How do you measure the super in a supercar? Most power? Most expensive? Most impressionable starlets stuffed into the passenger seat in a single sitting?

If you want to go by sheer speed, the Koenigsegg CCR is officially the fastest production car in the world, having lapped Italy’s Nardo test track at 241 mph last year, about 1 mph faster than the McLaren F1. Keep in mind that Nardo is just a big, round circle, meaning the front wheels were slightly turned the whole time and keeping it from hitting an even higher top speed. Find a place where you can straighten the wheels and the number will be even higher. Maybe they need to take one of these to the Bonneville flats.

After the Nardo record, Koenigsegg went to work producing the successor to that car, which you see here and which we recently got to drive, the CCX.

We didn’t go 241 mph but only because there wasn’t enough room, since we weren’t at Nardo. Instead we were at that little-known but very fun road course outside of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, within sight of the glittering towers of that seminal city.

On hand that day to help out was hired gun Justin Bell, who, among other lifelong accomplishments, drove a McLaren F1 to victory at Le Mans. And since the F1 is so similar to the CCX, who better than Bell to wail on this new car?

After a couple of laps by himself to learn the track and the car, he came into the pits and gave a succinct engineering-minded evaluation of it.

“It’s just absolutely f***ing amazing in any gear,” said Bell, perhaps waxing a bit more poetic than his race-driver dad might have.

Bell liked the driveability of the car compared to other exotics, citing the Saleen and Mosler in particular as “compromises.”

“With this car you don’t have to give up as much to get the performance it offers,” he said. “It’s really the fastest thing on the planet you can take a passenger in.”

The Koenigsegg CCX is the third iteration of this quirky Swedish delight, the CCR and CC8S being the first two. Each version has been refined to eke out even more speed and greater stability.

This one was engineered, among other things, to pass both United States and worldwide regulations.

“We wanted to go into the world market, but we couldn’t do it with the old car,” said development engineer Magnus Jaasund. “We also tried to improve things we thought could be better.”

That amounted to 1100 things that are better in the new CCX, from seats to wheels to engine.

Where previous CC engines were based on Ford designs, the new car has an all-Koenigsegg powerplant, including a CCX-specific casting that is stronger and more durable. It’s still a 4.7-liter V8 and still puts out 806 hp, “at least the same as before,” said Jaasund. The difference is this one

passes not only U.S. but even California emissions and runs on 91 octane. New heads, injectors, camshafts and numerous other improvements make it possible.

Transmission is the same six-speed manual found on the CCR, but you can order your own ratios. It also comes standard with a torque-sensitive limited-slip differential.

Tires are the same Michelin Pilot Sport 2s—255/35s mounted on 19-inch rims in front and 335/30s on 20s rear. Now you can order optional carbon fiber rims and ceramic disc brakes to go with them. The new Sparco carbon fiber seats are padded and also recline.

The genesis of the CCX came when engineers digitally measured the old CCR body, storing the measurements on a computer. Previous CCs were all hand-made. From that data the new car began to take shape.

The CCX is eight inches longer in back to accommodate U.S. rear-impact standards and 50 millimeters higher inside to accommodate U.S. NBA stars.

The carbon fiber frame is largely carryover, but the body panels fixed to it are new. The front end, for instance, accommodates not only the U.S. 2.5-mph bumper standard but holds new fog lights, side marker lamps and allows better brake cooling. New side skirts also increase downforce.

All these features were in play when Bell drove the car, as well as when he rode along with us, as he would be riding along with all the drivers that day. Most of them would be actual rich guys who could conceivably buy one of these with their own money at the car’s $695,000 sticker price, as opposed to your reporter, who could conceivably—and, in fact, did—buy a used minivan.

Bell was right about the engine: To a certain extent it almost didn’t matter which gear you were in. You could start in third and not worry about stalling, or start in first and light up the tires.

At wide-open throttle the engine has a sonorous throaty wail—if all three of those words can be legally put together in a sentence.

However, braking, turn-in, balance and acceleration were all areas into which we merely dipped a proverbial toe. The car was flawless in every respect as far as we pushed it. The thing was, in only three laps we couldn’t push it too far. Given three, or 333, more we would have a sense of the car that came much closer to its limits. As it was, however, this was a fine how-do-you-do.

Steering felt solid and directly coupled to the road without kicking back in the driver’s hands. We braked early and probably didn’t get any heat in the discs but didn’t hear even a squeak of protest from pads. Around the track’s sole decreasing-radius turn we did manage to make it understeer each time (who can ever remember which corner is the shrinking one?), but around all the others it balanced perfectly. And under acceleration it simply flew, with no squirrelliness whatsoever coming out of corners.

So yes, it felt pretty close to perfect in all three laps, but we’d have loved to have it for more. Just for scientific research, you understand.

You can have one for as long as you want if you transfer $695,000 to the nice folks at Exotic Cars at Caesars Palace. Yes, the sole Koenigsegg dealer in America is located in the mall at Caesars. It’s actually a very interesting place, so interesting that they get 7000 oglers a day.

“We are in the busiest mall in the world,” said Exotic Cars CEO Richard Weisman.

Unless you’re a true high roller, the typical visitor to the showroom pays a fee and gets to circumnavigate a catwalk that circles the 35,000-square-foot dealership, gazing down upon Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Koenigseggs and those who are about to buy them. You can view the inventory at www.ecacp.com.

Koenigsegg have released an upgraded version of their fastest car called the CCXR Special Edition. The standard model debuted earlier this year at the Geneva Auto Show and this new Special Edition improves upon its theme. It has the same 1018 horsepower engine, but with an upgraded body and interior.


The most obvious change is a contoured rear wing which is permanently fixed by long stantions. This was probably motivated by Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson who requested a larger wing to steady the car during its second visit at the show. Beyond the wing, only detail changes such as uncovered headlights, color-coded carbon fiber and new suede seats are fitted.


Underneath the skin, the CCXR remains largely unchanged, but we now know that the Bio Fuel V8 produces 1018 bhp @ 7200 rpm which is good for 250 mph and 0-60 in 2.9 seconds.


Pricing is 1 575 000 EUR.