Daytona becomes SA’s Koenigsegg importer

Johannesburg-based exotic car merchant Daytona has been appointed the official local distributor of Koenigsegg cars in SA.

The Swedish brand expands the portfolio of premium brands sold by the Melrose Arch dealership, including Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren, Pagani and Rolls-Royce.

Koenigsegg is a specialist Swedish hyper carmaker established in 1994 by Christian von Koenigsegg at the age of 22.

The low-volume marque crafts some of the rarest exotic cars using innovative engineering and explosive power, and its cars have posted a number of speed records.

In September 2019 the Koenigsegg Regera set a world record in acceleration and braking by posting a 0-400km/h-0 time of 31.49 sec. This beat the previous record by 1.8 seconds, set by another Koenigsegg, the Agera RS, in 2017.

In 2017 the Agera set a production car speed record of 447km/h which was only recently beaten by the 455.3km/h SSC Tuatara. One of Koenigsegg’s newer unicorns, the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, is said to be capable of 530km/h.

Koenigsegg has produced 19 models in various special editions since its inception.

The Gemera plug-in hybrid will be the Swedish firm’s first model to touch down in SA. Launched in 2020, it’s the first four-seater from the brand and is powered by a turbocharged 2.0l three-cylinder engine mated to three electric motors. With a combined output of 1,265kW and 3,500Nm the Gemera has the claimed potential to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 1.9 seconds and to a top speed of 400km/h.

“We are delighted to welcome Daytona to the Koenigsegg family,” says Andreas Petré, sales director  at Koenigsegg Automotive. “Our philosophy is one focused on performance, not only in terms of power and speed, but in every deliverable and this extends to the selection of our representatives around the world.”

 “Koenigsegg represents the pinnacle of performance megacars, which is why being selected as the dealer of choice in SA is such a huge honour,” said Justin Divaris, CEO of Daytona.

Indicative prices are hard to nail down as each vehicle is built to a customer’s bespoke tastes, says Daytona, but the starting price for a Gemera overseas is $1.7m (R26.3m). /With Denis Droppa