The Koenigsegg CC8S is a

mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

produced by the Swedish automobile manufacturer

Koenigsegg Koenigsegg Automotive AB () is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars based in Ängelholm, Skåne County, Sweden. Company The company was founded in 1994 in Sweden by Christian von Koenigsegg, with the intention of producin ...

. It was the company's first production automobile and the first production car to use the company's trademark dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors. At its introduction, it won several awards, including the Guinness World Record for the Most Powerful Production Engine and design awards from both Red Dot in Germany and Utmärkt Svensk Form in Sweden.

Development

The CC8S was developed from the CC prototype. It was the culmination of 8 years of research and development. Despite limited resources, the chassis, suspension, brakes, and several other components were designed in-house by Koenigsegg. The pre-production car was shown at the 2000

Paris Auto Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...

, the public's reaction to the car was favourable and international contacts were made. The car had many unique functions such as the roof, which could be stored in the car's trunk located in the front similar to how a

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctiv ...

stores its roof (other Targa top sports cars of the time such as the Ferrari F50 lacked this feature), vertical opening doors dubbed dihedral synchro-helix actuation doors and a central patented free-flowing exhaust system based on the 'Rocket Cat Principle'. These unique features and design received great praise from the spectators, despite large orders, only 6 cars were produced due to high production costs out of which, 2 were right-hand drive. The CC8S was replaced by the more powerful CCR model in 2004.

Overview

Body

The body is a two-door, two-seat

targa top Targa top, or targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsc ...

design, meaning a portion of the roof can be removed and stored under the bonnet. The chassis is made from

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

-reinforced

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

. The kevlar-reinforced carbon fibre semi-monocoque is attached to a steel subframe at the front of the chassis, and an aluminium subframe at the rear. The engine, transmission, and rear suspension are mounted to the aluminium subframe. All body panels are made from carbon fibre, and venturi tunnels and diffusers occupy the bottom of the car. These components increase downforce in conjunction with a rear-mounted spoiler. The frontal area of the car is just which accounts for the CC8S to have a low .

Engine and Transmission

The CC8S is powered by a supercharged Ford Modular 4.6–litre

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...

made of cast aluminium with 4 valves per cylinder and carbon fibre covers weighing , with a compression ratio of 8.6:1. It produces at 6,800 rpm and of torque at 5,000 rpm. The redline is set to 7,250 rpm. The engine powers the rear wheels through a 6-speed manual transmission specially developed for the car by CIMA.

Wheels

The CC8S uses magnesium alloy wheels with center-locking hubs, to which 225/40ZR 18" front and 335/40ZR 20" rear Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres are mounted. The brake discs are cross-drilled for increased ventilation, and measure at the front and at the rear. The brake calipers contain 6 pistons in front and 4 pistons at the rear. The brakes are power-assisted by the Koenigsegg Advanced Control System.

Performance

Manufacturer estimates * Acceleration: under 3.5 seconds * Top speed: * Standing : 10 seconds, trap speed * Braking distance:

References

External links

CC8S
at official Koenigsegg website
Koenigsegg technical data

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenigsegg Cc8s Cars introduced in 2002 Cars discontinued in 2003 CC8S Sports cars Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles