It's official... sales of the world's fastest production car, the Koenigsegg CCR have gathered pace, too. A spokesman for the Swedish car maker said: "Our turnover has trebled since the Guinness Book of Records confirmed the record-breaking run." The CCR was clocked at 241mph at the Nardo proving ground in Italy, beating the unofficial record of 231mph set by the McLaren F1 at the same circuit in the Nineties.

Test driver Loris Bicocchi, who was behind the wheel for the high-speed run, said: "This test was very important for the customers and owners of Koenigsegg cars. It proves their belief and faith in the small company is well founded."

The Koenigsegg managed the top speed thanks to its sleek aerodynamic shape and supercharged 4.7-litre V8, which delivers 806bhp and 920Nm of torque. All this performance comes at a price, though - the CCR starts at an eye-watering £407,000.

2 new Koenigseggs: CCGT and 1018 HP biofuel CCXR



Koenigsegg decided to release images and specs of the two supercars that will occupy their booth at next week's Geneva Motor Show. First, the CCXR, which is a standard CCX that's been converted to use ethanol and produces 1018 HP and 780 ft.-lbs. of torque. Those fortunate enough to already own a CCX can have their current vehicle retrofitted with the biofuel mill if desired.

The second vehicle to grace the stand will be the CCGT, which was produced in order to meet FIA GT1 series regulations. As such, the 806 HP supercharged 4.7L V8 has been nixed in order to bring power output down below the 600 HP mark. To do so, they removed the huffers and bored the V8 out to 5.0L. In addition to the HP reduction, the weight had to be increased and the aerodynamics had to be altered in order to meet regulations. Surprisingly, the aero changes produce less downforce than the standard CCGT. Devolving to meet racing standards is nothing new, but it still brings a little tear to our eye.


PRESS RELEASE

Competition Coupe GT

DOWN TUNED TO 600+ HP in order to comply with race regulations.

Koenigsegg has created a new race car - the CCGT, based on the production CC-model range. The CCGT complies with the ACO and FIA GT1 regulations.

The CCGT engine is based on the Koenigsegg CCX production engine with the superchargers removed but enlarged to 5.0 litre.

The reliability of the race engine is expected be exceptional as it is based on the proven strength and durability of the signifi cantly more powerful road car engine.

The minimum weight allowed for a GTI race car is 1,100 kg and most manufacturers struggle to meet this target, having to undergo massive weight saving programs.

Due to the fact the Koenigsegg CC cars are very light and stiff in road confi guration, the racing CCGT weighs in at just under an astounding 1,000 kg. This gives the possibility to place 100 kg of ballast freely within the car structure, still following the set rules. This should give Koenigsegg an interesting advantage over the competition.

The CCGT has very short overhangs, which could be seen as an issue when it comes to generating enough downforce. However, by further developing the clever and "slippery" design concept of the CC range, Koenigsegg believes they have created a unique package incorporating a surprising amount of down-force combined with a very compact package and optimal weight distribution. Since the CCGT has a short overall length and low overall height, whilst still maintaining adequate track width and length, it is thereby gifted with superior agility compared to most of the competition, which should be evident in future heated racing combats.

The Koenigsegg CCGT development team, headed by Dag Bölenius, has done a superb job by refining the CC into the CCGT.

The race engine is being developed in-house in parallel with the production units by Koenigsegg engineers, supported by Anders Hoglund from Cargine engineering and JP Motorsport.

Flower Power

When thinking about supercars, one of the last things that spring to mind are their environmental friendliness.

Even though the very low and exclusive production volume of Koenigsegg can hardly be considered to have a measurable impact on the Co2 problem that global society is facing, it is an impressive statement that even a small and extreme company like Koenigsegg can afford to develop environmentally focussed solutions.

By following conscientious and forward thinking strategies, Koenigsegg has managed to create the Bio Fuel Powered CCXR - environmentally friendly 1200 with even more spectacular performance than the standard CCX.

These two almost conflicting results are made possible due to the simple fact that the ethanol in biofuel has the positive side effect of cooling the combustion chambers, as well as a higher octane value, well over 100 RON, which gives the high power. Due to the fact that the biofuel has higher octane and cooling characteristics, the power has gone up to 1018 hp at 7200 rpm and the torque to 1060 nm at 6100 rpm.

It is natural to expect a substantial gain in power when optimizing the engine for E85(biofuel) instead of Petrol. Still the actual gain obtained even surprised the enthusiastic engineers at Koenigsegg.

Following the long term strategy of Koenigsegg, all previous CCXs will have the possibility to be converted by the factory to accept the biofuel option and reap the performance and environmental benefi ts of this wonderful and eco friendly fuel.

The CCXR Biofuel upgrade has been developed in-house on the factory's engine dyno by the skilled technicians at Koenigsegg, led by Christian Koenigsegg, Marco Garver and Anders Hoglund from the Koenigsegg partner company Cargine Engineering.

Curiously enough the CCXR is the first homologated car currently in production to reach over 1000 BHP.

