July 2008 Dream Car of the Month - Koenigsegg CC

Koenigsegg CCXR Edition

Founded in 1993 by Christian von Koenigsegg, Keonigsegg is a Swedish based manufacturer of very rare, very fast supercars. Koenigsegg had a dream to become a car manufacturer and after making his fortune in business, he turned his attention to building a two seat, mid-engined supercar.

Christian von Koenigsegg penned the original design himself and the original prototype was finished in 1996. The prototype was shown to the public in 1997 and the production version of the car was revealed at the 2000 Paris Motor Show. That first model prototype was known as the Koenigsegg CC.


Koenigsegg CC Prototype

The first Koenigsegg sold to the public was called the CC8S. Only about 6 were produced between 2002 and 2005. The car featured a full carbon fiber body with an aluminum and kevlar honeycomb reinforcement. Curb weight was only 2590lbs and the car was powered by a supercharged Ford 4.7L modular V8 producing 655hp/555tq. Power was transferred to the rear wheels by a 6 speed Cima manual transaxle with limited slip differential. This car could accelerate to 60mph in 3.2 seconds and to 100 in 6.2 while on its way to a 10 second 1/4 mile. Top speed was estimated to be 240mph.


Koenigsegg CC8S

Following the CC8S was the Koenigsegg CCR which was produced from 2004-2006. The CCR was basically an updated and improved version of the original. Power was upped to 806hp/680tq by using a Lysholm twin-screw supercharger. That however proved to be difficult to install in the mid-engine car so the production CCR used twin centrifugal superchargers made by Rotrex which provides the same power in better packaging. On February 28 2005 the Koenigsegg CCR broke the production car top speed record of 240mph, set by the McLaren F1, which had stood for over 12 years by hitting 241.01mph on the Nardo test circuit. Important to note is the fact that Nardo is a circular track and the track where the McLaren F1 and subsequently the Bugatti Veyron set their records, the VW Ehra track in Germany, is a 9km straight track. The McLaren could only muster 231mph at Nardo. So if the CCR had been tested on the straight track, it's speed may have been closer to 250mph.


Koenigsegg CCR

The most recent model is the Koenigsegg CCX. The X denoting the 10th anniversary of the first CC model. The CCX is the first Koenigsegg designed for sale all over the world, particularly the United States. The Ford V8 was replaced by an engine designed in house by Koenigsegg. The new engine is capable of running on 91 octane fuel and the car meets all US crash and emissions standards. The engine is based on the Ford V8 and features dual overhead cams with 4 valves per cylinder. The block is made of special heat treated aluminum that allows it to be stronger but lighter than the previous engine. It uses a dry sump oiling system with an external oil cooler and piston squirters. Running 91 octane the twin supercharged engine achieves 806hp/678tq. The CCX also comes as the CCXR which uses biofuel and increases the engines output to over 1000hp. Track oriented models of the CCX and CCXR were introduced called the CCX Edition and CCXR Edition. They featured even more power and stiffer suspensions.


Koenigsegg CCX