Crash testing automobiles is just one of the sad, but completely necessary realities of producing an automobile that can be sold to the public in volume. Federal safety regulations set some of the strictest set of rules in the automotive industry, presenting some of the greatest challenges for automakers of all kind. But it’s all for good reason in the name of occupant and even pedestrian safety.
Any car maker that wants to sell its latest product in the U.S. market must have its vehicles approved for safety by the federal government. All cars, whether it be a Honda Accord, to something super exotic and rare, like a Koenigsegg, must meet these federal safety mandates before becoming eligible for sale. This means that several production-ready examples will have to meet their sad and early demise in order to be tested for crash worthiness.
Speaking of which, Koenigseggs produced earlier than the incoming Regera hypercar never quite met U.S. federal safety regulations, and thus could never legally sold here in the states. That of course, didn’t stop others from importing them by exploiting the famous loophole of “Show or Display” limitations. It’s essentially a clause that allows one to import cars not sold here in America legally, but rather for unique and special times, such showing it off at a car show or using it for commercial purposes.
There were a few exceptions, where only eight road-legal 2008 Koenigseggs CCXs were imported into the states and federalized for legal road use. However, the changes required to make them road legal only involved changing out minor items, such as exterior lights or modifications to the car’s gauge clusters.
Back in 2015, Koenigsegg confirmed that future models will meet U.S. safety regulations, allowing them to officially be sold here in the states and completely road legal. For a company that’s sold fewer than 200 cars in its entire history, that’s a big order. This means a bunch of them will need to be wrecked.
To show off its progress while thanking the world for a million Instagram followers, the company recently posted a short video clip on Instagram of some crash-test runs of its latest Regera. Fair warning, what you see might make you cringe.
Despite the horror show, it’s pretty impressive to see how well the carbon fiber Koenigsegg Regera stands up to impacts. More incredibly, you get to see the Regera’s resilience to full-fledged sledge hammer swings.
As a refresher, the Regera first debuted at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, featuring shocking innovations. For instance, it sports a unique powertrain that’s completely void of a traditional multi-forward-gear transmission. That’s on top of churning out more than 1,500 horsepower. Koegnigsegg claims a 0-186 mph time takes only 10.9 seconds, with a top speed of 248 mph.
Only 80 Regeras will be made with a price tag of over $2 million large.
