Koenigsegg CC8S

Koenigsegg CC8S at a glance

The line that the CC8S began later included the Koenigsegg CCX and the Koenigsegg Agera R. Every model of the marque appears in the Koenigsegg catalogue.

Eight years from idea to car

Wikipedia describes the CC8S as the result of eight years of research and development that began with the CC prototype. The car was designed by the founder, Christian von Koenigsegg, together with David Crafoord. For a company of its size the project was ambitious. Despite limited resources, Koenigsegg designed the chassis, the suspension, the brakes and several other parts itself instead of buying them in.

The decisive moment came at the Paris motor show in 2000, where the pre-production car made its public debut. The reaction was favourable, and the show brought the young company international contacts and orders. Turning those orders into cars proved harder. Production costs were high, and despite the demand Koenigsegg finished only six cars in 2002 and 2003.

Body, doors and targa roof

Every body panel of the CC8S is made of carbon fibre. The car is low and wide: 4,191 mm long, nearly two metres across and just 1,069 mm high. Venturi tunnels and diffusers under the floor work together with a rear spoiler to create downforce. Wikipedia gives a drag coefficient of 0.30 and a CdA value of 1.825 m², which takes the frontal area into account.

Two details became Koenigsegg trademarks. The doors do not open forwards like scissor doors or upwards like gullwings. Instead they rotate outwards and upwards in a single movement, a mechanism that Koenigsegg calls "dihedral synchro-helix actuation". The CC8S was the first production car with this design. The second detail is the roof: the targa panel lifts off and fits under the front bonnet, so the car can be driven open without leaving the roof at home.

The design was recognised outside the car world as well. The CC8S received the Red Dot award in Germany and the Utmärkt Svensk Form award in Sweden.

The supercharged V8

The engine is based on Ford's Modular V8, but little of the original remained. Koenigsegg used a cast aluminium block, four valves per cylinder and two overhead camshafts per bank, and fitted carbon fibre covers. With these covers the complete unit weighs 210 kg. The compression ratio is 8.6:1.

When the car was launched, Guinness World Records listed this V8 as the most powerful engine in any production car. The six-speed manual gearbox was developed for the car by the Italian specialist CIMA. Exhaust gases leave through a central system built on a principle that Koenigsegg patented under the name "Rocket Cat".

Chassis, wheels and brakes

The core of the car is a semi-monocoque of carbon fibre, reinforced with Kevlar. A steel subframe is bolted to the front. At the rear an aluminium subframe carries the engine, the gearbox and the rear suspension. With a dry weight of 1,175 kg, each kilowatt of the V8 had to move only about 2.4 kg.

The magnesium alloy wheels have centre-lock hubs. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres are fitted, 225/40 ZR18 at the front and much wider 335/40 ZR20 at the rear. The cross-drilled brake discs measure 340 mm at the front and 315 mm at the rear. Six-piston calipers work on the front discs and four-piston calipers on the rear ones, with power assistance from the Koenigsegg Advanced Control System.

The six cars

With so few cars, each CC8S has its own history. Wikipedia lists the chassis based on manufacturer estimates:

Several owners have repainted their cars over the years. The conversion of chassis 003 into a CCR shows how closely related the two models are.

From CC8S to CCR

In 2004 the CC8S was replaced by the CCR, which Wikipedia lists as its direct successor. It kept the CC platform but raised the output of the V8 to 601 kW (817 PS) and 920 Nm. The CCR was built until 2006, and 14 were made.

Wikipedia also names the CC850 of the 2020s as the "spiritual successor" of the CC8S. The name links the two cars across two decades.

Legacy

The CC8S was a small first step, but it fixed the principles of the company. Koenigsegg kept developing its own chassis and many of its components, it kept carbon fibre construction, the removable roof and the unusual doors, and it kept raising engine output. For the story of how the firm grew, see our history of Koenigsegg.