Published
on 28
Feb 2025
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All rights reserved.
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Koenigsegg's
first hybrid car is innovative.
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It
is always difficult to write about Koenigsegg because the Swedish firm
decline to offer its hypercars to motoring journalists for extensive
testing. Most reviews focus on design and engineering or straight line
performance. When it comes to how the car drives on normal roads that
you would enjoy to exploit, or on a decent race track, chances are
slim. Sometimes I suspect Christian von Koenigsegg doesn’t want his
cars to be compared with other hypercars. What he is more interested is
to conduct testing on how fast his cars go from 0-400km/h-0, that sort
of headline news.
The Regera is no exception. Ever since I reported its launch in Geneva
motor show 2015, I have not read any proper test drive review about it.
Now it is long gone – production started in 2016, and the last car was
delivered in 2022 – and there is still nothing
on this archive talking about this car, what a shame! As this is one of
the world’s fastest ever cars, I think it would be wrong to skip it, so
that’s why you finally see this overdue report.
Recall the background of this car first: back in 2013 to 2014, Porsche,
Ferrari and McLaren took the hypercar world into hybrid era with 918
Spyder, LaFerrari and P1, respectively. Meanwhile, Christian von
Koenigsegg purchased a Tesla Model S P85D and was amazed by how strong
and smooth its acceleration was. This led to his decision to build a
hybrid version of Koenigsegg Agera, which turned out to be Regera.
The Regera was derived from Agera, but its exterior evolved to be
sleeker and more stylish. Its curvy rear wing normally recesses flush
at the tail, rises and tilts at higher speed, contributing to downforce
that amounts to 450 kg at 155 mph. Later on, a “Ghost” package adds
winglets and fins hence another 20 percent downforce.
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0-400km/h
accomplished in a record-breaking 20.7 seconds.
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Koenigsegg called it a "fully robotized car", as its doors and lids are
operated hydraulically with soft latches. You can use the remote key or
even a smartphone app to control their opening and closure. Such
gadgets might sound pointless to Gordon Murray, but they might delight
the very rich buyers who want to show how special the car to their
guests. Koenigsegg argued that the feature added little weight, as the
car already needs a high-pressure hydraulic system to operate its
active front and rear wings as well as the adjustable shock absorbers
with variable ride height.
The Regera retained the 5-liter twin-turbo V8 of Agera RS but detuned
it slightly to 1100 horsepower and 922 pound-foot torque when it is fed
with gasoline (a bit more on E85 ethanol). The two turbos are smaller
thus maximum boost drops from 1.8 to 1.6 bar. As before, it employs
carbon-fiber intakes and cam covers to keep weight low.
The hybrid system adds 3 axial flux electric motors supplied by Yasa.
The smallest of them produces 218 hp. It is fitted right behind the
crankshaft to assist the engine at low rpm, provide regenerative
braking and motor starter. The other 2 motors, each produces 245 hp,
are mounted at the rear axle, each responsible for one rear wheel. This
means the Regera is strictly rear-wheel drive, but it is capable of
electric torque vectoring. Total electric output is limited by the
battery to
670 hp, but that’s already 3 times of what Porsche, Ferrari and McLaren
managed. Overall system output is an astonishing 1500 hp and 1475 lbft
of torque, stronger than even the stillborn Bugatti Chiron.
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Battery
in tunnel, 3 motors and no transmission.
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The battery was supplied by Rimac, a Croatian company no one knew then.
It employed F1 battery cells and was the first road car to feature 800V
system. Cased in carbon-fiber and cooled by liquid, the 4.5 kWh pack
weighs 75 kg. It is put inside the transmission tunnel of the Regera’s
carbon-fiber tub to save space and optimize weight distribution.
Meanwhile, the inverter and battery charger are put at the tail and
sandwiched by the two titanium exhaust. The packaging looks pretty
efficient.
