Tuesday 19th July 2016

Koenigsegg One:1 wrecked at the 'ring

Nordschleife glory will have to wait - there's some more panel beating required first

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With all the raising of the bar with 'ring records in the last few years you could be fooled into thinking it's easy. If your car's not quick enough just increase power/tyre stickiness/driver gonad size and reap the sub-seven glory.

Safety measures proved their worth

Koenigsegg's relationship with the 'ring proves otherwise. And whether political or practical its attempts to set a lap with its One:1 'megacar' haven't always ended with the hoped for result. First there was the unfortunate timing of going for an all-out record just as the 'ring was reeling from Jann Mardenborough's deadly crash and management banned manufacturers from going for lap times, this rather blowing apart the central conceit of the movie intending to record the attempt for posterity. Since then there has been another crash and a conspicuous lack of the kind of headline grabbing lap time you'd expect of a brand like Koenigsegg.

Now, supercar crash stories aren't really our thing here on PH. But everything Koenigsegg does is spectacular. And that goes for crashing too. No embarrassing slither into the Armco for the One:1 here. Rather a prolonged lock-up out of the terrifyingly fast dip at Fuchsrohre, a leap OVER the crash barriers at Adenauer Forst and a humiliating and prolonged recovery onto an open-bed recovery truck before completing the lap of shame many a 'ring visitor has endured.

Adenauer Forst all too familiar crash site

Crucially our spy snappers report the driver is OK, deflated airbags and an intact driver safety cell seemingly doing their job in what looks to have been a pretty high-speed shunt. No point speculating on the cause of the crash here; if you're pushing for a time these things can happen to the best. And Fuchsrohre is sphincter-tighteningly fast in any car, let alone a 1,000hp-plus megacar. Let's just say the transition from one of the fastest parts of the track into one of the slowest has caught out many, at least two of us on the PH team (among many, many others) having had moments here we'd rather forget... Nice to know we're in good company though.

Koenigsegg isn't a brand to give up easily though. And proving the One:1 is capable of more than just generating very big straight line/bottom line numbers is an essential demonstration of brand credibility. That lap time, when it does come, will be all the sweeter for the sacrifice it demanded...

 

[Photos: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien]

[Fetchez la vache]

Glad the driver is ok.
Surprised this doesn't happen more often tbh. The implied if not explicit pressure on the drivers to get these records must be huge, and all to get a figure that will no doubt never be repeated by any owner.

[j90gta]

"Since then there has been a previous crash"

Oh dear, did someone fail English language??

Seriously though the damage to the Armco is scary; car could have been launched a lot further. Hope their manufacturer's insurance covers them for going for a lap time, otherwise looks like a rather expensive mishap!!

[Kawasicki]

Looks dangerous.

Exzellent.

[patmahe]

Looks pretty well intact for a car that vaulted the barrier, glad to see it did its job and protected the driver. The temptation to take short cuts and remove 'unnecessary' systems such as airbags etc... must be huge, especially if you're struggling to reach the target time.

These records are pretty pointless apart from bragging rights. If I was in the market for a hyper or megacar, I'd test drive any one I could get my hands on and pick the one I liked best. Ring times wouldn't even figure in my thinking. Its a lot of risk (for the driver mainly) for what you gain.

[Matt Bird]

j90gta said:

"Since then there has been a previous crash"

Oh dear, did someone fail English language??

Seriously though the damage to the Armco is scary; car could have been launched a lot further. Hope their manufacturer's insurance covers them for going for a lap time, otherwise looks like a rather expensive mishap!!

Apologies, that's my error on the editing. Should be addressed now.

Cheers!


Matt

[LotusOmega375D]

Oh well, they should have just stuck a Nürburgring sticker on the back like everyone else. Much cheaper.

[kambites]

I'm sure Armcos aren't meant to fail in quite that manner!

[AyBee]

Seems odd that a car with ABS has produced perfect 11s all the way to the barrier...

[k-ink]

Ouch. As long as the driver is ok!

[lcs_turbo]

I'd be amazed if there's no video footage of this. There are loads of YouTube channels that seem to have cameras permanently situated at this section of the track - unless of course these same channels aren't allowed to film on manufacturer testing days?

[_Neal_]

AyBee said:

Seems odd that a car with ABS has produced perfect 11s all the way to the barrier...

That's what I thought, although perhaps all drivers aids were off to chase the lap time? Or there was some kind of mechanical failure?

[SturdyHSV]

AyBee said:

Seems odd that a car with ABS has produced perfect 11s all the way to the barrier...

I also look forward to a PH driving god pointing out that they personally would have cadence braked their way out of this situation

[motoxyogi]

I'm impressed that the doors still work after an off like that.
God bless CFRP, it either breaks completely, cracks or is perfectly fine.

Those 11's look kinda small for something with the footprint I imagine the One:1 has. Then again they do stretch back the whole way to the previous corner.

[Krikkit]

_Neal_ said:

AyBee said:

Seems odd that a car with ABS has produced perfect 11s all the way to the barrier...

That's what I thought, although perhaps all drivers aids were off to chase the lap time? Or there was some kind of mechanical failure?

Could be a mis-change from the transmission that locked the rear wheels? Not much you can do if the rear end is locked solid.

[Fastdruid]

Krikkit said:

_Neal_ said:

AyBee said:

Seems odd that a car with ABS has produced perfect 11s all the way to the barrier...

That's what I thought, although perhaps all drivers aids were off to chase the lap time? Or there was some kind of mechanical failure?

Could be a mis-change from the transmission that locked the rear wheels? Not much you can do if the rear end is locked solid.

I'd have thought a spin would be more likely under those circumstances.

[JustinF]

kambites said:

I'm sure Armcos aren't meant to fail in quite that manner!

I wonder if the nose was in the air from striking the kerb when it hit the Armco?

[Dave Hedgehog]

vid of the recovery

https://youtu.be/RZWEBAHREa8

i have read that kegg have said they where parts testing not lap time chasing

[patmahe]

Dave Hedgehog said:

vid of the recovery

https://youtu.be/RZWEBAHREa8

i have read that kegg have said they where parts testing not lap time chasing

Looks like the drivers cell stood up remarkably well considering the damage done to the other areas of the car. Well done Koennigsegggggg glad the driver seems ok

[ZesPak]

Fastdruid said:

Krikkit said:

_Neal_ said:

AyBee said:

Seems odd that a car with ABS has produced perfect 11s all the way to the barrier...

That's what I thought, although perhaps all drivers aids were off to chase the lap time? Or there was some kind of mechanical failure?

Could be a mis-change from the transmission that locked the rear wheels? Not much you can do if the rear end is locked solid.

I'd have thought a spin would be more likely under those circumstances.

Why are we assuming they are his?

[AyBee]

ZesPak said:

Why are we assuming they are his?

I don't know - why would one assume that massive 11s running straight onto the grass pointing at the impact point of a guard rail where an 'Egg has crashed be linked to the crash itself?