Christian Von Koenigsegg is the founder and chief executive of the world-famous hypercar builder that bears his name. He’s mostly preoccupied with his own creations of course, but despite building some of the most impressive machines on the road, he still finds time to drive a car he got when he was 19 years old: his first-generation NA Miata.
He said as much in a recent interview with Top Gear, which included a few other interesting automotive figures like Mate Rimac and Gordon Murray. In response to a question asking what car he would put the very last tank of gas in, he said it would be his Miata. “I have my Mazda Miata from when I was 19 years old,” Koenigsegg said. “I drive it mostly during the summers, but still every week more or less, and I would put the fuel in that car.”
Koenigsegg hasn’t continuously owned that first Miata. He sold it when he was younger, but bought it back a few years ago. Since then, he’s been driving it a lot, along with the rest of his stable of cars.
You may be surprised to hear the Swedish car builder would put his last tank of gas in a vehicle that doesn’t bear his name— and keep in mind he’s made some incredible machines. It’s a known fact that Koenigsegg appreciates machinery from other makes. At Pebble Beach last year, Koenigsegg told us he is a big fan of the C8 Corvette, calling the value of the car “mind blowing.” He’s just happy the $60,000 Corvette can’t perform like one of his cars. At least, not yet.
Other members of the panel had similar responses to the question. Gordon Murray said it would not be his own F1 or T.50, but a Lotus Elan. Mate Rimac likewise chose an E30 M3, an interesting decision considering the brand he founded exclusively makes electric cars. Perhaps he’s a bigger fan of internal combustion than we know.
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