Koenigsegg Is Gunning For The Chiron's 0-400-0 Record

Bugatti and Koenigsegg have had a bit of a rivalry going on for a few years now.

First, Molsheim shows up with a thousand horsepower in a luxury car and goes faster than any other road car in history. Then the plucky independent from Ängelholm comes back and moves the bar up a bit. The French/Germans add more power and raise the limit, the Swedes make a new car and take the record back again. It’s a tit-for-tat game at 250mph - and we love it.

So when Bugatti recently set a new world record for acceleration and deceleration, from 0-400km/h (249mph) and back to 0 again, it was almost inevitable that Koenigsegg would take a look and think it could do it better.

According to its Instagram, the game is on, and it has just the tool to do it: the Koenigsegg Agera RS.

The Agera RS is in essence a development of the Agera R and S models, using technology developed for the One:1 model - a car with a power to weight ratio of 1bhp per kg.

It uses a number of aerodynamic tricks, including an active spoiler and dynamic underbody flaps. These could be set up for downforce on track or for aero efficiency on a top speed run. The Agera RS also uses the One:1’s carbon-fibre intake to help reduce weight. The twin-turbo, five-litre V8 produces 1341bhp, and the car’s kerb weight is 1395kg.

To slow it down again, Koenigsegg uses ventilated ceramic disc brakes - 397mm up front and 380mm at the back. It’s going to need it to match the Chiron’s amazing 1.3G braking effort.

While we wait for Koenigsegg to reveal its attempt, here’s a quick reminder of how Bugatti’s 42-second run went.