‘Ghost’ gets aero, ‘Regera d’Elegance’ gets a lot of blue, both get stupendous power

There is one rather large fly in the ointment of this story. That every single Koenigsegg Regera hypercar scheduled for production – just 80 in total – has been sold.

Other than that, it’s good news. Koenigsegg will return to this year’s Geneva Motor Show with two very special edition Regeras, and they warrant attention because a) they’re Koenigseggs, b) they’re Regeras, and c) they’re other-worldly fast. We’ll come to that last point in a moment.

First up is the white one above. It debuts with a ‘Ghost’ package, featuring a deep front spoiler and rear winglets, designed to work with the active rear spoiler. This means 20 per cent more downforce than the ‘standard’, non-Ghost Regera.

There’s orange and black leather inside, with contrast stitching and a polished aluminium centre column and polished carbon fibre accents throughout. Lovely.

The blue one is dubbed the ‘Regera d’Elegance’. No fancy aero for this one, but a special blue-tint carbon fibre and green exterior striping to complement the Swedish Blue hue. We’re only told that a special Scandinavian material helps continue this colour scheme inside.

Both cars come equipped with ‘Tresex’ carbon fibre wheels, and that other-worldly powertrain. A quick recap. Neither of these two cars benefits from more power, but trust us on this, you really don’t need it. The Regera gets a 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8, allied to an F1-spec battery pack kicking out a total 1,479bhp, and 1,475lb ft of torque.

This is fed to a very complex ‘Direct Drive’ system – something to do with hydraulic couplings – and sent to the rear wheels. And boy, is it sent.

The 0-62mph sprint isn’t really important in a car that’s capable of 0-248mph in under 20 seconds, and a rolling 93mph to 155mph in 3.2s. Point, squirt, blink and boom… you’re in a new dimension.

Also on display will be the Regera’s granddaddy – the CCX. This year marks Koenigsegg’s 25th anniversary building delightfully nutty supercars, and the CCX is an important one. The first ‘Segg to be built specifically for worldwide homologation, and still one of the fastest cars around a very particular circuit in the UK…

Koenigsegg's Regera hypercar is special in a lot of ways. But perhaps the most interesting part of the car is the fact that it doesn't have a transmission. The twin-turbo V8 sends power to three electric motors—one mounted on the front of the crankshaft to power the batteries, and one for each rear wheel. The only thing connecting the drivetrain to the wheels is a heavy-duty billet aluminum torque converter that Christian Von Koenigsegg claims is the strongest ever built.

Of course, this torque converter isn't like any other run-of-the-mill unit you'd find in a conventional car. It was specifically designed in-house by Koenigsegg to transfer all 1475 lb.-ft. of torque to the rear wheels smoothly and efficiently. It's able to withstand more force than any other torque converter in history, according to von Koenigsegg.

Why does it need to be so strong? Think of it like this: with no reduction gears, the car's engine is basically in direct-drive mode all the time—as von Koenigsegg describes it, it's like driving around everywhere in seventh gear. At lower speeds, the electric motors provide acceleration, with the engine filling in at higher speeds. And when that engine starts revving, the torque converter has to transfer a massive amount of twist to the wheels. Von Koenigsegg explains it on the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage:

We know what you're wondering: If a torque converter can be so good at getting so much power to the wheels smoothly, why don't other carmakers use such an unusual drivetrain? Well, as von Koenigsegg puts it, the torque converter is sort of an old-school invention—one that not many people consider using when building a futuristic supercar. But when combined with the Regera's electric propulsion, it's able to instantly translate power to the road even better than a traditional transmission. It's really something.

It's been over four years since Koenigsegg first revealed the Regera at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. In the time since, it's filled up the order books – long before any of those customers have gotten to actually drive the thing. But the Swedish hypercar manufacturer will be setting that right before year end.

Autocar reports that Koenigsegg will offer its eagerly awaiting customers the chance to drive a pre-production prototype for the Regera – the company's first electrified model – in November, some five years after the car was originally announced.

The Regera, for those unfamiliar, is based on the same architecture as everything else the company has made in the past quarter century since it's founding, but throws some electric motors in there. The 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 is supplemented by three electric motors but no transmission to speak of, combining to deliver some 1,800 horsepower and 1,500 lb-ft of torque. It's anticipated to reach 62 in 2.7 seconds, 186 in 10.9, and top out at 249 mph. Those figures promise to put the Regera in the same league as other hybrid hypercars like the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1, and LaFerrari.

