Sam Altman spotted driving a Koenigsegg Regera: How much does the rare supercar cost?
A video of Open AI CEO Sam Altman driving down the street has attracted the attention of car enthusiasts and a jibe from tech rival Elon Musk.
Spotting a celebrity on the road out for a drive, depending on where you live, might be a rare event and something you’d want to share with your friends. However, the a recent video shared online drew more attention for the car than the person, Sam Altman, who was behind the wheel.
The CEO of Open AI was seen driving a super-exclusive Koenigsegg Regera which carries a seven-figure price tag and production is limited to just 80 in total. The hyper-powerful hybrid, produced by a motorcar company based in Sweden, is one of the fastest street-legal cars in the world.
Sam Altman spotted driving a Koenigsegg Regera: How much does the rare supercar cost?
The starting price for a Koenigsegg Regera, which was first presented at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, was estimated at $1.9 million in 2020 by Car and Driver. Even if you have a wad of money burning a hole in your pocket and want to buy a new one, you’re out of luck. All of the 80 limited-production supercars are already spoken for.
But you could try your luck in the secondhand market but be ready to spend quite a bit more. According to Business Insider a Koenigsegg Regera in a private sale could set you back as much as $4.6 million.
The video of Altman in his pricy Regera attracted the attention of the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley X account which asked, “How did open AI become a for profit business when it was a non profit?” To which Elon Musk, who has been in a feud with Altman, quipped “Great question.”
Why does the Koenigsegg Regera cost so much?
Besides the limited number of the Regera, which means “to reign” or “to rule” in Swedish, this hyper-powerful hybrid car has a number of super-exclusive luxury features.
Koenigsegg says that the Regera’s Direct Drive transmission gives its driver a “true Jekyll and Hyde experience” by delivering “blistering performance while offering one of the smoothest driving experiences imaginable.” This is achieved through “a rear sub frame that allows the engine and transmission to rest on active soft mounts.”
The engine noise and vibrations are kept isolated during normal driving conditions by staying soft but firm up during “spirited driving.” Additionally, “the shock absorbers are active in both height and stiffness, adjusting instantly to your inputs behind the wheel,” the supercar manufacturer states.
Under the hood, the Regera has a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V-8 that works in concert with three electric motors. They can deliver a total output of 1500 horsepower. Because of material used for the car’s body and structure, super strong carbon fiber and Kevlar, along with other features, Koenigsegg has managed to kept the Regera’s weight to just under 3,500 pounds allowing for incredible weight-to-power ratio.
The Regera broke the world record a second time in 2023 for a homologated production car in acceleration and braking. It can go from zero to 250 mph in just 21.35 seconds and back to zero again in 8.25 seconds. In order to keep the supercar stable at high speeds, besides the before mentioned adjustable suspension system, it also has active aerodynamic components.
Other exclusive luxury features include its system dubbed ‘Autoskin’, which allows the driver to operate all body closures completely automatically, at the touch of a button, a first of its kind in the world. As well, its interior is “swaddled in a host of luxurious accoutrements” that you’d expect from an extreme megacar and one that is rare in this nature of car, two cup holders.