Eggcellency

A 2018 Monterey Car Week highlight involved meeting Swedish madman Christian von Koenigsegg

A shameful confession: I’ve only been to Monterey Car Week once. As the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance grew in notoriety since its founding in 1950, the festivities expanded beyond one day on the local golf course. Now a full week of fun, car enthusiasts the world over descend on Monterey, California each summer. There are several great stories I could spin from my single Car Week to date, in 2018, but this one stands out.

Swedish firm Koenigsegg has been pushing boundaries since their first production car, the CC8S, debuted in 2002. Over the next few years, the manufacturer netted accolades, attention, and a record for world’s fastest production car. Pick a Koenigsegg out of a lineup, and chances are the horsepower figure will have one comma, while the price will have two. Yes, the brand is a little bit of an “if you know, you know” entity, but spotting a Koenigsegg will raise anyone’s pulse.

Outside of the hotel we were staying in, I spotted a pair of them.

What?!?

Our hotel room view. The red one is a Regera, and the white one is an Agera RS1

As daylight dimmed, more began to materialize. What on Earth was happening?

My dad overheard from a hotel employee that something special was going to happen, explaining all of these ‘eggs in one basket: an exclusive screening of a new documentary, entitled Straight & Narrow. Christian von Koenigsegg himself would be on hand to sign posters. All of this in our inn? I must be dreaming!

In due time, my dad, Grandpop, and I made our way down to the room where the event was set to occur. Just as I reached Koenigsegg after a patient wait in line, poster in hand, he told me something along the lines of “the show’s about to start, I’ll get to you after.”

Crossing my fingers that I hadn’t missed my chance to chat, I sat down on the floor to enjoy the show. Straight & Narrow documented the Koenigsegg Agera RS that broke the record for the fastest speed ever clocked on a public road, an astonishing 277.9 miles per hour. Nicknamed “Ruthie,” the car had shattered the previous record, which stood for eight decades.

Now, for the moment of truth: meeting Christian himself. I didn’t miss my chance!

He ended up being a lovely guy, and humble to boot. You’d never guess that he was in the business of producing cars worth more than my family’s house in the affluent suburb of Darien, Connecticut. As a bonus, I also met the gentleman who owns the record-breaking car.

After both of them signed my poster (which, to my chagrin, I can’t find at the moment of writing), I walked outside and saw Ruthie herself.

Forgive the dim lighting!

All told, no less than seven of these bonkers Swede speed machines had gathered on our hotel grounds. A fever dream anywhere else; in Monterey, just another night of Car Week.