Naza Group launches Koenigsegg distributorship
Eccentric hypercar maker Koenigsegg now has official representation on our shores, with Naza Swedish Motors Sdn Bhd opening its doors for business as distributor of the brand in Malaysia and Indonesia, becoming the first out of 15 franchisees to hold the brand’s rights in two countries.
In conjunction with the opening of its showroom today at Naza’s Auto Mall in Petaling Jaya, the company also introduced the Koenigsegg Agera S into the two markets it represents. Named after the Swedish word for ‘taking action’ and also the Greek word Ageratos, which means ‘ageless’, the Agera S is priced at RM5 million before duties and options, meaning the final sum will go well into eight digits before it goes on the road.
Car makers in Koenigsegg’s league are typically very small volume, and usually source third party powertrains due to low economies of scale. Pagani, for example, uses Mercedes engines, whilst Caterham’s kit cars are Ford-powered. Koenigsegg, remarkably, makes its engines in-house, and powering the Agera S is a 5.0-litre bi-turbo V8 generating a colossal 1,030hp @ 7,100rpm and 1,100Nm of torque at 4,100rpm, with 1,000Nm available as early as 2,700rpm.
The engine mates with a single input shaft 7-speed dual clutch transmission that weighs a mere 81kg. The powertrain package, meanwhile, weighs in at 197kg, and coupled with its ultra lightweight carbon fibre construction, it enables the Agera S to tip the scales at a mere 1,415kg.
The deadly combination of light weight and high outputs translates to devastating performance from the Agera S; from standstill, the car is able to hit 100kph in just 2.9 seconds, 200kph in 7.8 seconds, before maxing out at well over 400kph. Stopping power is delivered by a high performance braking system that consists of 6-piston 392x40mm ceramic discs up front and 4-pot 380x34mm discs at the back that enables the Agera S to accelerate from rest to 300kph and come back to a complete stop in 22.7 seconds.
Fuel consumption is unlikely to be an issue of concern for potential buyers in the monetary sense, but some will presumably appreciate the benefits of generous cruising range. Koenigsegg claims that the Agera S returns a remarkable 14.7 l/100km on the combined cycle, translating to some 500km between refills on its 80-litre tank. We are cautious about accepting this claim at face value. Still on the subject of space, there is 120 litres of luggage volume for your weekend getaway suitcases.
A unique feature of the Agera S’ chassis is the remarkable Triplex suspension system designed by Christian von Koenigsegg himself. Conceived as a solution to minimize rear-end squat during hard acceleration on take-off, the Triplex system uniquely incorporates a third horizontal damper connecting the upper mounts of each rear wheel’s individual dampers. This third damper has several dynamic benefits, one of them being to counteract harshness effects of the anti-roll bar, allowing the car the possess the handling benefits of having an ARB, but negating its bad side-effects.
Complementing the unique suspension is a model-specific set of Michelin Super Sport tyres developed specially for the Agera S. These tyres are able to supply enough grip to generate 1.6g of lateral acceleration and have a rated top speed of over 420kph.
