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FEATURE
The Koenigsegg Regera is essentially just a plug-in hybrid
Published Wed, Jun 15, 2022 10:39 AM
The poster cars of the ‘80s & ‘90s, such as the F40, Countach and 959, are burned into the minds of those of us that are old enough to remember as true pioneers. But as technology improves at an exponential rate, modern hyper cars are replaced every few years, right? Well, not in some cases. We checked out the Koenigsegg Regera to find out more.
WHO?
If you’ve spent any time on YouTube ogling over supercars, you’ll likely have come across Zach’s Garage. With a collection of more than 100 cars, ranging from ultra-exclusive hyper cars to vintage buses, and everything in between, the Lewis family have a love of the eclectic.
This beautiful gloss blue carbon Regera forms part of that collection, and is no show pony. You can check it out over on their channel.
WHAT?
The Koenigsegg Regera is the King of The Usable Hyper cars. Which is ironic, as Regera actually means “to reign” in Swedish. The numbers involved are ludicrous, but we’ll talk more about those in a minute.
The Regera was launched in 2015, and was designed as the big brother to the Agera, which is, essentially, a stripped down Regera. It was designed for blasting across continents in record time, and is more capable of this than most of its contemporaries. Where it differs from them is its drivetrain. Buckle up, because this gets a bit confusing.
Basically, the Regera is a plug-in hybrid, albeit on steroids. It has engine, obviously-a 5.0 V8 twin-turbo, which is capable of pushing out 1,100bhp on standard 95RON pump fuel. Koenigsegg won’t say what it’ll do on E85, but the increases are reported to be “significant”. Now, you’d think that 1,100bhp would be more than enough to propel a car that weighs less than 1,500kgs dry, but for Christian von Koenigsegg, it wasn’t enough.
So, he decided to add not one, or even two, but three electric motors. One, rated at 215bhp by itself, basically acts as a ‘torque fill’, ensuring a constant supply of earth spinning torque whatever speed you’re doing, whilst each rear wheel boasts a 241bhp motor. The resultant power is in excess of 1,700bhp, and delivery is nothing short of staggering, with the 60mph dash dispatched in 2.8 seconds and 186mph in 10.9 seconds, with an electronically limited top whack of 251mph. Oh, and it’ll hit that in a stitch over 20 seconds. Madness.
What makes the power delivery so linear is the innovative, yet bonkers transmission system created by Christian and his team. The Koenigsegg Direct Drive system, or KDD, effectively eliminates the need for gears. Up to 30mph, the motors on the rear wheel propel it along happily, and after that, a hydraulic coupling between the engine takes over, involving witchcraft of some form, and the car is propelled to ludicrous speeds without interruption. They’ve even programmed a little blip into the “downshift” on the steering wheel paddles, thanks to the insanely intelligent hydraulic system.
Wheel are forged from finest carbon, and in order to bring the beast safely to a stop, 397mm carbon ceramic 6-pots are employed at the front, with 380mm at the rear.
WHAT?
The Koenigsegg Regera is the King of The Usable Hyper cars. Which is ironic, as Regera actually means “to reign” in Swedish. The numbers involved are ludicrous, but we’ll talk more about those in a minute.
The Regera was launched in 2015, and was designed as the big brother to the Agera, which is, essentially, a stripped down Regera. It was designed for blasting across continents in record time, and is more capable of this than most of its contemporaries. Where it differs from them is its drivetrain. Buckle up, because this gets a bit confusing.
Basically, the Regera is a plug-in hybrid, albeit on steroids. It has engine, obviously-a 5.0 V8 twin-turbo, which is capable of pushing out 1,100bhp on standard 95RON pump fuel. Koenigsegg won’t say what it’ll do on E85, but the increases are reported to be “significant”. Now, you’d think that 1,100bhp would be more than enough to propel a car that weighs less than 1,500kgs dry, but for Christian von Koenigsegg, it wasn’t enough.
So, he decided to add not one, or even two, but three electric motors. One, rated at 215bhp by itself, basically acts as a ‘torque fill’, ensuring a constant supply of earth spinning torque whatever speed you’re doing, whilst each rear wheel boasts a 241bhp motor. The resultant power is in excess of 1,700bhp, and delivery is nothing short of staggering, with the 60mph dash dispatched in 2.8 seconds and 186mph in 10.9 seconds, with an electronically limited top whack of 251mph. Oh, and it’ll hit that in a stitch over 20 seconds. Madness.
What makes the power delivery so linear is the innovative, yet bonkers transmission system created by Christian and his team. The Koenigsegg Direct Drive system, or KDD, effectively eliminates the need for gears. Up to 30mph, the motors on the rear wheel propel it along happily, and after that, a hydraulic coupling between the engine takes over, involving witchcraft of some form, and the car is propelled to ludicrous speeds without interruption. They’ve even programmed a little blip into the “downshift” on the steering wheel paddles, thanks to the insanely intelligent hydraulic system.
Wheel are forged from finest carbon, and in order to bring the beast safely to a stop, 397mm carbon ceramic 6-pots are employed at the front, with 380mm at the rear.
HOW?
As you’d imagine, you can’t exactly pop to your local car supermarket and pick up a Regera as they only ever made 80 and pretty much all of them are in private collections with some destined to likely never even turn a wheel.
WHERE?
This very special Regera was shot by Rick Noel, at the ultra-exclusive Vmax 200 event, back in 2020. If you want to see more of his work, you can check out his Insta over at @sprite_photography
SPECS
- Manufacturer: Koenigsegg
- Model: Regera
- Engine: 45.0 V8 twin-turbo
- Drivetrain: Koenigsegg Direct Drive, 3 electric motors
- Chassis: Carbon fibre chassis & exoskeleton
- Wheels: Carbon fibre centrelock, 19” front & 20” rear
- Exterior: Gloss blue carbon fibre