The Regera also stands to rival the performance from Koenigsegg's previous and existing, conventionally powered models – of which a new one is slated to be unveiled in the near future as production of the Agera comes to an end.

Christian von Koenigsegg and company will make only 80 examples of the Regera, each of which has already been sold for some $1.89 million. The company based in Ängelholm, Sweden, has been crash-testing pre-production prototypes, and expects to give its well-endowed clients the chance to drive one in November, before the year is up.

In late 2017, Koenigsegg set a number of world records in a customer’s Agera RS, one of which was a 0-249mph-0 time of 33.29s. Insanely quick, especially considering it was a (closed) public road in Nevada. Now, in late 2019, Koenigsegg has improved upon its own record in the company’s hybrid Regera hypercar.

We’re told that factory test driver Sonny Persson pointed the 1,479bhp Regera down the Rĺda military airfield - near the town of Lidköping - at some point last week, and managed to do a 0-249mph-0 (or 0-400kmh-0) time in just 31.49s. You will note this is just under two actual seconds faster.

Company boss Christian von Koenigsegg said of the new record: “This was a good opportunity to showcase the true capability of the Regera’s one-of-a-kind Direct Drive transmission. As the Regera only has one gear we had to make use of it from standstill to the record top speed of 403 km/h (or 250 mph) limited by rpm.

“The car reaches its top speed like there is no tomorrow, but then there are no more gears. This actually suits the philosophy behind the Regera, which is ‘whoever gets to 400 km/h first wins’. Priority has been given to acceleration and drivability between 0-400 km/h – no more, no less. At any given time, the Regera can and will accelerate harder in that speed range than any other production car known to us.”

The Regera used wasn’t a hollowed-out kart, either - a “fully homologated production car with its luxurious fittings and seats still intact”, Koenigsegg explains. Only a roll cage and four-point harness were installed. And while the weather on the day was reported as “perfect” (sun, no wind), the actual track surface “was not great for traction”, so Persson - on his merry way to 250mph, don’t forget - had to swerve bumps in the road and deal with lower grip levels.

It took Persson 22.87s to hit 249mph across 1,613.2m, and just 8.62s to fully stop (in 435.26m). That’s 2048.46m overall, and Koenigsegg is adamant it can be shorter still. “In better conditions a total length of under an unbelievable 2000m should be fully achievable with the Regera,” the company said.

You'll probably never see the 1,489-hp Koenigsegg Regera on the street. They cost millions of dollars and it's not like CEO Christian von Koenigsegg is building a ton these things (all 80 have been sold). So, when we get to see one in video getting busy on the track, we always take notice. This one is from Ring Knutstorp, a hilariously named racetrack in Kagerod, Sweden.

As a refresher, the Regera comes with a 5.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 and three electric motors. In addition to all that power, buyers get 1,475 lb-ft of torque, a 0-60 mph time of less than 3 seconds and a top speed of 255 mph. In fact, the Regera holds the world record for going 0-249-0 mph. It took the vehicle 36.44 seconds.

In this clip Koenigsegg, the man, is with the Koenigsegg car, as well as one of his test drivers. He mentions that the Knutstorp is seen as a mini Nurburgring, with a lot of undulation and sweeping curves. He says it's not a high-speed track, but more of a handling exercise. When talking about the Regera, every course is a handling course.

And every course is a chance to break a world record. The 1.29-mile, 14-turn track has seen several impressive lap times from the likes of the McLaren Senna, the Caterham R500 and BAC Mono. The Regera took them all down with a time of 1 minute, 3.84 seconds.

Koenigsegg notes that the Regera is its grand touring car, "with more creature comforts" than the rest of its lineup. It even comes with Apple CarPlay! He also notes that after 30 or 40 laps the tires are worn evenly. In fact, the last 30 seconds of the video is the pit crew taking tire temperatures, which you need to do immediately after leaving the track for a proper reading.

On track, the Regera looks surprisingly easy to drive. There aren't a bunch of mid-corner corrections or early braking events. It has a single-speed, direct-drive transmission, so we don't even hear or see any gaps in power. But it sounds strikingly like an American 5.0-liter V8, except for the turbo woosh. It's a short lap, so turn your sound up.