Car Throttle

In the rankings of current automobiles, the Ferrari 458 is near the top for performance.  It's a seriously fast car.  A combination of engineering, Italian want-factor, and space ship styling puts it on the top of a lot of people's Christmas lists.  Even though it's the "baby" Ferrari, it can smoke 99% of cars on the road.  A 4.5L direct-injected V8 in the middle cranks out 562 horsepower, with a 7-speed twin clutch automated manual banging out shifts at the 9,000rpm redline.  Car & Driver tested a 458 Italia against it's two closest competitors - the McLaren MP4-12C and Porsche 911 GT2 RS, and it put a hurting on their test equipment - 0-60 in 3.0 seconds flat, 0-100 in 6.5, quarter mile in 11.0

I think Christian von Koenigsegg is a big fan of the "go big or go home" mentality. Good example of this: Lamborghini has been slowwwwly revealing their upcoming halo supercar, which will be debuting at Geneva next month, the Aventador.  You're probably heard about it.  It's pretty extreme, y'know: carbon-fibre monocoque chassis, brand-new 700 horsepower V12 engine, new 7-speed twin clutch gearbox, etc.  Pretty extreme vehicle.  What's more extreme than a 700-horsepower Lamborghini, you say?  Well, how about a hand-built Swedish sports car with 1,115 horsepower? The new Agera R is a higher-performance version of the regular Agera, which recently replaced the CCX as Koenigsegg's model.  While the thought of a "higher performance" Agera is a bit absurd (the standard model has 910bhp, remember), in

Recently we've come to hear of a new supercar from Holland called the Zenvo ST1. Zenvo, being the name of the manufacturer and ST1, the name or model designation of the car. Now whilst the car looks good and will go into production soon I have a nagging feeling that it may not. This is due to the fact that it has a very normal name aside from the fact that it is entering a market that is filled with names like Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley and newer successful upstarts like Pagani, Koenigsegg, Spyker as well as not so successful ones like Keating, Farboud, Farbio and Arash. The latter three were started by one person who seems to be able to start one concept sportscar

You've got to love Koenigsegg.  Hard to say, easy to admire. The company was founded in 1994, which means it's one of the newer kids on the block.  Their intent was to bring a Swedish take on the classic supercar to market, taking the fight to Ferrari and Lamborghini on their first swing.  When you consider that they delivered their first production car to a customer in 2002, the fact that they've taken the top-end supercar market by storm (almost buying the entire Saab franchise along the way) in just 8 years is pretty damn amazing. Their cars have always produced fairly alarming numbers - those early CC8S models cranked out 655bhp from a supercharged 4.6L V8, and the latest CCXR made an insane 1,107bhp on

It has taken a back seat with all the news coming out today (Fritz Henderson's resignation dominating) but a good piece of news for Saab enthusiasts came out today. Last week, General Motors' deal with Koenigsegg for purchase of Saab fell apart, with the fear that it would join Magna International's failed purchase of Opel and the deal that fell through with Penske Group and Saturn. GM quickly made it known they would evaluate their options, and today they have released a statement that offers a glimpse of hope. "The GM Board of Directors has received expressions of interest in Saab since the conclusion of negotiations with Koenigsegg Group AB. The Board will evaluate potential bids between now and the end of December. At that

It's a sad day in Saab-land, indeed. Yesterday, the Koenigsegg group announced they are backing out of the purchase of Swedish automaker SAAB from failing giant General Motors.  Citing rising costs associated with numerous delays on GM's end the deal, Christian van Koenigsegg was quoted in an interview with the NYT as saying "Unfortunately, delays in closing this acquisition have resulted in risks and uncertainties that prevent us from successfully implementing the new Saab business plan." With this deal having seemingly been sealed up months ago, it leaves GM with very little choice as to what to do with the struggling Swedish niche brand.  Saab has always been a loss-leader for GM (even if GM has benefited greatly from engineering knowledge gained from the plucky Swedes), with

For General Motors, the sale of it's two European units, Saab and Opel, has been long and arduous. Magna International's purchase of Opel still hasn't been completed, but Koenigsegg's bid for Saab has going comparatively smooth so far. Koenigsegg's bid to purchase the brand just got a big boost with the announcement of a $599 loan for the company from the European Investment Bank. There were some reports that Koenigsegg's bid was meeting difficulties, but this loan should ensure the deal is completed. However there are still a number of approvals that have to be obtained from the Swedish government and European Union authorities. So, don't get too excited yet. Another interesting development that has occurred through this is China's Beijing Auto investment into Koenigsegg as a means

While the Saab 9-5 has awaited a redesign (over a decade), the world has passed it by. While an impressive vehicle at launch, the current Saab 9-5 has understandably not wore well with age. The new 9-5 will perhaps be the critical vehicle for Saab's near term success. The sale to Saab to Koenigsegg from General Motors has nearly been finalized pending some funding deals, and the 9-5 will be the first vehicle to launch under new ownership. Can the new company make Saab a success? If product were the only thing that had to do with Saab's future success, I'd prospects with the 9-5 are looking pretty good. The 9-5 wears new but still recognizable Saab themes that were shown prominently on the Aero X Concept

The Saab 9-5 is coming, the Saab 9-5 is coming! Yes, the car that everyone has been waiting on forever The 9-5 hasn't been competitive for years and it's high time for a change. The new 9-5 is that change, and it will be launched under new ownership. The GM-Koenigsegg deal has been pretty much finalized, I hope it all works out. With most important launches like the new 9-5, the manufacturer wants to keep everything under wraps until the very end. Unfortunately for Saab it didn't work out quite like that. In July the first leak came of a Saab-produced CGI. Then, Autozeitung and Autobild, not to be outdone, followed with full-on high-resolution images. Embargo breaking at it's finest! Now Saab has put up a counter

In February, Koenigsegg released a teaser of a new supercar. The Quant as it was called, later debuted at the Geneva International Auto Show in March. The Quant marked a new direction for Koenigsegg in many ways. It's styling was certainly a departure, as well as it's Grand Tourer nature. Perhaps the most important difference though was it's powertrain. Koenigsegg claimed a 312-mile range and 20 minute recharge time from a commercial grade power source. If true, they are amazing figures to be sure! I wondered how it was possible for Koenigsegg to bring the car to production. Now, a whirlwind few months later, could Saab help that car become a reality? That's what Swedish news site Realtid is saying. Now the translation is extremely sketchy but the takeaway is that Koenigsegg is