- The Sadair’s Spear set a 1:24.16 Laguna Seca record under strict noise limits.
- A heavy auxiliary muffler and aluminum wheels hindered peak performance.
- Koenigsegg says customer cars should be even faster without compromises.
Surprise, surprise: Koenigsegg just set a lap record at Laguna Seca. The Swedish supercar builder has done this several times before, including twice in 2024. Then, it lost the crown by just 0.11 seconds last year to Czinger and its 21C.
Now, it has snatched it back by over half a second and leapfrogged some race cars in the process. Oh, and it did that with some significant compromises.
More: Residents Sue Laguna Seca Because It’s Too Noisy And Creates Traffic
The new record-holding car is the Sadair’s Spear, a car that leverages bespoke craftsmanship, a twin-turbocharged V8, and a whopping 1,300 horsepower (969 kW).
Designed specifically to destroy track records, this hypercar is lighter than the Jesko and has far more aero for better downforce. That all sounds great, but when Koenigsegg showed up to Laguna Seca for this record attempt, it did so on a bad day for it.
What Slowed It Down?
The track is somewhat famously hobbled by local residents who moved in long after it was there. Those neighbors have successfully lobbied the government there to force the circuit to have noise level rules.
When Koeningsegg rolled up, it was on a day when cars weren’t allowed to exceed 90 dB. The Sadair’s Spear makes quite a bit more noise than that, so Koenigsegg had to add a huge muffler to it.
Apart from looking ridiculous, it adds weight, and it can even create a bit of a pendulum effect since it’s so far behind the end of the bodywork.
Could It Have Gone Faster?
That said, it wasn’t the only hobbling effect. Koenigsegg only had one set of wheels for the car, and they’re aluminum, not the carbon fiber units that customers have access to. In other words, this car had more unsprung weight to deal with. Despite that, it managed a lap time of just 1:24.16 verified by Racelogic.
Notably, that’s quite a bit slower than the McMurtry Spéirling, which did it in 1.18:413. The McMurtry isn’t a homologated production car though, so Koenigsegg gets the record for now.
The Sadair’s Spear also managed to leapfrog two other cars, a Huracan EVO GT3 race car and a Nissan 350Z hybrid that was even faster than the Lamborghini.
While brands like Czinger and McMurtry are employing wild technology to go faster and faster, Koeningsegg just did it with brute force, even if its hypercar wasn’t able to perform at the peak of its performance.
Â
