Koenigsegg’s Hybrid V-8 Supercar
For a company that made its bones building some of the most insane and most expensive supercars on the planet, Koenigsegg’s decision to divert from that blueprint still comes as a bit of a surprise for a lot of people. But it’s also a smart move on the company’s part, especially if the goal is to attract new customers that have been priced out of buying any of Koenigsegg’s past exotics. It’s not a new strategy, either. Koenigsegg CEO Christian von Koenigsegg has had plans to diversify the company’s lineup in his back pocket as early as 2014.
As absurd as that sounds, there is a lot of truth to it, too. Koenigsegg is one of the most exclusive auto brands in the world. Since its inception in 1994, the Swedish automaker has stayed true to its low-volume, super-expensive car roots. The price tag for each Koenigsegg has rarely — if ever — dropped below seven figures. The automaker’s latest masterpiece, the Koenigsegg Jesko, has a price tag of around $2.8 million to $3 million. These kinds of prices are par for the course for Koenigsegg and its clients. It helps explain why, in the 25 years that it has been around, Koenigsegg has maintained an aura of invincibility that very few automakers have come to threaten.
That business plan has served Koenigsegg well, but it’s also had its drawbacks, including the inability to expand its customer base beyond those who can throw away $2 to $3 million without breaking any sweat. Koenigsegg wants new customers to inject fresh life to the company. The automaker identified a way to do that by tapping into the age-old strategy — not really —
of building cars that it can sell for $900,000 to $1 million.
The partnership between the two sides was cemented earlier this year. In addition to the $166 million investment, NEVS also secured a 20-percent stake in Koenigsegg’s parent company. In exchange, more investments are expected to arrive to help jumpstart Koenigsegg’s plans to develop new models for “new and untapped segments.” This is all to say that Koenigsegg now has the resources to build its entry-level model, which has actually been in development since 2017. It’s just that, now, Koenigsegg, in the words of its CEO, now has “much more muscles and much more jobs, and that was what I was looking for.”
So, now that the entry-level Koenigsegg is on its way, what can we expect from it? The company has offered very little in the way of details other than the expected cost to buy one. It did say that the NEVS deal will help accelerate the car’s development, opening the door for Koenigsegg to present it sometime in the first half of 2020, most likely at next year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Some form of electrification will also be involved, thus creating a hybrid setup that will utilize a slate of new technologies, including Freevalve AB’s involvement. The engineering firm and sister company to Koenigsegg developed a ‘free valve’ system that helps the intake and exhaust valves to be controlled without the use of camshafts. Not only does this help lower fuel consumption, but it also reduces emissions and improves the engine’s overall performance. If development goes according to plan, this hybrid setup could be more advanced and more powerful than the current system Koenigsegg is using on the Jesko. That’s a scary thought when you consider that the current setup already produces 1,600 horsepower and 1,100 pound-feet of torque.
However, don’t expect the new entry-level model to be more powerful than the Jesko. That would run counter to Koenigsegg’s goal of pricing the model at or around $1 million. If anything, we can look at the Koenigsegg Regera, which currently stands as the automaker’s “mainstream” model with 80 models slated for production. The Regera costs $2 million, or twice the amount Koenigsegg wants to set for its new entry-level model. The Regera features a similar hybrid system that produces close to 1,500 horsepower and boasts a number of state-of-the-art technologies, including the world’s first fully foldable, active, top-mounted rear wing. Perhaps this new model will end up as a “simpler” version of the Regera.
Unfortunately, none of these plans are expected to turn Koenigsegg into a full-volume automaker. That’s still not in the cards, and the company is more than happy to remain a niche car brand in the foreseeable future. But it did build only 18 units in 2018, a far cry from its goal of building somewhere in the vicinity of around 100 units per year. This new model, with the aid of new investments and new technologies, should help Koenigsegg achieve that goal in the coming years.
For now, though, all we can do is wait for this entry-level model to arrive and see what the “entry-level” term means to Koenigsegg.
2020 Koenigsegg Jesko drivetrain specifications
Further reading
Read our full review on the 2020 Koenigsegg Jesko.
Read our in-depth review of the 2017 Koenigsegg Regera
Check out our full review of the 2010 Koenigsegg Agera
Check out our full review of the 2015 Koenigsegg One:1
Source: Autocar