Car Industry Arguing Over Nazi Speed Record, Koenigsegg Agera RS Still Broke It

The Koenigsegg Agera RS recently made history by breaking the world record of fastest drive on a public road. Reaching average speeds of 278 mph, the achievement should have been cause for celebration. Unfortunately, it seems there is now an argument as to which record the car actually beat, with a Nazi speed record being thrown in the mix.

The record-breaking event was done on a long stretch of road in Nevada, Jalopnik reports. However, there is now controversy over the achievement. Some are saying that the Agera RS broke the record previously held by Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen at 268 mph, which was done to please the Nazis. The Guinness World Records, on the other hand, insist that the previous record was held by Jim Peruto, whose run reached top speeds of 243.7 mph.

Observant readers might have noticed that in either case, the Agera RS still comes out as the clear winner since it reached 278 mph. As such, it really shouldn’t matter which record it beat as long as it beat it, right? Apparently not, even when it’s a Nazi speed record being discussed.

In any case, as Fortune notes, the fastest car in the world is made in Sweden and the records prove it. The company did the run down Route 160, which is a highway sandwiched by Las Vegas and Pahrump, Nevada. Koenigsegg even paid to have the road shut down just so it could do the test and it was clearly worth it.

The average speed that the Agera RS hit was actually 277.9 mph, which was recorded after two speed runs. The test was conducted on a stretch of desert road 11 miles in length, which is about as flat and ideal as they come.

If Koenigsegg really wants to prove that the Agera RS is the fastest car around under any conditions, it will need to up its game. This means that the next test should involve lots of curves or more challenging terrain.