20 years ago this year, Koenigsegg released their first car, the CC8S. The mad supercar was loved by the community, even if it tried to kill the Stig. 20 years on, Koenigsegg is still making the maddest cars in the scene - the perfect poster supercar for the young car enthusiast. This year also marks the founder's 50th Birthday, Christian Von Koenigsegg. These two birthdays cemented the production of the CC850. Although originally a limited production of just fifty cars (to mark Christian's birthday), twenty more cars were added to the production queue after the millionaires of this world complained they hadn't attained the latest mad machine roaring out of Sweden.
The car's silhouette is most certainly reminiscent of the CC8S, and all around it simply looks like an updated model: still slightly space age though! It looks incredibly clean, compared to the modern hypercars like the Apollo IE, with wings, canards and generally 'downforce thingys' being forced into every nook and cranny in order to find that extra tenth round the track.
The of the most exciting components on this new car is their revolutionary new gearbox. Although debuted in the Jesko, this new model incorporates a manual into the already fiendishly complicated design. In essence, it has nine gears, although they are in a pyramid formation that allows them to have a nine speed for the weigh of a six. It works like bike gears almost, each one can pair with another. These nine gears can't all be used at the same time however: you can only use six at one time, with different ratios being usable when selecting different modes. For instance, in track mode, first gear will be third in road mode. Confused yet? There's more too: It feels entirely like a classic manual; you can stall or do a huge burnouts with the clutch - six of them in the gearbox to be exact. After a long day at work doing millionaire things however, your stereotypical Koenigsegg owner might be too tired to be shifting up and down in city traffic. If they so want, it can be turned into an autobox at the flick of a switch - and this mode does use the full nine gears available. All of this comes together, meaning we can have an manual/auto 'box in a car with 1385BHP, something just not possible with a classic gearbox, as well as being substantially lighter (the engine has no clutch, therefore no flywheel is required either).
Talking of power and weight, it also has a 1:1 power/weight ratio: 1385HP, weighing 1385KG. 1385 seems to be Koenigsegg's favourite number: it also has 1385NM of torque at 4800RPM. These huge numbers are due to a twin turbo 5.0L V8, as is tradition with Koenigsegg. The turbos produce 1.7Bar at full chat, with 8500RPM redline. The way it reaches those top revs is apparently like nothing we have seen before however: the loss of the flywheel means there is no sluggishness when accelerating hard, and the turbos have almost no lag, to the point Christian said it feels naturally aspirated - big words from the big man, but we'll wait for an individual outside the brand to try it (side note, if they can't find anyone else to drive it, I'm sure I can find time in my schedule to fit it in!)
"Clearly, we struck a chord with the connoisseurs and the fans by blending our roots with novel thinking and a timeless design that stands apart from the rest. We are humbled and grateful for the response and will do our utmost to exceed expectations."
The roof lifts out in a Targa fashion, and fits into the frunk, as custom with most Koenigsegg coupe models, meaning you can turn it into a convertible seamlessly by just taking the ≈8kg roof off.
The suspension is traditionally Koenigsegg witchcraft too; as first seen on the Jesko Absolut, it is their own Triplex Dampers and suspension design that means the car can have multiple personalities whether on track or cruising on the open road.
The front brakes have a diameter of 410mm with a six piston design, the rears 395mm 4 piston variants. The front rims are 20", the rears 21"; they are the classic telephone style as seen on the original CC8S, and look stunning when equipped on the car. The nose also lifts up 5cm when needed, removing the worry of scraping the beautiful carbon fibre splitter on those pesky speedbumps.
In order to keep the body shape the same as the 2002 original, the Swedish team had to come up with some ingenious engineering. The rear wing is entirely flush on the rear deck when not being used, and only comes up when driving at speed. It produces 455lbs of downforce when at full chat in order to keep it stable, as well as when braking sharply. The way the car is sculpted means air is directed around the rear wheels by the rear of the arch, and the front splitter serves the same purpose.
The car will be produced in their new factory being built right now and the first finished cars will begin shipping early next summer. The car being shown at car shows right now is Car1 of 70, and will eventually become Christian's own car. Hell of a birthday present eh!
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