Dream-ratio megacar in Sweden tops its own 2011 track record

Ängelholm, Sweden-based Koenigsegg calls it the world's first megacar. They are referring to their Koenigsegg One:1, which earlier this month was driven by the company's test driver, Robert Serwanski, in practice for a new 0-300-0 kmh record at the Koenigsegg test track in Ängelholm.

Koenigsegg made speed-record news with the Koenigsegg Agera R, in September 2011, when it set a Guinness World Record time of 21.19 seconds for a 0-300-0 kmh run. Earlier this month, a practice session at the track in Ängelholm tried to tell a better story. Might the Koenigsegg One:1 get better numbers? It did, completing the task in 17.95 seconds, a 3.24 second improvement over 2011.

What is the record all about? IEEE Spectrum said the record announced this month is a world record "for start-and-stop speed, going from zero to 300 kilometers per hour (187 miles per hour) and back to zero in 17.95 seconds." As SlashGear put it, it was "a record for sprinting from a stop to 300 km/h and then returning to a full stop."

The company said, "This test is purely designed to see how quickly the car can accelerate from 0 to 300 kmh and decelerate from 300kmh to 0. It is typically done using two discrete measurements – acceleration and deceleration." They said that for the time that they published, "both the acceleration time and the deceleration time come from the same run."

The session was conducted on June 8. The Koenigsegg test track, said the company, is "a straight 1.5km runway surface with no gradient along the length of the track. The track was dry and the run shown in the video was conducted at 9.53 pm." They said the air was very calm and virtually wind-free at the time of the run shown in the video.

The 1,340 horsepower to 1,340 kilograms in weight tells the story of "One:1" as part of the car's name, referring to its power-to-weight ratio. The company called this the dream equation, "previously thought impossible when it comes to fully road legal and usable sportscars."

Koenigsegg described its engine as "aluminum 5,0L V8, 4 valves per cylinder, double overhead camshafts with flex-fuel capability." Company-described features also included an "advanced high modulus carbon fiber chassis with F1 style honeycomb core and integrated fuel tanks for optimal weight distribution and safety."

The video also showed Serwanski with hands off the wheel as the car surged on. IEEE Spectrum pointed out that this "was meant to demonstrate not self-driving prowess but rather stupendous braking stability."

"As you watch the video," said the company, "you will see that Robert does not simply go to 300kmh and then apply the brakes. That would be a test of the driver's reaction times rather than a pure test of the vehicle."

The company described how "Robert accelerates past 300 kmh to 340 kmh and then applies the brakes. This is partly to exceed 200mph, the measurement of which was a secondary goal in this session, and also to ensure that full brake pressure (both mechanical and aerodynamic) is in place by the time the car has decelerated to 300 kmh."

Christian von Koenigsegg launched his car company in 1994.

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