Koenigsegg
The history of sports car start-ups is littered with broken dreams, but for those who succeed in bringing their visions to life, their names go down in history. Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, and Porsche were all just men once upon a time; today, they’re legends known by billions of people all around the world.
The turn of the 21st century brought a new batch of dreamers, and while many of them have swung for the fences and missed, a trio of new automakers has risen to create a host of modern-day icons: Pagani, Rimac, and Koenigsegg.
The latter, in particular, has carved out a specific niche for itself under the vision of founder and CEO Christian von Koenigsegg. Not only does Koenigsegg create gorgeous works of automotive art, the company also engineers its own powerplants, suspensions, gearboxes, and other major mechanical pieces, often ones of shocking complexity. (Koenigsegg himself plays a Tony Stark role in the company; his name is listed as an inventor on many of the company’s patents.) There’s also the depth of Swedish pride that fills every car, adorned with the emblem that pays tribute to the “Ghost Squadron” of the Swedish Air Force that formerly occupied the company’s airfield headquarters. And, of course, there’s the fact that their speed machines have claimed the storied mantle of “world’s fastest production car” in the past (and may do so again in the near future).
So, with the company marking its 30th anniversary here in 2024, we thought it a good opportunity to rank the 10 greatest Koenigseggs, because, of course, all Koenigseggs aren’t created equal.
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10. CC prototype
Image Credit: Koenigsegg Every story has to start somewhere, and for Koenigsegg, it was the CC. Three operational copies of the prototype were crafted as Christian von Koenigsegg, or CvK, spent six years starting in 1994 fleshing out his idea as to what the perfect hypercars would look like, sound like and drive like. Compared to what was to come from the brand, it was raw cookie dough — but it planted the seeds for a garden of incredible automobiles to sprout over the decades to come.
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9. One:1
Image Credit: Koenigsegg The One:1 that dropped in 2014 was a variant of the Agera line, but Koenigsegg bestowed upon it a special moniker for one honor: It was the first production car to pack one horsepower for every kilogram of weight — 1,360 metric hp for 1,360 kilos. The Imperial measurements of 1,341 hp and 2,992 pounds may not align quite as nicely, but they still make it very clear just how brutally quick it was.
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8. CCX
Image Credit: Koenigsegg The development of CCX stands out in no small part for being the first ‘Egg to claim two honors: it was the first Koenigsegg that was legal to sell in the United States, and the first to boast an engine of Koenigsegg’s own design. Previous cars had used a modified version of a Ford V-8, but the CCX used a new one with its own casting. Bringing the engine in-house helped the carmaker engineer the powerplant to meet U.S. emissions standards, which — along with redesigned crash structures and a few other tweaks — enabled Koenigsegg to sell the cars in America. The interior was even reportedly made a couple of inches higher so NBA players would be more comfortable. How’s that for service?
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7. Jesko Absolut
Image Credit: Koenigsegg If Koenigsegg had anything that could be considered a “core lineup,” it would be these: the CC line, then the Agera variants, and now, the Jesko models, which pack a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that makes 1,280 hp on pump gas and 1,600 on E85. Two are on offer: the Jesko Attack, which boasts a giant carbon fiber wing and a mighty front splitter to generate insane downforce on road courses; and the Jesko Absolut, which is streamlined and optimized for top speed. It’s the Absolut that wins a slot over its twin here, for two reasons. Firstly, it recently set four new production car acceleration and braking records, including zipping from a standstill to 250 mph in 19.2 seconds. Secondly, its sleek body just looks better than the track-optimized Attack. Should the Jesko Absolut live up to its creator’s prediction that it can hit 330 miles per hour, it’ll likely move a few spots closer to number one on this list.
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6. Gemera
Image Credit: Koenigsegg When the Gemera debuted in March 2020, it marked a huge departure from the past — and not just because Koenigsegg had to reveal it via a video stream due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike all previous Koenigseggs, the Gemera had room for four; previous ones had only accommodated a driver and a passenger. And, unlike past cars from the brand, it was powered by a 2.0-liter three-cylinder engine, developed in-house and made to charge a 14-kWh battery pack connected to electric motors, as well as power the wheels directly. Total system output: 1,700 hp and 2,581 lb-ft of torque.
