Fans of obscure Swedish supercars, take note: Koenigsegg has a new version of its Agera RS that?s sure to blåsa din hjärna. For those not passionate enough about Swedish cars to learn another language, that means ?blow your mind,? and Agera means ?to act? or ?star,? as in a performance. Making its debut at the Geneva auto show, this special Agera RS is called the Gryphon, a name chosen because that mythical creature appears on the flag of Skåne, the town where Koenigsegg?s factory sits. Besides being part lion, part eagle?and a name used by Saab on both aircraft and cars?the Gryphon is now a mid-engined supercar festooned with 24-carat gold-leaf body accents.
Scandinavian design is not limited to the understated, modernish look favored by contemporary Volvos and Ikea furniture, and the lingonberry is not Sweden?s most exotic product. The regular Agera RS is an ultra-expensive, flamboyant sports car, and the Gryphon displays an even more outgoing personality. The body is rendered from carbon fiber and left naked and unpainted, except that Koenigsegg slathers gold leaf on the hood struts, bits of the interior, and slices of the engine. As if the gold leaf weren?t flashy enough, rest easy: It?s applied, um, carefully by an Italian master craftsman named Ettore ?Blaster? Callegaro. Koenigsegg ensures that Gryphon buyers will never forget what they?re driving by embroidering the name in gold thread across the dashboard. There are more gold accents sprinkled about inside, too...