Car Spotlight>> Koenigsegg Cc8s

The Supercar Corral at the FIA GT round in Portugal wasn't exactly overflowing. On the Friday, but one car sat there. Up by the fence. A utility van parked incongruously next to it. Where were the others? But the single car was a Koenigsegg CC8S. Having the gall to park a Porsche or Ferrari next to that is more of a challenge. Do you dare put your puny supercar up against me? Who will park next to me?!

Koenigsegg isn't a name that rolls of the tongue, or one that has a cadence to it that automatically associates itself with sleek supercar chic in the way of, say, the Italian brands, but Koenigsegg is a different kind of company making a different kind of extreme car. This is the first one I've seen in the wild, and every time I walked past it over the weekend I paused just those few seconds longer than the last time. Like Pagani, you see one so infrequently – and even then mostly only in games – that it ss easy to forget they're actually real.

There's a purity to its lines, a simplicity that I find is somewhat lacking in many of today's hypercars – where aero flicks, wings, splitters and grills dominate and clutter. Come Saturday, another car had parked up – the graceful Jaguar XK120 from 60 years ago seemed the perfect partner for the CC8S. 

After a run of unique prototypes, the CC series was turned into a production car with the introduction of the CC8S. However, 'production' is a very relative term: the number of CC8Ss on the road doesn't trouble double-figures.

On its blunt nose is the Koenigsegg badge: this is based on company founder Christian von Koenigsegg's family coat of arms, which dates back to the 12th century.

For the fact fans, the chassis is a 62kg semi-monocoque made from pre-impregnated carbon fibre with honeycomb reinforcement for added stiffness. 

The front brakes feature 34cm ventilated disks, the rear 31.5cm, sitting inside bespoke Koenigsegg rims – I'm a big fan of the industrial-looking telephone-dial alloys. The CC8S will stop from 100kph in just 30m. Ohlins Racing pushrod shocks are matched with electronically controlled ride height to keep the big Michelin boots in contact with the road. 

No messy aero on the nose, just a sculpted low-drag body to magic the air out of the CC8S's path. 

Even the even the rear is relatively unostentatious. A minimal splitter and unobtrusive exhaust; but hidden under the rear deck is the monster: a supercharged 4.7-litre cast aluminium DOHC V8 with carbon cam covers, putting out over 650bhp – this propels the CC8S to 242mph. I think that's just about acceptable. 

Acceleration has been criticised – if that's the right word to use – as its 0-100kph time is a mere 3.5 seconds. But as Top Gear fans will know, this isn't a static figure: rather like Pagani, Koenigsegg love a challenge. Give them a number to beat, and the team of Swedish engineers will be set to work to achieve – and likely beat it.

For a time the car was the fastest street-legal car available and held the Guiness World Record for the Most Powerful Production Engine, plus the lap records on the Top Gear Test Track and at the Nurburgring. But of course the competition doesn't stand still in this forever war of escalating speeds and stats. Pagani in particular seem to have taken the Koenigsegg as a personal slight, and have beseiged the latter two trophies; Bugatti's Veyron saw to the former.

Coincidentaly, the Jag was also the fastest production car upon its launch in 1948 – though you had to take the windscreen of the XK to get it to top speed.

At the time I wondered what the ghost sticker was on the rear deck – it seemed a strange addition. But it's actually the insignia of the F10 Angelholm squadron of the Swedish Airforce: Koenigsegg's headquarters used to be a base for Saab Gripen fighter jets. Talking of Saab, Koenigsegg almost bought the company from General Motors back in 2009, but the negotiations dragged on and they eventually withdrew – the company ended up being bought by Spyker cars instead, though the company has still limped from financial crisis to financial crisis. At least their Rallycross car is cool.

The doors? Dihedral actuation doors. That means they rotate up and forward at the same time – it looks better than it sounds, but god help you if the kerb is low where you've parked. 

The roof of the CC8S is a detachable carbon panel: it slots into the bonnet space if you want to go topless and do some serious damage to you hairstyle. The cockpit is sumptuous leather studded with understated switch-gear and a short-throw shifter.  

This is the view most people will see, for sure. Well done to the owner for actually getting his one out on the real-live road, rather than keeping it locked up in air-conditioned misery in some garage.

My favourite thing about this car? It looks like it's been carved out of a solid block of metal. Everything looks solid and purposeful. It might not have a name that conjures up raging bulls or wind gods – though that doesn't hinder the MP4-12c either – and I think it's a bit of a shame that the new Koenigsegg Agera R is as ostentatious as it is, but this one car was more than capable of filling up the supercar corral on its own. Jaguar aside, of course…

Jonathan Moore

Koenigsegg

FIA GT3

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

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1

Too much silvered for my. With the black rims better.



