Koenigsegg, the company that made the car that broke the 10 year McLaren F1’s top speed world record. Started in 1994, this company was founded by Christian Von Koenigsegg. Von Koenigsegg always dreamt of making a perfect sports car - a two seater supercar that had a hardtop and with a mid engine layout based on Formula One technology. Von, in his early twenties started a trading company, the success of which allowed him to start his own car company and make the supercar he wanted to.
A video of the Koenigsegg CCR breaking the world record previously held by McLaren F1.
The Koenigsegg project was started in 1993. The design was by designer David Craaford following Von’s guidelines. A fully functional prototype was made in just 1.5 years. It was then exposed to the media and people. The car was tested in the Volvo wind tunnel and also tested on race tracks. The car was so smooth; it had a low drag coefficient of only 0.30 whereas the Mercedes SLR has a value of 0.37 and the enzo Ferrari a value of 0.36. A darker side was the low downforce of only 50Kg at the front and 70Kg at the back. A unique thing about Koenigsegg cars is that they have windscreen sorrounding the whole cabin. It also has a removable roof. It was shown at the Cannes film festival and gained much popularity very rapidly. A carbon fibre monocoque was added to the chassis. The car was made to comply with international certification regulations by making it go through 57 different tests. A new facility near Angelholm was set up.
A video of the koenigsegg making a new record on the Top Gear track.
In the year 2000, the production of Koenigsegg CC8S was started. The car won many awards and was chosen as the car of the year in Swedish magazine Automobil. In 2002, the first customer bought a red Koenigsegg CC 8S. The Koenigsegg Company moved an F10 Air Force Base near Angelholm due to a major fire in their production facilities. In the same year, Koenigsegg made the world record for the most powerful streetcar. In 2004, work on the CCR began which produced 806 hp @ 6900 rpm. The car broke the world record of the fastest car in history with a top speed of 388.87 Km/Hr which was later beaten by Bugatti Veyron.
Recently, the CCX has been launched which is the most advanced model of Koenigsegg. It broke the record of Pagani Zonda on the Top Gear Race track, beating it by 0.8 seconds. Presently, 7 vehicles can be assembled simultaneously in the Koenigsegg facility. The car uses more than 300 carbon fibre and other expensive components which is why Koenigsegg cars are so high priced.
A video of the Koenigsegg by Top Gear.
The Rusty Karamo King