All but a couple of weeks ago, we were reporting how for fun Koenisegg decided to break their own record for 0-400-0 km/h. This week, they have decided to take the best parts from three of their finest creations to form the Chimera, which has been specially created for Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of world motorsport’s governing body: The FIA.

So what exactly is the Chimera? It’s not a TVR for starters, but it features an Agera RS body with the Jesko’s 5-litre, 1578 bhp (on E85 biofuel) twin-turbo V8 and the CC850’s trick Engage Shift System gearbox which is something of an engineering marvel. This uses the Jesko’s 9-speed, 7-clutch Light Speed Transmission as its base. Additionally, it is paired with a clutch pedal to offer a six-speed manual transmission. When you’ve had enough of the manual, you can switch to the automatic mode and let the car shift for you, or make use of the paddles behind the steering wheel to move through the nine gears. It wouldn’t be Koenisegg if they didn’t outdo themselves though.

As the Chimera uses the body of the Agera RS, it’s smaller than the Jesko and brings a weight saving of 100 kg when compared to its younger sibling. With the reduced weight, it leaves us wondering what top speed potential does the Chimera have compared to the Jesko?

However, there is good news for the other Agera RS owners. This is because there are now just 24 examples of the Agera RS as a result of the Chimera’s birth. The only bad news for Agera RS owners is if they want to do this to their cars, Christian von Koenisegg himself said that the company won’t be undertaking a project like this again. Instead, he said it’s better and more financially viable for the owners to buy a brand new car, or even create a project from the ground up which opens the door to a monumental one-off being commissioned.

The exterior of the Koenigsegg Chimera retains the same specification as the Agera RS ‘donor’ car with the dark blue exposed carbon-fibre bodywork. There have been some changes made to the exterior; the black brake callipers have been repainted to silver and a carbon-fibre scoop and shark fin feature at the rear. These additions are not just for aesthetics, they are there to aid with cooling and high-speed stability. Inside, the tan leather is carried over from the original Agera, alongside the bucket seats. 

There almost seems to be a small trend being created by these boutique hypercar manufacturers. All but a week ago Pagani revealed the Huayra Epitome. The link? Both of these models were released in the 2010s with two pedals in the footwell, but have now been updated to have manual gearboxes and three pedals. The question is, will more manufacturers be offering this level of mechanical customisation to their past models? We wouldn’t bet against a three-pedal One-77 being on the cards now.

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