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Koenigsegg aims for Nurburgring lap record

Swedish supercar-maker Koenigsegg is looking to leave its mark on the battlefield for automotive bragging rights that is the Nurburgring.

The company is planning a full-on assault on the ‘Ring with its Agera R and One:1, the latter of which is expected to take a “very significant chunk” out of the 6:57 time set by the Porsche 918 Spyder, and inside source told Car and Driver.

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Foudner Christian von Koenigsegg is pretty confident too, telling the magazine that based on times logged in individual sectors, Koenigsegg is on track for a new record.

Not that he wants one.

“I hate the need to do it,” Koenigsegg said, but he acknowledges that Nurburgring lap times have become an important benchmark for supercar buyers.

In addition to arriving with an attitude that’s decidedly different from the competition, Koenigsegg also plans to be more transparent.

When it returns to the track in 2015 to set official records, it plans to invite outsides to examine nearly every aspect of the operation, from the cars themselves to the tires and fuel used.

Koenigsegg plans to start with the Agera R, which has a twin-turbocharged V8 brandishing 1,124 horsepower to move just 3,160 pounds. It will then move on to the One:1, which boasts 1,341 hp and a curb weight of just 2,998 pounds.

That gives both Koenigseggs a comfortable advantage over the 887-hp 918 Spyder, and the 903-hp McLaren P1, which its maker says has also lapped the Nurburging in under seven minutes.

A time of under seven minutes was once thought impossible, but now it’s a matter of how far under that mark a production car can go. Looking at the specs, it looks like Koenigsegg will go pretty low.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
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