Why does Top Gear (and Chris Harris) totally ignore Koenigsegg?

freefall

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This question had me wondering for a while.

Top Gear hadn't reviewed a single Koenigsegg for 11 years now! The Series 8 Episode 1 with the CCX aired in May, 2006. The winged re-appearance doesn't really count.

Has Chris Harris ever properly tested a Koenigsegg? I couldn't find any videos. I know Chris is well aware of the swedes, and respects Christian a lot, they did shake hands and have a quick chat at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the proof is available on Youtube.

Now, talking about the Bugatti Chiron in the latest episode (24x04) he says that this car just goes for maximum straight line speed, and there's nothing to match it. So you "either buy a Chiron or no Chiron". All the while the Koenigsegg One:1 is claimed to hit 280 MPH, way more than the test Chiron could achieve even with the both keys inserted. Koenigseggs have been long pushing impressive digits. Apart from that, they're packed full of innovative technology such as Direct Drive, Freevalve, an extra damper strut in the rear suspension, carbon wheels and probably a lot of smaller stuff we don't get to hear about. This should be talked about and reviewed and celebrated.

So what's going on? :?
 
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Funnily enough the same though occurred to me a little while ago and also applies to Pagani. Both firms are really small, niche players and at the same time probably don't require the PR that a TG appearance provides.

That said if the TG team still monitors FG then perhaps this thread might nudge them in the right direction and we may see Koenigsegg and Pagani featuring in future runs.
 
Three posts in and there is no mention of some inane conspiracy? I'm shocked and appalled. This site has truly gone down hill.

Clearly Mr. Harris and the Top Gear crew have been paid off. The camshaft machining industry wants to kill the free valve technology that threatens their stogy industry. The top hat and monocle wearing men of industry will stop at nothing to keep small innovators down! Just imagine the disaster to their ill gotten fortunes when the camshaft mines of Khongoryn and Lake Volta are closed and the brave proletariate that work tirelessly in the depths are liberated!
 
I think you're underestimating just how few cars they can get out the door. They don't exactly have a press fleet.
They are an incredible company, but also a tiny one.
Quite a few cars came from their owners, didn't they? It was the case with Enzo, FXXK too, I believe, and Clarkson was speculating that they might have to do the same for 918/P1/LaFerrari test.

I know Koenigsegg's production numbers, and I understand that there may not be many owners willing to come forward and put one of these fine machines into the hands of a barbarious ape (or a monkey in the new reincarnation, for that matter), but still. At least worth a mention, no?

Currently it looks as if Chris Harris pretends they don't exist at all.

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Funnily enough the same though occurred to me a little while ago and also applies to Pagani.
Pagani was featured heavily, I can remember at least 3 or 4 films off the top of my head. But they don't push the envelope quite as hard, I believe.
 
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Yep, I immediately thought about Koenigsegg when watching that film. It's one thing not getting the car to test it and another to ignore its existence.

So yeah, I guess I'll be the one leaning towards conspiracy then :p The Chiron was preproduction example, and I'm sure it came with a million strings attached.
 
So yeah, I guess I'll be the one leaning towards conspiracy then :p The Chiron was preproduction example, and I'm sure it came with a million strings attached.

Well, Harris is not exactly known for bending over for car manufacturers. Maybe he has much less freedom of opinion now that he's on a huge BBC show and not on his freelance Youtube channel (he kept it civil with the blue Lambo, for instance), but I am very skeptical of the thought that Bugatti made it an ultimate condition to not mention Koenigsegg. :think:
 
If you look at the fastestlaps.com for the One:1 there are only lap times posted by their chief test driver. My guess is, they stopped giving their press car for synthetic performance tests and laptimes.
Another problem is One:1, that can be too loud for some tracks (look at their SPA article on koenigsegg site) and that current Koenigseggs are made in such low volume, which means less willing owners for top gear to test. There were 82 CC's built, but only 30 Ageras for instance.
 
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If you look at the fastestlaps.com for the One:1 there are only lap times posted by their chief test driver. My guess is, they stopped giving their press car for synthetic performance tests and laptimes.
Another problem is One:1, that can be too loud for some tracks (look at their SPA article on koenigsegg site) and that current Koenigseggs are made in such low volume, which means less willing owners for top gear to test. There were 82 CC's built, but only 30 Ageras for instance.

Thanks for the link!

