It isn't the tires slowing the Koenigsegg Agera RS.
Khodrocar - Last November, a Koenigsegg Agera RS set the record as the fastest street-legal production car in the world with a two-way average speed of 277.9 mph (444.6 kph) on a lonely stretch of road in Nevada. It also set the record for the highest speed recorded on a public road – 284.55 mph (457.49 kph). That’s an insane speed. But what if the Agera RS could do more like hit 300 mph (482.8 kph)?
It’s thought the biggest hurdle to reaching 300 mph is the tires. However, when the Agera RS hit 284.55 mph, it did so on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that come standard on the car. There were no unique compounds or racing slicks used. Yes, each the tires are tuned for each vehicle, but they are tires designed for the street.
At this year’s Detroit Auto Show, Christian von Koenigsegg and Michelin product manager Eric Schmedding discussed how the tires held up and what’s possible for the Agera RS. Schmedding admitted the tires were never intended to go 270 mph, according to The Drive, adding "But while they’re rated for much lower speeds, we also know their true capabilities are much higher.”
The biggest risk for failure to a tire is heat generation and thermal activity. More heat is generated the longer a tire rotates at a high rate of speed. If the Agera RS can reach 300 mph quickly, achieving the speed shouldn’t be a problem.
"If the car can get to 270 fairly quickly, but it takes five minutes to get from 270 to 300, that's not really going to work,” Schmedding told the publication.
So, will Koenigsegg try for 300 mpg?
"If someone wants to set that record, it’s very doable,” Koenigsegg told The Drive. "For the car we would need more RPM and a longer gear ratio, but we could hit 300 right now. It’s scary and very dangerous to drive this fast, because there are a lot of uncontrollable aspects, such as animals, tumbleweeds, bumps, wind. It’s doable, but it’s not our objective.”
If another automaker attempts a 300-mph run and gets close, someone with an Agera RS will probably get the itch to try as well.
Source: The Drive
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