Three years later, CvK announced a slight change as the Gemera headed to production: in addition to the PHEV I-3-and-electric-motor setup — now streamlined down to one electric motor — Koenigsegg would also offer the 5.0-liter V-8 from the Jesko connected to that hybrid powertrain. The base version would now make 1,400 hp; the top trim, 2,300. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the automaker announced in 2024 that it wouldn’t build the three-cylinder version after all, because all the buyers had selected the V-8. After all, who wants to say they bought the less-powerful Koenigsegg? -
5. Agera
Image Credit: Koenigsegg The Agera was Koenigsegg’s second model line, and while there were plenty of novel variants, — see the One:1 above — it’s the first, suffix-less one that arrived in 2010 that earns its way to this point on the list. The Agera proved that the CC models weren’t a fluke — Koenigsegg didn’t just make one great car, it could keep on replicating that feat. For the new model, the house-made V-8 grew to 5.0 liters, and a new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox replaced the choice of a six-speed stick shift or sequential manual. The simple headlights and slightly awkward proportions of the CC’s front end were smoothed over and refined, creating a new look for the brand — a design language that would go on to be the visual signature for Koenigseggs for years to come.
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4. CC850
Image Credit: Koenigsegg Incredible though it may seem to those who’ve followed the brand since the beginning, Koenigsegg is now old enough to get nostalgic and whip a retro design. Debuting in 2022 to honor two decades since the first Koenigseggs entered production, the CC850 used the Jesko’s chassis as a canvas upon which to sketch a modern homage to those first cars to wear CvK’s last name.
Of course, this being Koenigsegg, there’s more than meets the eye here. To set the CC850 apart, the carmaker tweaked the nine-speed automatic to offer a manual mode — not one with paddles, but a gated six-speed shifter and a clutch pedal. Slide the shift lever out of “D,” and you can click through forward gears just as fast or as slow as your right arm and left leg want to play. The pedal and shifter aren’t mechanically connected to the clutch or transmission, but Koenigsegg made sure to make them feel just like the real thing. It’s the sort of revolutionary idea that Koenigsegg, somehow, makes look easy — and will hopefully trickle down to the rest of the car world, now that it’s been proven. -
3. CC8S
Image Credit: Koenigsegg The CC8S, which debuted in 2002, was the first Koenigsegg production car — the first real evidence that this upstart Swedish company wasn’t just trafficking in vaporware or a scam to separate fools from their money, but a genuine automaker. It proved that the revolutionary dihedral door mechanisms the company had pioneered could survive the stress of the real world; proved that the company could improve upon the Ford-based engine hardware to squeeze 655 horsepower from 4.7 liters; and proved that a small Swedish company could build the world’s most powerful production car. Only six examples were ever made, making it rare even by ‘Egg standards — but its legacy lives on in every car since to wear the badge.
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2. Regera
Image Credit: Koenigsegg The Regera, which debuted in 2016, proved that Koenigsegg wasn’t restricted to one type of powertrain. While the car was still based around the familiar 5.0-liter V-8 first used in the Agera, it tossed the transmission in the trash and replaced it with a novel hybrid setup called Koenigsegg Direct-Drive, which uses a combination of gas engine, electric motors, battery pack and a hydraulic coupling to propel the Regera seamlessly and instantaneously, giving it both the immediate response of an EV and the brutal top end of a gas-powered hypercar. Oh, and let’s not forget that it was the best-looking ‘Egg made yet.
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1. Chimera
Image Credit: Top Gear/YouTube How do you top the previous hypercars? By throwing them in a blender. Actually, that’s unfair to the Chimera, which is more of a smorgasbord of many of the best bits of ‘Eggs past and present. Created specially for FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the Chimera takes the body of an Agera RS, packs it full of the Jesko’s more powerful engine, and ties it to the rear wheels through that wild gearbox from the CC850. It’s technically a one-off, but we’re fairly sure that, if you’ve already bought a couple of Koenigseggs straight from the factory, CvK would probably be willing to cook one up for you, too.