Actually, there's an interesting comment here in the Agera thread:
http://fastestlaps.com/models/koenigsegg-agera

sportauto did a first testdrive with the Agera in Dubai... in their report they claim that the Agera comes standart with a 350km/h speedlimiter, if the customer wants a topseed run he needs to send the car to the Koenigsegg factory were it gets checked completely befor they remove the limiter for the topspeed run only...can anyone confirm that?
http://www.sportauto-online.de/fahr...nd-und-eine-macht-mit-power-saft-3382629.html

If true, this means that the car is basically limited to 217 MPH. Sending the car to the factory to remove the limiter for just one run is a joke. Realistically, no one is going to do that in real life. And, I assume it must run on E85 or some similar leprechaun juice to be able to reach the unlimited top speed. While the Chiron apparently did that run on pump gas (correct me if I'm wrong on this one).

According to Wikipedia they're planning to produce 80 Regeras, so let's see if we have any luck with that one.
 
One of the first reasons that come to mind is the bad press K got when their CCX crashed into the tires. Then TG could even claim they helped to improve the car with the afterwards added wing. Again not a picture that Mr. Koenigsegg wants to portray.
Since then I think Koenigsegg wants to control the press about their cars much more tightly. He chooses very carefully who gets to drive their cars and maybe makes sure only the ones that report positively get aired. I wouldn't blame him.

About the only test that I ever saw that I can give some credit is this Car & Driver vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUfkyMCDYhU
A bit odd to me that a hypercar car company would only allow so few 'independent' reviews. Pagani on the other hand has allowed about (felt number)500 times more tests of their cars from the motoring press.

Overall it's not TG that is ignoring K, I think it could be K controlling the things said about their products with very, very restrictive press contracts. Pure speculation: It could even go that far that K puts in clauses into buying contracts that restrict giving that bought car to the motoring press for in-depth testing.

There are many car-lobbies that want to keep K as small as possible.
They totalled their One:1 on the N?rburgring record run(bad press again), it was getting too cold in Germany for more runs so they went to Spa to prove themselves there.
See the Koenigsegg vid about the records runs in Spa, where the Marshalls of the track fucked them in a major way with walking onto the track to prohibit later record runs and then the next day set new lower volume regulations that rendered the One:1 illegal for the Spa track. At the end of the vid you see Koenigseggs test driver majorly annoyed by the experience at Spa.

After all how many true in-depth road tests from well-known car magazines have we got from 1994(founding of K) up until today?
 
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Kow-nig-zeg?
 
Kow-nig-zeg?

Super easy to pronounce. Koe-nigs-egg. Koe as in hoe. Or just say Ko-nigs-egg.

There are many car-lobbies that want to keep K as small as possible.
They totalled their One:1 on the N?rburgring record run(bad press again), it was getting too cold in Germany for more runs so they went to Spa to prove themselves there.
See the Koenigsegg vid about the records runs in Spa, where the Marshalls of the track fucked them in a major way with walking onto the track to prohibit later record runs and then the next day set new lower volume regulations that rendered the One:1 illegal for the Spa track.

That sounds a bit too much like a made up story from a movie and it might be just a dumb coincidence, but I think somehow you're right with this thesis - because this is exactly how it happened in Spa and I was wondering what was going on back then. Especially because the could go much faster in Spa, going into GT territory...

At the end of the vid you see Koenigseggs test driver majorly annoyed by the experience at Spa.

What exactly do you mean?
 
Overall it's not TG that is ignoring K, I think it could be K controlling the things said about their products with very, very restrictive press contracts. Pure speculation: It could even go that far that K puts in clauses into buying contracts that restrict giving that bought car to the motoring press for in-depth testing.
Maybe, thought about that too.

There are many car-lobbies that want to keep K as small as possible.
Which lobbies are those, and why would they want that?


See the Koenigsegg vid about the records runs in Spa, where the Marshalls of the track fucked them in a major way with walking onto the track to prohibit later record runs and then the next day set new lower volume regulations that rendered the One:1 illegal for the Spa track. At the end of the vid you see Koenigseggs test driver majorly annoyed by the experience at Spa.
Wow, never heard about that story. Got a link?

Super easy to pronounce. Koe-nigs-egg. Koe as in hoe. Or just say Ko-nigs-egg.
Hoe-nig.. Oh no, you didn't!
 
Well, I meant the 'oe' part of 'hoe' as in 'koe'. :lol:
 
Thanks for the link!

You are welcome.
http://koenigsegg.com/koenigsegg-one1-sets-new-lap-record-at-spa-in-practice/
http://fastestlaps.com/models/koenigsegg-one-1

Anyway, the sound polution, from Mental gear posts.
SPA has notorious problems with local authorites about sound polution. Becuse it's set in the middle of forrest in the Ardennes the natural db of noise is low. It's even lower at the weekends, when the industry in nearby towns shuts down. That's why the limit is even lower @ 103db. The track gets a few wavers for a few weekends in the year, I think around 6, but after that, they need to keep it down :)

If you think this is some kind of european thing, check Laguna Seca.
 
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Wasn't one was wrecked at the 'ring last year. So even less.
 
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