2

are the rear lower lights taken from Mazdas FD3S??

3

looks the part. i like how the doors open up on these - wouldn't mind those rims in my collection, very old school looking.

4

I love how its aggressive and subtle at the same time. Wish you would have included a shot of the engine compartment though.

5

the registration plate on pic #10 is not censored ;) the car ist registered in switzerland and the owner is "Jan Struve".

6

Koenigsegg, Swedish for "Oh no, my head just exploded." BOY, IT DID!

7

Funny that it looks like it's carved out of metal even though all its body panels are CF haha



Koenigsegg, by far and away, makes my favorite hypercars. They're even better since they started manufacturing all their engines in-house (sort of, they outsource the block to another company). And that acceleration number is silly. Obviously they don't care about finding the grippiest tarmac to test on and trying tens of times to make the perfect launch. They just car about making the perfect car.

8

0-60MPG in 3.5 seconds? Wow.

9

great shots of an awesome car.

10

needs the topgear spoiler. other than that i'd chose that over the gt-r anyday

11

I actually prefer Koenigseggs produced after the CCR (CCX, CCXR, Agera, etc..) but the CC8S is a very miraculous vehicle itself. I mean it doesn't produce the same amount of horsepower like its newer more powerful brothers. Though it still carries the record for highest speeding ticket ever issued at 242mph in Texas while driving on the Gumball 3000. I can't name another production vehicle producing only 655hp that can reach 240mph.. can you? That makes this car just as special as any other Koenigsegg.



@MrZuffenhausen: Although they do look like rip off RX7 bumper lights... these lights are actually specially produced by the company. Strange right?



@Jonathan Moore: Very entertaining post but it needs to be pre-read before being posted... I don't think "0-60mpg" is what you were meaning to write. Eitherway, keep up the good work.

12

In the Youtube linked video of the Agera R, that turbo spool down in the exhaust sounds dope.



Koenigsegg does some really nice work. Hats off to them.

13

the ass of the r35 in the 1st pic came to my attention

14

the stig once test this car and got a little accident because lack of downforce. and the team decided to add assitional wings on it back to increase the DF..

15

I hate to be "that guy" but that is an XK150 not an XK120. Notice the hip line isnt nearly as dramatic as it is on either the XK120 or XK140.

16

had you been in this yeas'r sachsenfing fia gt1, could you've seen aston martin one-77. this cc8s looks like an amateur in comparisson..

17

FD3s RX7 rear reverse lamps and reflectors.



I'd be pissed if my million dollar car had Rx7 lamps.



Stupid konesseggegekdhfjhdfjdhfkd cant even design a rear light.







18

That is brilliant. I love the sleek look, although as Top Gear demonstrated a spoiler does make it a bit faster around a track. At the end of the day though this isn't a track day car - there are Porsche GT3s and so on for that.

19

Indeed that's a rear reflector + reverse lights from Mazda RX-7 FD3S ... but it looks epic !

And this car is just Epic in EVERY SINGLE DETAIL ... well , at least for me .

20

@stupid russ cant even read a earlier comment by robbyV8lotus

21

The supercar displays at the FIA GT races always provide a mouth-watering array of cars to gawp at even

22

I remember when I was still in elementary school and my parents bought a car magazine for me (the only thing I ever asked for) and it featured the Koenigsegg CC8S. If I remember correctly, it was during the time it hasn't exactly reached full production yet, but almost and the review was on the almost production-ready prototype. It was nicknamed, "The 'Egg."

The first time I laid my eyes on that car, it was forever love at first sight. The smooth swooping curves, soft looks, low and wide stance, panoramic view cockpit like a jet fighter (just not vertically), perfect proportions; it was perfect in every way for me. Beautiful, simple, and mean all at the same time.

I didn't know the statistics at the time or what they really meant. I just knew, it was the greatest car I've ever seen. Every morning I woke up, I'd pull the magazine out from underneath and read the feature article. Every night, the same routine.

At the time, I only had dial-up for internet. I my sister's boyfriend spent at least 30 minutes to download Koenigsegg's short advertisement for the car. Classy and powerful, would be the description for the car.

14 years later, I still hold the same emotions for this car. The newer Koenigsegg's are too gaudy, too overzealous, too Hotwheels for me. They lost the original spirit and focus. I loved that the CC8S had no spoiler. Now, the spoiler is all the business. The CC8S will always be the first love and CCX will by the last accepted Koenigsegg for me.

Great post, it made me feel nostalgic for the earlier days of my life and Koenigsegg. I wish there was more articles online for these earlier models.

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