KOENIGSEGG: THE SWEDISH WONDER
Koenigsegg was one of the first companies to put full carbon fiber wheels on a road car. The wheels each weigh under 6 kgs compared to an identical aluminum one that weighs over 10 kgs. It is not even painted with a clear coat. This makes this more scratch resistant
Image credit: wikimedia
About the Company
Koenigsegg is a small company headed by Christian von Koenigsegg. Their revenue for 2018 was about $ 37M with around 120 employees. Their order book is sold out for 3 years ahead of time. They make a lot of components in house including the electronics, control software and engine. They have their own dedicated airfield for testing cars!
Image credit: koenigsegg
What is so unique about them?
Koenigsegg Regera does not have a gearbox but uses a hydraulic torque converter. Petrol engine cannot offer torque at 0 RPM. Hence they use electric power to move from standstill and switch to petrol power gradually. This gives the car a lot of weight savings and efficiency gains.
Image credit: koenigsegg and google patents
Must be quite expensive to crash test these cars then
Crash testing million dollar cars is not cheap. Unlike traditional cars they can’t beat up a few cars in crashes. So crash testing happens on a single car. They crash it, and then rebuild the same thing again for the next test because the carbon fiber tub almost never breaks up and they can build broken parts around it. This also gives the team insight into accident repairability of their design.
Image credit: koenigsegg
Image credit: koenigsegg and google patents
Do both the electric motor and petrol engine vent from the same tail pipe?
What looks like an exhaust pipe in the centre is actually an outlet for electrical cooling fans. Actual exhaust is a fish tail design tuned by Akrapovic for sound. It integrates nicely with back design.
Image credit: koenigseggImage credit: koenigsegg
Image credit: koenigsegg and google patents
Small company with Big Brains
Koenigsegg has a patent pending cam-less valve design. Valves are not opened by cam shaft but are instead opened by actuators. This gives them a near perfect instant open and close. Absence of cam shaft saves a lot of weight and size on the engine.
Image credit: google patents
The Engines
Agera engine is a twin turbo 5 liter V8 producing 1160hp. It is much smaller compared to Bugatti Veyron engine which is an 8 liter quad turbo W16. If this technology is used in a 1.2 liter VW Polo engine, we will have 280 hp hatchback 
Image credit: wikimedia and koenigsegg
Koenigsegg’s Design Philosophy
Christian once said – if someone drops something, bends to pick it up and sees the under body of the car, even that should look beautiful. See how the weaves of the carbon fiber are symmetrically matched inside the engine compartment which is under the hood. No visible wiring harnesses, cheap plastic or padding material visible here.
Image credit: koenigsegg
Production Efficiency
Metal and plastic 3D printing is extensively used in the factory. This is a 3D printed titanium piece. Even the turbos are 3D printed with moving parts printed inside – no assembly needed after. For the low volumes that Koenigsegg produces, this is more cost effective and versatile than making tools and moulds.
Image credit: koenigsegg
Innovation in Simplicity
Regera is one of the first fully robotized cars where hands free operation is possible for all doors and accesses. This is done with existing hydraulic pressure in the car routed through thin pipes around. It has an interesting show mode that pops all doors at once.
Image credit: koenigsegg
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