Did A Component Failure Cause The Koenigsegg One:1 To Crash On The Nurburgring?

It's not surprising to get a phone call from a daredevil friend who just so happens to be in the hospital thanks to a stunt gone wrong. Risky behavior has a certain way of skewing the odds towards an unfortunate fate, and by that token no one bats an eye when another Mustang wipes out at Cars and Coffee. Or even when a $2.85 million dollar Koenigsegg One:1 crashes while attempting a world record lap on one of the most dangerous race tracks known to the world of automobile enthusiasts.

When we reported that a 1,341-horsepower Koenigsegg managed to put its carbon fiber components through a blender after its driver lost the battle against monster machine and hellish track, no one was the least bit surprised. Given the circumstances, it's easy to chalk the event up to driver error and call it a day, at least until we looked at the tire marks as the aftermath of the somber scene rolled out. While the wreckage itself is a testament to the integrity of the One:1's safety systems, the long and straight tire marks tell another story. The fact that there are skid marks combined with the violent forces needed to crumple a barrier and demolish a hypercar indicated that speed was the main factor in the accident.

Have a look for yourself using the lens of a crash detective and see if you can spot what's wrong.

It may sound like a no-brainer that a powerful car crashed because it was going too fast, but keep in mind that this is a professional racing driver piloting a car designed to stop as fast as it accelerates. The story that the skid marks tell is that the anti-lock braking system never cut in to add much-needed grip. Koenigsegg throws in an ABS system as standard for the seven-figure purchase, but it appears to have failed. The fact that the marks are so straight prove that the driver either could not turn due to the ABS being inactive or did not attempt to. Given that the pilot is shaken but alive, we'll probably find out more as time passes. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that a failed ABS system has caused a crash at the Green Hell.