Koenigsegg Returns to America with Agera XS

Koenigsegg Agera XS

Monterey Car Week was like Christmas come early if you happen to like exorbitant, extravagant, life-sized boys’ toys, the kind the average car guy would work unpaid double-shifts for a month for just to experience the briefest taste of wide open throttle in. Ok, he probably wouldn’t work 16 hours a day for an entire month without being paid, but you get what I’m saying.

And Christian von Koenigsegg, well, you might just call him the Swedish Santa Claus of cars every man dreams about, as he toils day and night in his workshop of wonders, working feverishly to tip the almighty power to weight balance of his hypercars into the realm of physics distorted.

Indeed, the man who most recently brought us the insane 1,360PS/1360kg Koenigsegg One:1, named so for its perfect power to weight ratio of 1hp to 1kg, along with it introduced a new class of supercar, which he dubbed the “Megacar,” referring to its one megawatt of power output (1360PS = 1 megawatt).

His latest hyper-mega-super thingy is the Koenigsegg Agera XS, and unlike the One:1, it is fully homologated for sale in the US. The Agera XS is merely a renamed Agera RS, the “XS” moniker chosen specifically by its owner, American businessman and supercar aficionado, Kris Singh.

Koenigsegg Agera XS

The Agera RS was built as a slightly more practical alternative to the original Megacar, and has been imbued with much of the tech the Koenigsegg team created during the One:1’s production. They spared very little in the way of creature comforts for the Agera RS, despite being able to maintain a wet weight of just 3,075 pounds. Onboard, you’ll find 6-way electrically-adjustable carbon sport seats, a front/rear hydraulic lifting system, Apple CarPlay, climate control, a set of adjustable pedals and an adjustable steering column.

Like the other Agera models, the Agera RS is powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8. In the RS the V8 produces 1,160hp, although Road and Track report that Singh has opted to have his “XS” upgraded with the 1,340hp “Megawatt”-spec engine of the One:1. Other differences between a standard Agera RS and Singh’s “XS” are a larger rear wing, which we presume is the reason behind the XS name switch, and modifications to the underside of the front and rear of the vehicle, all in the name of increased downforce.

Singh’s Agera XS first graced our shores at last month’s Monterey Car Week, appearing at both McCall’s Motorworks Revival and The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, sporting a very vivid orange paint job, called “Karosserie Orange.” The extremely orange, “diamond dust metallic” finish is offset by a medium-width strip of exposed clear carbon fiber running up the bonnet, which continues up into and then envelopes the entire removable carbon fiber top, then back down the Agera’s spine, culminating in two “fins” that hold the massive rear spoiler in place.

Koenigsegg Agera XS Interior

The Agera XS’s debut in Monterey signifies an important moment for Koenigsegg. It is the first Agera RS homologated for road use in the US, marking the manufacturer’s federally-approved return to the US market. It also paves the way for the soon-to-be 1,500hp hybrid Koenigsegg Regera to be sold legally in the States when it arrives sometime in 2017.

Just 25 units of the Agera RS are planned for production, and according to Koenigsegg, are already all sold. The price of the Agera RS is not publicly available, but it should be either close to or north of the estimated $2.85 million starting price of the Koenigsegg One:1.