With Hurricane Ian having been downgraded to a post-tropical storm on Friday evening by the National Hurricane Center, hours after moving from Florida to South Carolina, a further weakening is expected for today, with the NHS forecasting the dissipation of the storm for early Sunday. Meanwhile, the extent of the destruction Hurricane Ian did after hitting Florida as a Category 4 storm is further highlighted, with a recent example being a flooded Koenigsegg Regera.
The Swedish hypercar, one of the just 80 customer units in the world (there are also four pre-production units), comes from Naples, Florida, just like the McLaren P1 that Hurricane Ian dragged out of its garage and ironically placed on a toilet seat.
The Regera, which was delivered by Koenigsegg Florida back in the day, was reportedly flooded while inside its owner’s garage. And since we’re talking about salt water, the damage to the complex electronics of the plug-in hybrid (the P1 is a non-plug-in hybrid) is one of the greatest issues here. As for the overall extent of the damage sustained by the Koenigsegg, this remains unknown for now.
As stated in the Instagram post below, which comes from the Koenigsegg Jesko Registry, an unofficial social media account keeping tracks of the hypercar, the dirt sitting about one foot high on the garage door may indicate the level reached by the water mid-storm.
However, with Hurricane Ian having flooded and pulled out a 1970 Plymouth Superbird and 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona that were sitting over six feet high on four-post hoists inside a garage, the water level might’ve been even higher.
And the story of the classic muscle car duo could also deliver an answer to people in the comments section of the post wondering what would’ve happened if the Koenigsegg had been placed on the similar platform inside its garage—for the record, there’s no info on the Ferrari FF sitting next to the Regera in the garage.
As we’ve said in the past, it appears that the force of the storm took many Floridians by surprise, even though the state is constantly hit by nature’s caprices. And while some commenters on social media think this way, there are also other camps, whose reactions are much colder, with their main argument, which admittedly carries some weight, being that the owners of these now-flooded high-end vehicles had multiple days to prepare for the Hurricane.
Fortunately, there are no reports of anybody in the owner’s family having been injured by the storm, with unverified posts on social media even showcasing a screenshot of an alleged Facebook conversation where the son of the owner states the family is unharmed.
The tech miracle that is the Koenigsegg Regera
When introduced back in 2016, the Regera, which ushered in a new era for the Swedish carmaker (i.e. industry-pioneering transmission, production expansion), came with a starting price of about $1.9 million, but the optional extras could boost the price by up to $1 million, which explains the hefty sums such machines are expected to fetch on the secondary market.
Speaking of which, the Registry explains that this Regera, chassis 7235, which features a blue-tinted carbon exterior with gold leaf accents, makes for one of the most gifted specs in the world. Now, the vehicle remains with its original owner. And, given its remarkable tech features and rarity, as well as the renowned dedication displayed by Koenigsegg, hopes for a revival of this flooded example are high.
After all, how could we not root for the machine when it packs three electric motors (two on each rear wheel and one on the crankshaft) and a twin-turbo V8, with the combined output sitting at 1,500 hp and 1,475 lb-ft?
All the firepower is sent to the rear wheels via Koenigsegg’s Direct Drive hardware, which replaces the standard transmission with a hydraulic coupling packing a lock-up feature. For the record, Koenigsegg builds most of the components in-house, electronics included.
And while the Angelholm-based automaker labels the Regera as a Grand Tourer rather than an all-out speed devil, the hypercar can complete the 0 to 62 mph sprint in 2.8s and has a top speed of over 250 mph.
The endless number of high-end vehicles that got flooded by Hurricane Ian
Florida is the home of some of the world’s most exotic and luxury vehicle-loaded garages and, obviously, tons of normal cars. And while we probably won’t hear too many stories of the latter, photos and videos of Hurricane Ian-flooded high-end vehicles keep hitting social media.
For instance, the second Instagram post below shows the massive damage the storm has caused to the two vehicles of a collector known as @312supercars. We can see a 550 with just 6,900 miles on the clock, a 360 Modena with a six-speed manual, and a Mercedes-AMG E63, which he lists as “total loses”.
Then there’s the third Insta post (via @gisringhausen, Geoff Isringhausen Jr, a dealer of top-end vehicles and watches), which takes us inside the ground-level parking of a building in Florida. As always, nature doesn’t discriminate, with regular machines and supercars like the Audi R8 and a McLaren, probably a 570S, having been flooded and tossed around like toys.
