says this week’s culmination of all that work signals “a new era in Megacar performance”.

Megacar, hey? Yes. According to Koenigsegg, the Regera will reach 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, 0-200 in just 6.6 seconds and 0-300 in a blistering 10.9 seconds. Koenigsegg estimates a 0-400 km/h time of 20 seconds.

Yes, you read that last bit right. This means the rear-drive Regera is 0.3s slower to 100km/h than the AWD 16-cylinder 1103kW/1600Nm Chiron, but by the time you hit 300km/h, the Keonigsegg with its multitude of torque sources has left the heavier Bugatti in the dust.

A quick look at the specs are simply astonishing. Propelling the Regera is a petrol-electric drivetrain making more than 1120kW and 2000Nm of torque.

The electric side of this combination incorporates the first car application of a 800V, 4.5kWh battery pack, which offers 525kW of discharge and has the “highest cooling capacity of any battery in automotive use today”. Koenigsegg also claims this “Formula One” grade pack weighs only 90kg. EV range is about 50km.

Details are sparse, but the concept drivetrain with the same outputs comprised a mid-rear mounted twin-turbocharged V8 with an electric motor ahead of the crankshaft. The V8 engine is directly connected to a final drive unit, coupled to two 180kW/260Nm torque-vectoring electric motors, one for each rear wheel.

Channeling all this torque is the patent-pending in-house-developed Koenigsegg Direct Drive system. A direct drive mechanism is a substitute for a conventional transmission, and is comparatively lossless.

In this system, the IC engine acts as a fixed gear instead of a gearbox, meaning its peak potential comes at high speeds. The electric motors develop the onus lower down, covering the holes in torque delivery.

In Koenigsegg’s own words, it: “Developed a clutch-slip mechanism that uses the hydraulic coupling to convert torque at medium/high speeds during fast acceleration. This allows the combustion engine to gain revs and power, thereby giving the sensation of a traditional downshift with the associated aural enjoyment, even without the traditional gearbox.

“Shift paddles remain on either side of the steering wheel. The left paddle is used to enhance the regenerative braking effect in recharging the battery pack. The right paddle is used to activate the hydraulic coupling’s ‘downshift’ operation.”

In other areas, Koenigsegg has trimmed 38kg from the concept’s kerb mass, taking it down to 1590kg (about 400kg lighter than the Chiron). Underneath the Regera’s carbon-fibre and kevlar body panels is a carbon-fibre and aluminium honeycomb chassis.

Furthermore, the interior of the Regera features “optimum comfort and functionality”. To complement the rear camera and the side door cameras, there is also the option of a forward-facing camera to enable a bird's-eye view of the of the car while parking.

Apple CarPlay is standard equipment in the Regera and with Wi-Fi functionality, there is no longer any need to connect a phone via USB. Inductive charging ensures that an owner’s phone remains ready for use once a journey has ended (assuming you have the right case or the right phone).

Koenigsegg commences Regera deliveries from the end of 2016, and plans to make only 80 units. A round of applause seems due.

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