These days, automakers' marketing departments are even more fascinated by the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife than their colleagues in engineering. For a while it seemed as if the Porsche 918's heavily publicized 6:57 lap, set last year, might have settled the issue of how fast a road car could go around what Jackie Stewart once described as the Green Hell. When McLaren said the P1 had also dipped below seven minutes, but refused to give any further details, Porsche's record started to look almost safe.
But now Koenigsegg is planning to make a serious attempt to go faster next year, with the Swedish hypercar maker confident that both the Agera R and the One:1 will be able to post better times. In the case of the One:1, insiders assure us, "a very significant chunk" could be taken out of the 918's time.
"When we look at the sector times, we're already on course for a record," company founder Christian von Koenigsegg told us during a recent visit to the firm's Ängelholm factory. "I hate the need to do it, but this is one of the ways you prove yourself in this part of the market."
The carmaker has already done extensive testing at the Nürburgring, with its determination to explore the limits demonstrated by a crash earlier this year. The official plan is to return in 2015 to try to set an accepted record, first in the Agera R—and then in the even quicker One:1.
On paper, it is possible. The Agera R outguns the 918 by a comfortable margin thanks to the combination of a 1124-hp twin-turbocharged V-8 and a 3160-pound curb weight—that's 237 horsepower more and 560 pounds less than the hybrid Porsche. And although Koenigsegg's engineering resources look tiny next to Porsche's, the company's test driver—Robert Serwanski—told us that the Agera R was reaching a peak of 250 mph on the Nordschleife's Döttinger Höhe straightaway during testing. "And remember," he added, "the Agera is 100 kilograms [220 pounds] heavier than the One:1, has half the downforce, and less power."
A Nordschleife lap record would certainly help cement Koenigsegg's claim that the adjective-snapping One:1, which has 1341 horsepower when running on E85 ethanol and weighs 3100 pounds, is the fastest car in the world. Christian von Koenigsegg is also determined that any record would be seen as completely fair, promising to open the company to a far greater level of scrutiny than other manufacturers.
"It's very frustrating sometimes," he says. "There are so few stories and so few facts—what is a Nürburgring record? What state was the car running in when it was set? We're willing to put our car on the scales, let anyone come and analyze the fuel we're running on, see the tires we're running on—people can come and check. We want to do this without any doubt."
And Serwanski's involvement may turn out to be an equally compelling part of the story. Five years ago, he was a sound-and-lighting engineer and part-time Mazda MX-5 racer, but then he got what was almost certainly the luckiest break of his life after Koenigsegg's former test driver quit and recommended Serwanski as his replacement. If all goes to plan, he'll be driving when the new record is set.
"So far, I've been fast enough," he said. "If I can't get there then we would consider bringing in a specialist driver, but that brings the issue of that driver having to learn the car, as well."
- Koenigsegg's Bugatti-Beating One:1 Packs 1360 Horses and 273 mph
- Porsche 918 Spyder: the Quickest Production Car We've Ever Tested
- 10 Things You Need to Know About the Nürburgring
How fast could the One:1 go in ideal conditions? Koenigsegg won't be drawn on exact numbers, but we're told that a time "in the 6:30s" is a realistic target. We're definitely planning to be there to bring you the full story.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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