Koenigsegg Agera RS: The fastest car in the world

While we were all busy arguing if Hennessey were going to be able to cross 300 mph (483 kph doesn’t sound cool at all) and when would they be taking the speed crown from Bugatti, Koenigsegg has beaten them to it.

The original Kings of Speed (the 388 kph CCX)have reclaimed the throne and title of the fastest road car in the world, with the Agera RS. The Agera RS in question, a customer car, recorded an average speed of 444.66 kph on an 18-kilometre (approx 11 miles) stretch of closed public highway in Nevada, USA. The average was taken after the RS did two runs, one in each direction. On the south-easterly run from the Pahrump end of the closed highway heading towards Las Vegas, the Koenigsegg clocked a top speed of 436.44 kph. Heading the other way, the Agera RS topped out at an astounding top speed of 457.49 kph. Here’s the dash video below:

This particular Agera RS was a production version, fully specced out. Its twin-turbo 5.0-litre V8 producing 1360hp and a planet rotating 1280Nm of torque, all of it sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed gearbox. It was also equipped with a roll-cage and ran on Michelin Pilot SportCup 2 tyres with Niklas Lilja behind the wheel (now the world’s fastest man on four wheels).

But Koenigsegg wrapped up four more records on the insane set of runs out in the desert:

Quickest 0-400-0 kph
The climb from standstill to 400kph and back to nought again was completed in 36.44 seconds, easily beating the Chiron’s run and bettering the one the Agera RS set in October.
Flying kilometre on a public road
Highest average speed for a flying kilometre on a public road – 444.66 kph.
Flying mile on a public road
Highest average speed for a flying mile on a public road – 444.66 kph.
Fastest speed achieved on a public road
Only a uni-directional run was recorded, clocking a top speed of 457.49 kph.

Records 2 and 3 broke the previous record that had been standing for almost 80 years, set by Mercedes Benz in 1938. The old record was an extremely impressive average speed of 432.7 kph using a modified Mercedes W125 race car on the German autobahn.

The Agera RS has done Christian Von Koenigsegg proud but the visionary supercar maker isn’t done yet. According to reports, they’d like to prove that their creation is quickest around the corners too, so a Nurburgring attempt could be on the cards. Your move Bugatti and Hennessey…

Take a closer look at the impressive Koenigsegg Agera RS in the gallery below: