Koenigsegg CCR: Too Hot to Handle

By Feann Torr - 12/March/2004

Koenigsegg. It isn't a word that elegantly rolls off your tongue, like Volvo, for instance. But just take a look at the sculpted, aerodynamic lines of the Swedish niche car maker's 2004-model CCR, and you'll soon forget about the anguish you've been causing your tongue.

The CCR is the follow-up vehicle to the marque's CC8S, which itself was a ludicrously quick European supercar that most will only ever get to drive in videogames.

Beyond the Mercedes-McLarens, Porsche Carrera GTs, Lamborghini Murcielagos and Ferrari Enzos, which are still considered exotica, but are far more numerous than the Koenigsegg, the CCR was to go up against über-cars like the mighty 8.0-litre W16-powered Bugatti Veyron - click here for the low-down on the 1250Nm beast.

Interestingly however, the 395km/h CCR may be given the mantle of world's fastest car by default, as insiders are speculating that the 400km/h Bugatti may never see the light of day due to technical and quality issues, not to mention abysmal fuel economy.

Bugatti's parent company, Volkswagen, is rumoured to have pushed construction of the 736kW AWD supercar back by more than 12 months, which never bodes well for niche vehicles.

So what about this upstart Swede then -- can it be the best of the best?

The 2-door, 2-seater coupe's body is made of preimpregnated carbon fibre and kevlar lightweight hard-foam sandwich reinforcements, which provides it not only with a superlight 1180kg kerb weight (215kg of which is the engine), but also exemplary torsional rigidity.

The CCR has a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.297, and looking at its low stance and aquiline styling, it's not hard to imagine the vehicle slicing through the air at more than 350km/h. The underside of the car is completely flat - ensuring exhaust piping and other components don't hinder the flow of air - and the semi monocoque chassis is made from honeycomb reinforced carbon fibre to improve handling characteristics and response.

The bright orange Koenigsegg CCR rests on double wishbone suspension front and rear, with adjustable VPS racing shock absorbers and electronically adjustable ride height, which is perfect when you cruise through the KFC drive-thru and don't want to leave parts of the preimpregnated carbon fibre-kevlar body shell scattered around the speed humps.

Providing the CCR's legendary thrust is a supercharged 4.7-litre V8, mounted behind the driver in the mid-rear position.

The 4-valve per cylinder 4700cc DOHC V8 is hooked up to a Lysholm (twin-screw) supercharger with 1.2 bar boost pressure (17.4 psi), necessitating a low 8.6:1 compression ratio, and the 'charger is fed by an intercooler to lower the incoming air temperature.

The blown V8 will only drink 98 RON unleaded petrol, but squeezes out a torrential 601kW (806bhp) @ 6900rpm and 920Nm of torque @ 5700rpm, making cars like Lamborghini's Gallardo look tame in comparison.

While the fettled and tweaked V8 engine has a powerband spanning 1200rpm, from 5700rpm to 6900rpm, the engine will happily rev past its peak power figure to 7600rpm, giving drivers a good deal of room to move when 'in the zone'.

But this ain't no high revving screamer - the CCR has a lusty torque curve, developing about 550Nm of torque at as low as 2000rpm, enhancing everyday drivability considerably.

Getting all that power to the rear wheels was never going to be an easy task, so Koenigsegg got Cima develop a custom 6-speed transmission with internal oil pump and oil cooler to keep things from boiling (and exploding).

The CCR also gets a torque sensitive LSD and a dual plate, oil-cooled, electronically operated clutch for super-quick gear shifts. All this drivetrain goodness results in shockingly quick acceleration.

The Swedish sportscar will dispatch the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.2 seconds, and is claimed to achieve quarter mile passes (0-400m) in 9.0 seconds flat (@ 235km/h), where an FPV GT would do it in about 14.0 seconds. Top speed is rated as 395km/h, and fuel consumption in the vicinity of 13.0-litres of fuel for every 100km travelled on the highway.

Sitting on 18-inch wheels up front and 19-inchers at the rear, shod with 255/35 and 335/30 profile rubber respectively, the CCR gains impressive deceleration via 362mm ventilated discs front and rear, each clamped with 6-pot light alloy calipers, enabling the car to cover just 31 metres of ground when decelerating from 100-0km/h.

For those who are still pondering whether or not to ask the bank manager for a $2,000,000 personal loan, the standard equipment list will surely be the deciding factor. The blisteringly rapid CCR includes items such as detachable roof panels, leather interior, driver side airbag, traction control, tyre pressure sensors and even climate control.

Unfortunately, you'll have to shell out extra for bigger brakes, a sequential gearbox, more carbon fibre goodies such as a rear wing and front splitter, and rear parking sensors.

But even in 'stock' form, the Koenigsegg CCR is a stunning piece of machinery, which is expected to outdo all but rarest of lightweight open wheelers in the woah-to-go stakes. Perhaps if the Swedish automaker changes it's name to something less frightening to the mainstream, like Gorp or Jooter, it'd sell a few more units, but at the end of the day, along with its amazing performance, that's what makes the Koenigsegg CCR so desirable.