Skip to main content

XS marks the spot: here’s Koenigsegg’s first U.S.-spec car

Koenigsegg is slowly expanding its presence in the U.S., and will take a big step toward that goal at Monterey Car Week.

The Swedish automaker will display its first fully U.S. homologated and road-legal car at McCall’s Motorsports Revival and The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering during the weeklong automotive extravaganza. That car is an Agera RS, renamed “Agera XS” at the request of its owner. It will be displayed alongside Koenigsegg’s Regera hybrid supercar.

Koenigsegg has imported a handful of cars over the past couple of years. But none of these cars meet federal emissions and crash safety standards. They were imported under the “Show and Display” waiver that allows cars to be brought into the country individually provided they are not driven often. Koenigsegg previous avoided federalizing its cars because of the cost and complexity of that process.

Read more: Bugatti’s dynamic duo heads to Monterey Car Week

The U.S. wasn’t previously considered a large enough market to make homologating cars worthwhile, but Koenigsegg has decided to make U.S. sales more of a priority. It began the build of the U.S.-spec Agera XS back in November. Wearing chassis number 128, it was customized for its owner with Karosserie Orange paint, a black and orange interior, and the largest rear spoiler ever fitted to a production Koenigsegg.

Chassis 128 is one of 25 Agera RS supercars Koenigsegg plans to build. The RS borrows hardware from the Koenigsegg One:1, but features more creature comforts than that extreme hypercar. Power comes courtesy of a 5.0-liter V8 that produces 1,160 horsepower. That power is sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed sequential gearbox. There isn’t much weight to move, either, as the RS weighs just 3,075 pounds, including all fluids.

The Koenigsegg Regera that will also be displayed in Monterey boasts a 5.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, three electric motors, and a complex drive system that does away with a conventional transmission. Koenigsegg pegs combined output at more than 1,500 hp. The Regera will get a slightly higher-volume run than the Agera RS, with 80 cars planned.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
What I’ve learned after a year of driving the best-selling plug-in hybrid in the U.S.
Jeep Wrangler 4xe charging at a NYC curbside charger.

A year ago, I bought a new Jeep Wrangler. A plug-in hybrid model! And I wasn't shy about my reasoning for buying the PHEV version of the Wrangler: I chose this powertrain over the gas-only versions purely because it qualified for the federal government's $7,500 EV tax credit.

Turns out, that was a pretty big motivator for a lot of Americans. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe was the best-selling plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in the U.S. in 2022, beating out a wide range of more affordable and practical cars. The 4xe accounted for nearly a quarter of Wrangler sales last year, which is just astonishing. But it passes the eye test -- I see 4xes everywhere.

Read more
U.S. airports safer after software upgrades aimed at preventing taxiway landings
American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8

Accidental taxiway landings by aircraft at busy airports are rare, but they nevertheless present a serious threat to passenger safety. At the current time, these so called “wrong-surface landings” are among the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) top five five safety hazards in the national airspace system.

With planes using taxiways prior to takeoff, the consequences of such an erroneous landing are potentially catastrophic. And a number of near-misses have indeed occurred in the U.S. over the years.

Read more
Mercedes is finally bringing an electric van to the U.S.
Front three quarter view of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz eSprinter electric van.

Mercedes-Benz might be known for luxury cars, but it also makes vans, and it's finally bringing an electric van to the United States.

Scheduled to start production this summer, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz eSprinter is an all-electric version of the Sprinter full-size cargo van that's already a favorite of delivery services like FedEx and Amazon, as well as camper van converters. While the automaker has been selling electric vans in Europe since 2010, the new eSprinter is the first one aimed at the U.S. market.

Read more