A Koenigsegg Agera RS with company test driver Niklas Lilja behind the wheel speared down a Nevada highway, closed for the purpose, at one point hitting 284mph, as verified by VBOX Racelogic data-logging. After runs in both directions, the Koenigsegg’s mean average was 277.9mph, beating the 267.8mph mark set by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in 2010. The world’s fastest production road car now comes from Sweden.
Koenigsegg, which was founded in Sweden in 1994, has built just 140 cars in its 20-odd years, all of them acclaimed as exceptional. The ultimate RS version of the Agera, announced earlier this year, is a million pound plus machine of which just 25 examples are being made, qualifying it as a production car. The firm said at the time that 10 were presold before it was unveiled.
It is thought the Agera RS used for the top speed was shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, and was to Gryphon lightweight spec. That would also give it 1341bhp (1360hp) of the dry-sumped twin-turbo 5.0-litre V8 power to play with. "Regular" RSs have 1160hp.
Either way the Agera RS is a fast car. Last month factory driver Lilja tested an RS on a Danish airfield, clocking 0-400km/h (248mph) and back to nought in 36.44 seconds.