Showing posts with label Koenigsegg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Koenigsegg. Show all posts
7/21/10
3/4/10
Geneva: The Action-Packed, Ageless Agera by Koenigsegg
Koenigsegg's Agera is a car of action. No, literally, "agera" is Swedish for "to act". It's name is also derived from the Greek "Ageratos", meaning "ageless". Being a Koenigsegg, the Agera puts out an insane amount of power (910 horses thanks to two turbos), oodles of torque (1,100 Nm / 811 lb-ft ), wears 6-egg-omelet-sized brakes (392mm discs in front and 380mm in back).
It even runs on regular, or so they say, and offers the most luggage space in its segment. Deliciously practical.
Koenigsegg claims the traction control system "is the fastest reacting in the industry", something I'd be more than happy to test if they ever wanted to send one down South Carolina way.
According to the Swedish manufacturer, the Agera's interior features an industry-first lighting system. Called Ghost Light, "[the] illumination shines through the billet aluminium buttons and surfaces by way of invisible nanotubes, creating excellent visibility of the symbols, as well as a very clean and stylish appearance, framed by an all-new carbon fibre centre console and tunnel assembly." Sounds expensive.
Lastly, the diver's gauge pod can be configured to suit a variety of needs, providing basic gauges, a lap timer, G-force-o-meter, power level indicator, compass/sat-nav, and audio info.
With the CC-series cars already kicking ass and taking names all over the world, one might ask what the purpose of the Agera is. Koenigsegg is saying it's meant to broaden their range; somehow I don't see it as comparable to owning a Ford Mustang and having a Taurus as a family car. Interesting, but I really can't wait for this real range expansion Christian von Koenigsegg has been hinting at.
-By Phil Alex
11/25/09
REPORT: The End of the Road for SAAB?
In a similar scenario to the Saturn - Penske story which ended with GM's decision to wind down the brand, tiny super car maker Koenigsegg, backed by China's BAIC, pulled out of a deal to acquire GM's Swedish Saab unit only a week away before a November 30 deadline. And even though the Swedish government has some hopes that a new buyer might be found to save Saab, the future of the brand looks very dim."For every day that passes the challenge gets bigger and bigger," Swedish Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson told reporters.
An insider told Bloomberg that General Motors' board will decide the future of Saab at its monthly meeting on December 1st. The person added that the automaker doesn't expect any other bidders to emerge and that a shutdown is imminent.
"They should just get rid of it," told the news site Tom Stallkamp, industrial partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, which took part in an unsuccessful bid for GM's Opel division. "Saab really doesn't matter in terms of technology, and there is no synergy like there was with Opel."
Easy to say when you don't take into consideration the fact that behind the nameplate there are people with families as Saab employs around 3,500 workers in Trollhattan while thousands of other jobs are also linked to the firm. If you take a moment to think about that, it actually does matter...
Unfortunately though, the harsh reality is that if GM were to restart the sales process of Saab, it would be extremely difficult to find a willing buyer to complete the deal in a short time frame. If it were to take longer, the Detroit automaker would have to continue to fund Saab and that, doesn't seem to be a viable option for GM today.
Many like Stephen Pope, chief global strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald in London, seem to agree that Saab's days are numbered. "That's it, goodnight, goodbye," Pope told Bloomberg. "Saab has reached the end of the road, there's nothing left in the tank."
There have been reports that China's BAIC as well as Geely, might be interested in Saab. However, Geely is already in talks with Ford for its Volvo unit so we seriously doubt that they will turn their focus on Saab at this moment while in what concerns BAIC, analysts believe that the if the Chinese firm decides to show an interest, it will most likely be for Saab's assets and not the company as a whole.
11/24/09
BREAKING NEWS: Koenigsegg Terminates Agreement to Buy SAAB from General Motors
General Motors has just announced that the proposed sale of its Saab unit to a consortium led by Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg has been canceled. And this time, it's not because the Detroit automaker wanted to keep Saab as was the case with Opel, but because Koenigsegg backed out of the purchasing of the Swedish brand in the same way that Penske did with Saturn.
"We're obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase," said GM President and CEO, Fritz Henderson.
"Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create a sustainable plan for the future of Saab by selling the brand and its manufacturing interests to Koenigsegg Group AB. Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week," Henderson added.
In September, Koenigsegg Group AB had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. Ltd. (BAIC) to explore growth opportunities in the Chinese and international markets for the products of both SAAB and BAIC.
The Swedish sports car maker has yet to release an official statement on the matter.
10/21/09
Oops... New York Dealer Crashes Customer's Koenigsegg CCX
Of course, accidents can happen. But it's one thing getting into a fender bender with a Ford Taurus and another when you destroy a customer's $500,000+ supercar. According to the crash-addicted folks over at 'Wrecked Exotics', this accident happened when a New York dealer took his customer's 2008 Koenigsegg CCX for a joy ride only to end up crashing into a guardrail and then on a Porsche 911 GT2. We'd love to read the insurance claim on this one..Via: Wrecked Exotics
