Not long ago Tesla came under scrutiny for some of its lithium-ion batteries catching fire. However, those instances were in the aftermath of accidents or stray debris striking the battery compartment.
So you can appreciate the surprise generated when a $2 million Koenigsegg Agera R supercar recently caught fire while idling in a parking lot. According to multiple reports, including the company’s Facebook page, a fire that started under the hood of the 1,115-hp vehicle was caused by a battery malfunction.
While the exact issue is still being investigated, the fact that a Koenigsegg vehicle was involved in such an incident is pretty shocking. As detailed in a previous IEN Now, only 25 Koenigseggs are made each year, and there’s a 5-year waiting list for these ultra-expensive cars that feature every performance and creature comfort you could possibly imagine.
This includes and Lithium Iron Phosphate battery that is supposedly much safer than other lithium compound batteries, like the lithium ion composition favored by Tesla and other electric vehicle makers. Also, when comparing it to traditional lead-acid batteries used in gas-powered cars, the lithium phosphate battery is considered much more stable.
To oversimplify, the oxygen molecules are more difficult to excite in these types of batteries. So with less oxygen being displaced, fires should be much more difficult to create.
In case you’re wondering about recalls or owner backlash, the Swedish company built only 18 of these vehicles between 2011-2014. They also recently announced that its standing 80-vehicle inventory had been sold out.
