Koenigsegg's 277mph record has kicked off the race to 300

A Koenigsegg Agera RS with company test driver Niklas Lilja behind the wheel speared down a Nevada highway, closed for the purpose, at one point hitting 284mph, as verified by VBOX Racelogic data-logging. After runs in both directions, the Koenigsegg’s mean average was 277.9mph, beating the 267.8mph mark set by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in 2010. The world’s fastest production road car now comes from Sweden.

Koenigsegg, which was founded in Sweden in 1994, has built just 140 cars in its 20-odd years, all of them acclaimed as exceptional. The ultimate RS version of the Agera, announced earlier this year, is a million pound plus machine of which just 25 examples are being made, qualifying it as a production car. The firm said at the time that 10 were presold before it was unveiled.

It is thought the Agera RS used for the top speed was shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, and was to Gryphon lightweight spec. That would also give it 1341bhp (1360hp) of the dry-sumped twin-turbo 5.0-litre V8 power to play with. "Regular" RSs have 1160hp.

Either way the Agera RS is a fast car. Last month factory driver Lilja tested an RS on a Danish airfield, clocking 0-400km/h (248mph) and back to nought in 36.44 seconds. 

After the Koenigsegg’s top speed run, America’s wannabe speed champions Hennessey tweeted: Huge congrats and respect to Christian and the @koenigseggautomotive team on your 277.9 mph 2-way avg. speed. The bar just got a lot higher and we look forward to the challenge. Let the games begin! 

In 2014 Hennessey claimed the highest top speed when its 1244bhp Venom GT hit 270.49mph on the Space Shuttle runway, but the speed was discounted because it was in one direction only. 

Last week, however, the Texas performance firm unleashed its new Venom F5 with a twin turbo V8 with 1600bhp. This car is said to have a top speed of 301mph, as well as acceleration to 248mph and back in under 30 seconds, if true six seconds faster than the Koenigsegg.

No date is yet fixed for Hennessey’s speed attempt, and so far no word either from Bugatti on when it will attempt to reclaim its record. The Chiron has an official top speed of 261mph but is likely to get closer to 300mph if de-restricted.

Photography courtesy of Koenigsegg