Given the supercar’s high-end price point, you’d expect nothing less on the inside, which represents the interface between driver and car. Every surface that can be touched is crafted from either leather, carbon fiber or metal, creating what Christian von Koenigsegg calls a “unique and functional” interior.
As the symbol for the Agera R is a ghost (derived from the logo of the fighter squadron formerly based in Koenigsegg’s plant), the interior gets “ghost lighting.” Since plastic isn’t allowed, aluminum buttons are drilled with tiny laser-cut holes to form patterns, identifying the function of each.
Koenigsegg even designed the spring steel mechanism behind each button, rather than farming the task out to a third-party supplier. The same careful attention to detail goes into the single-piece carbon fiber steering wheel (also designed and built in house), which is later partially wrapped in foam and hand-stitched leather for driver comfort.
Since the paddle shifters are also part of the man-machine interface, Koenigsegg strived to achieve just the right “trigger feel” from the wheel-mounted paddles. Buying an off-the-rack system would surely have saved both time and money, but that’s simply not the Koenigsegg way.
In that regard, this video goes farther in explaining why Koenigsegg’s cars cost what they do than any previous installment of the series. Unless you control all design and manufacturing, you’re ultimately at the mercy of a supplier’s quality control, and disappointing customers to make a few more dollars isn’t what Koenigsegg is about.