Koenigsegg Agera R attempts to be world's fastest car

Koenigsegg will attempt to break the road-going top speed record by powering its Agera R to gun out 1,140PS, which may achieve a calculated top speed of 440km/h -- about 9km/h more than the current undisputed champion, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

The current record is held by the Veyron Super Sport at 431.074km/h followed by the SSC Ultimate Aero TT at 412.28km/h and the “regular” Bugatti Veyron at 408.47km/h. Regardless of whether Koenigsegg gets the record or not, the Agera R undoubtedly belongs to the upper degree of hypercar territory and the figures for speeds below 273mph (439.35km/h) are also impressive: 0-300km/h in 14.53sec and 0-200mph (322km/h) in 17.68sec.

Power aside, the new model Agera and Agera R also show a noteworthy number of improvements over previous Ageras. Koenigsegg claims it has the world's first hollow, one piece, carbon-fibre wheel, built using a proprietary method, developed and trademarked by Koenigsegg as Aircore Technology. The Aircore wheels claim to save close to 20kg in mass -- that’s an impressive 5kg shaven from each wheel, that when combined with its carbon-ceramic brakes (eight- and six-piston calipers front and rear, respectively) allow the CCX to boast the lowest unsprung weight of any supercar built today.

The engine's rev limit has been raised from 7,250rpm to 7,500rpm, smoothening out the power delivery from 1,115PS to 1,140PS for the Agera R throughout the graph. Koenigsegg and Swedish shock manufacturer O hlins have renewed ties to develop the new Triplex suspension that will be standard on the 2013 Agera R. Koenigsegg Electronic Stability is now standard on all models for obvious reasons and a new lighter rear exhaust section has been developed for the Agera R, which also improves the performance of the rear diffuser. Still to come is whether it will beat that speed record. Watch this space for updates!