What's most special is the transmission, or the lack of it. Linking
between the engine/small motor and the final drive is not a
transmission but a hydraulic coupling called Koenigsegg Direct Drive
(KDD). In principle it is the same as a conventional torque converter
on every automatic transmission, just designed by Koenigsegg itself to
its specifications and casted in aluminum to save weight. Like torque
converter, the hydraulic coupling allows slippage or direct connection
with lock-up clutch. When the clutch is engaged, the car accelerates
from standstill with the engine turning very slowly, as the 2.73:1
final drive ratio is chosen to reach the car’s top speed of 250 mph
when the engine is running at 8250 rpm redline. This means, at 30 mph,
the V8 engine barely turns at 1000 rpm, producing virtually no torque.
That’s why in acceleration the clutch is open, allowing slippage thus
the engine can pick up rev more quickly. Meanwhile, the majority of
propulsion comes from the electric motors, which offer 664 lbft right
from idle. At higher speeds, the clutch starts locking up, the engine
takes over as the main source of power just when electric power tapers
off.
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Ghost
package adds winglets to sides and fins on rear fenders.
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Isn’t it a simple solution to combine ICE and electric power? Well,
mostly, Koenigsegg said it reduces weight and energy loss due to the
lack of gearbox, but at lower speeds you cannot use the full potential
of the engine as in you do in a conventional car with gearbox. That
might not be a big problem as the rear-drive Koenigsegg is
traction-limited at lower speed anyway, but more problematic is the
disconnected feel it brought – a slipping torque converter is like a
CVT, the engine revs and screams crazily while you don’t feel much
progress from speed. It feels strange and hard to engage the driver.
Equally, without gearshift, it is hard to convince yourself that you
are driving a sports car.
As the final drive ratio is a compromise between top speed and
low-speed acceleration, the Regera’s top speed is no match for the 273
mph claim of One:1, even though it has more power for disposal.
However, there is no denying that it was one of the fastest cars, if
not
the fastest car on earth at its time. Once the hydraulic coupling is
locked up, the acceleration is insane and relentless. 0-400km/h (that’s
nearly 250 mph!) can be done in just over 20 seconds!
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Regera
is the luxurious GT in Koenigsegg's lineup.
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As for handling and ride, sorry, we know little from those skin-deep
reviews. Basically, it is nonsense to review such a high-performance
car on places like a busy public road or an abandoned airfield. We just
know the exhaust sounds pretty good from the Akrapovic titanium pipes.
The car’s massive tires generate massive grip, and its combination of
low center of gravity, wide tracks and Triplex dampers offer rock
steady body control. The steering is heavy and promote directional
stability, something the car’s pursuit of high Vmax mandated. I suspect
it would perform very well on a flat and wide race track, but an
undulating narrow mountain road or swiss pass? Maybe not so.
Koenigsegg, perhaps due to its size and limited manpower, never develop
its cars extensively on challenging roads and tracks. Think how
Porsches would handle if Weissach developed its cars on an abandoned
airfield… Just by guessing. As long as Koenigsegg refuses to let
motoring journalists properly test its cars, such doubts will never
stop.
But no doubt is the showroom appeal of Regera. All previous Koenigseggs
were hampered by slightly odd design – think of that telephone-dial
center console – and a build quality not exactly top-notch. The Regera
raised the bar significantly. It is deemed to be the luxurious GT in
Koenigsegg’s lineup, so its cockpit is trimmed with stitched leather
upholstery everywhere. There are also plenty of chrome in air vents and
instrument pod, not just boring naked carbon-fiber or Alcantara. Its
new infotainment screen might look ancient today, but it comes with
Apple CarPlay. Front and rear view cameras were also luxury features
for a hypercar then, as were cupholders – and there are 2 ! Moreover,
as in all Koenigseggs, you can detach the roof and store it at the
shallow front luggage compartment. Hypercars rarely comes more usable.
The car was sold for nearly $2 million before tax initially. As only 80
copies were built, and most have different customizations, they are now
worth even more in used market.
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Verdict: 
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