This may well be the biggest burnout that has ever been done by a production car. Possibly because the car in question doesn’t have a gearbox.
That car is Koenigsegg’s new 1,500 horsepower hypercar, the Regera. Which is, in effect, a range-extender hybrid. You see, the mid-mounted, 5.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 motor doesn’t power the wheels directly. Instead, it turns a generator that recharges the 9.27 kilowatt-hour, lithium-ion battery pack that divides 1,500 hp and 1,475 pound-feet of torque between two electric motors, one on each rear wheel.
As such, there’s no gearbox. The driver just mashes the throttle and the Regera takes off like a rocket. Both in terms of speed and the amount of smoke it trails. We wouldn’t be surprised if the (very expensive) tires were completely wrecked after being detonated like this.
It must sound pretty strange, too. It’s not yet been filmed running at full noise over a distance, but presumably the revs rise to a point that is then held, with no steps or changes in pitch, like a CVT.
It’ll be a lucky spot to see a Regera out in the wild, as only 80 will be built. And you’ll be even luckier to own one, as the list price is around $2 million.
Gallery: Koenigsegg Regera burnout
