In the early nineties Christian von Koenigsegg was disappointed with every available supercar, so he decided to build his own. His first model, the CC8S, debuted in 2002. The body was a one piece carbon fiber monocoque reinforced with Kevlar. Six examples were built, all using supercharged Ford V8 engines. The car took the automotive world by storm with its dihedral doors and incredibly low weight of 1,175 kg (2,590 lbs).
For his encore performance, he wanted a global market car that would meet emission and crash testing in all markets. This had not been accomplished with a carbon fiber body, so their goal was to be the first.
Enter the CCX. Not being satisfied with any V8 on the market, they built their own from scratch. Utilizing two superchargers, it created 806 horsepower and 639 lb-ft of torque. By engineering the motor in-house, they were able to use it as part of the suspension. Some parts of the chassis bolted directly to the block, which saved weight. It doesn’t seem believable, but this car only weighed 2,821 lbs.
In order to build the world’s cleanest supercar, the CCX was fitted with Flex-Fuel sensors and injectors capable of running 100 percent ethanol, or E100. Ethanol is a divisive subject in the US, but its environmental benefits can’t be denied. Christian holds a number of patents, one of them being Flex-Fuel technology.
This upgraded model was named the CCXR and launched in 2009. When the computer senses ethanol, power is increased to 1,018 hp. That’s right; 1,018 horsepower in a car that weighs half as much as your daily driver. The power to weight ratio of 1.26 kg/hp translates to 1.5G of straight line acceleration. If you weigh 200 lbs, you would have 100 lbs forcing you into the backrest. For comparison, a 2003 F1 car was capable of 1.0G, and the Space Shuttle maxed out at 3.0G. An endless list of superlatives accompanies the CCXR, and owning one would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The car’s performance speaks for itself, but for those who need references, duPont REGISTRY is first in their “For the record” section.
Prestige Imports of Miami, Florida now has a 2009 Koenigsegg CCXR for sale, with only 1,247 miles. To see more images and inquire about the car, please click the button below.
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(Source: Prestige Imports, Koenigsegg)
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