Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg broke the top speed record for production cars this past weekend, with a verified 447-km/h (277.9-mph) run along a blocked-off stretch of highway outside Las Vegas.
The 17-km (11-mile) stretch of Route 160 saw the company’s Agera RS make two official passes in opposite directions with Niklas Lilja at the wheel; the average of those speeds was used to determine the record, reports Koenigsegg, though the speed recorded on one of those runs was rumoured to be as high as 468 km/h (291 mph).
Even the much lower average was high enough to eclipse the record set by Bugatti’s Veyron 16.4 Super Sport in 2010, itself a blistering 431 km/h (268 mph). Broken, too, was the unofficial street-legal vehicle speed record of 435.31 km/h (270.49 mph) set by the Hennessey Venom GT in 2014. (That speed was reached running in only one direction.)
In photos: The Hennessey Venom F5 is aiming to exceed 300 mph
The Koenigsegg Agera RS was able to pull off the feat thanks to its 1,160-horsepower 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, not to mention the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires wrapped around all four wheels.
How long it’ll stay on top is anyone’s guess, since Bugatti’s yet to make a top-speed attempt with its new Veyron successor, the Chiron; and Hennessey has just unveiled its new Venom F5, which it says may be able to top 484 km/h (300 mph).