When thinking about supercars, one of the last things that spring to mind are their environmental friendliness.

Even though the very low and exclusive production volume of Koenigsegg can hardly be considered to have a measurable impact on the Co2 problem that global society is facing, it is an impressive statement that even a small and extreme company like Koenigsegg can afford to develop environmentally focussed solutions.

By following conscientious and forward thinking strategies, Koenigsegg has managed to create the Bio Fuel Powered CCXR - environmentally friendly 1200 with even more spectacular performance than the standard CCX.

These two almost conflicting results are made possible due to the simple fact that the ethanol in biofuel has the positive side effect of cooling the combustion chambers, as well as a higher octane value, well over 100 RON, which gives the high power. Due to the fact that the biofuel has higher octane and cooling characteristics, the power has gone up to 1018 hp at 7200 rpm and the torque to 1060 nm at 6100 rpm.

It is natural to expect a substantial gain in power when optimizing the engine for E85(biofuel) instead of Petrol. Still the actual gain obtained even surprised the enthusiastic engineers at Koenigsegg.

Following the long term strategy of Koenigsegg, all previous CCXs will have the possibility to be converted by the factory to accept the biofuel option and reap the performance and environmental benefi ts of this wonderful and eco friendly fuel.

The CCXR Biofuel upgrade has been developed in-house on the factory's engine dyno by the skilled technicians at Koenigsegg, led by Christian Koenigsegg, Marco Garver and Anders Hoglund from the Koenigsegg partner company Cargine Engineering.

Curiously enough the CCXR is the first homologated car currently in production to reach over 1000 BHP.

A new and revolutionary instrument cluster with intuitive display of all important information. The New Koenigsegg Chronograph Direct Focus Instrument Cluster - envisioned by Christian v. Koenigsegg & engineered in-house by the Koenigsegg Engineering Team.

Key Features:

* New Revolutionary Design - Patent Pending
* One single focus to read the most critical data; RPM, Oil pressure, Speed and Boost
* No need to re-focus. The driver’s eyes can be back on the road at least 50% faster compared to traditional dials or LCD readouts, without the utilization of the sometimes disturbing pop- up windscreen displays.
* The main instrument can help visualize the gear ratios and the influence of boost pressure on the RPM advance, as well as velocity and oil pressure

The most intriguing feature of the new instrument cluster is the Patent Pending tri-axial 3D three pointer layout. With this layout the relations between the velocity, engine speed and boost pressure become instantly clear in an unprecedented fashion. The driver can easily pick up on gear ratios and boost pressure enhanced acceleration through the gears.

As the driver become accustomed to this new concept, he will find that during spirited driving there is no need to look at the actual numbers on the dials, but at the relationship and angles between the needles and how they interact with each other, since they all pivot from the same point, similarly to a traditional timepiece. Due to this the driver can re-direct focus from the instrumentation to the road ahead at least 50% faster compared to traditional systems.

Furthermore, this is the first instrumentation in a road car that can actually describe the gear ratios in a comprehendible fashion.

The instrument cluster displays a large amount of understandable information in a small area without the need for menus or the flicking of buttons. The dials use a non-reflective high contrast surface with innovative illumination and fluorescent style needles, a combination often found in aircraft, again for maximum clarity.

With the logical grouping of information in the central cluster, the driver will fi nd fast moving, primary inter-related data in a fixed pattern. The left satellite shows the slow moving needles, such as temperatures and fluid levels.

In the right satellite, the driver finds the distance traveled and a vital and clearly stated fuel pressure dial in solitude.

The warning lights are located in related groups and are only visible when activated, as they otherwise are hidden behind aluminum tinting that matches the billet machined anodized instrument housing.

The design is pure and clean Scandinavian, based on the now famous Koenigsegg circular interior features in combination with exclusive materials.

New bespoke billet aluminum uprights, offering reduced un-sprung weight and increased stiffness.

Traction control is now standard and works extremely well even in the snow or very wet conditions with it’s high performance settings.

Aluminum door hinges have been implemented for further weight saving.

A new ICE-Pod system. Integrated In Car Entertainment Ipod® system. Through the one cable connector to the car, the I-pod is also hooked up to a radio antenna in the car and fully controls RDS radio function directly from the I-Pod. Even though there is only one cable going to the I-pod, it is also being charged by the car at all times.

No normal car stereo functions are missing even considering the very compact format of the I-pod.

Basically there is no need for any other control unit in the car, all functions are directly controlled through the I-pod.

Koenigsegg believes this new way of utilizing the I-pod, will make normal car stereo head units obsolete in most application.

By combining the latest Ipod® technology with a state of the art lightweight carbon fibre trimmed amplifier built by Genesis in England, Koenigsegg has taken the next step in Supercar ICE system design. A side from the improved functionality and significant weight savings, there is also a practical glove-box installed where the traditional unit used to reside and the interior is now even cleaner and more elegant looking.

Ipod is a registered trademark of Apple Corp.