KEY POINTS:
The Koenigsegg CCX is up there with the Bugatti Veyron when it comes to outright speed - it can eat up the tarmac at around 417km/h given the right circumstances. Whereas the Bugatti has a sort of elegance about it, the Koenigsegg (pronounced KOH-nig-segg) is more about functionality.
Kiwis will get a chance to see this latest supercar at the Big Boys Toys show at the ASB Showgrounds, November 14-16. For a cool $2.4 million you could get a car capable of 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds and 0-300-0km/h in 29.2 seconds.
You'd be forgiven for thinking there's a whopping great V10 or V12 shoe-horned in the car somewhere but no, the 806bhp comes from a Koenigsegg-built 4.7-litre twin supercharged V8.
About the only thing tree-huggers can be thanked for is forcing the introduction of ethanol-based fuels, because if tuned right, the CCX running on a biofuel will produce up to 900bhp - go the Greens.
You may ask why such a small engine can push a car to within touching distance of the Bugatti. Easy: it's made almost completely out of carbon fibre and is as slippery through the air as a fish in a tank of Vaseline.
With only about 35 of these master supercars built each year, it has an air of exclusivity about it.
However with the Koenigsegg, not only will people not be able to pronounce the name, nobody knows what it is and therefore won't be able to appreciate the true beauty of the beast.
The 36-year-old builder of this elitist machine is Swede Christian von Koenigsegg, who was inspired to build his own car after watching a movie, when he was 5, about a bike repairman who created a race car.
Early on, von Koenigsegg had an aptitude for pulling things apart and developing solutions. As a teenager he built a reputation as the best moped tuner and by the age of 18 had come up with two classic ideas.
One was the Chip player where computer memory chips could store a music CD's worth of data, but no one seemed interested so he invented a solution for joining floor planks together. He later discovered another company had a similar idea patented and it's now a billion-dollar industry.
Realising he should stop looking for the perfect business idea, von Koenigsegg decided to build a car. At 22 he launched the Koenigsegg car company and set about building the ultimate car where no technical solution was insurmountable.
He sketched the initial technical layout and hand-modelled everything himself.
These days he has a full R&D department with state-of-the-art equipment.
The first prototype in 1996 had a fabricated monocoque chassis with specially designed suspension, brakes, wishbones and uprights. It had a full interior with double-curved hardened side glass fitted with electric windows.
In the spring of 2004, Koenigsegg launched the CCR, which broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest road-going car in production by beating the McLaren F1 by 1km/h.
And in 2007 Koenigsegg launched the CCXR - a 1018bhp version of the CCX, which ran on environmentally friendly E85 fuel, thus making it the world's first green supercar.
The CCX was developed to work well on the road and the track.
It is in keeping with the distinctive CC shape but with tighter lines and a more aggressive posture. There's nothing pretentious or flash about the car and it's devoid of gadgets for gadgets' sake.
* Geek speak
PERFORMANCE Acceleration: 0-100km/h 3.2secs, 0-200km/h 9.8secs
Top speed: 417kph
Braking distance: 32m (100-0km/h)
Lateral G-force: 1.3 G
Fuel consumption: highway travel: 13 l/100km, combined: 17 l/100km
Weight-to-power ratio: 1.59kg/hp
Weight distribution: 45 per cent front, 55 per cent rear AERODYNAMICS Cd. 0,32 Frontal area 1.867sq m
Downforce at 250 km/h: 100kg
Flat underside of chassis. CHASSIS Carbon fibre with aluminium honeycomb and integrated fuel tanks.
Front and rear suspension: double wishbones, two-way adjustable VPS gas-hydraulic shock absorbers, pushrod-operated. Electronically adjustable ride height.
Front: Cro-Mo subframe, with integrated crash members.
Rear: semi-stressed engine and gearbox with support struts.
Koenigsegg Z-style progressive and lightweight anti-roll bars front and rear. ENGINE Koenigsegg aluminium V8, 4 valves per cylinder, double overhead camshafts.
Displacement: 4700 cc
Compression: 8.2:1
Sequential multipoint fuel injection.
Twin Rotrex centrifugal superchargers with response system, 1.4 bar boost pressure.
Power output: 806bhp at 7000rpm
Maximum torque: 920Nm at 5500rpm
Patented response charge system for optimal engine response.
Weight: 178kg
TRANSMISSION Transversal six-speed gearbox, with optional paddle-shift.
Torque-sensitive limited slip differential.
STEERING Rack and pinion power-assisted steering. 2.7 turns lock-to-lock.Turning circle: 11m. TRW electro-hydraulic power-assisted. BRAKES Front brakes: ventilated ceramic discs 380mm, 34mm wide. Eight-piston light alloy brembo monoblock calipers. Power-assisted.
Rear brakes: ventilated ceramic discs 362mm, 32mm wide. Six-piston light alloy AP Racing callipers. Power-assisted.
TRACTION CONTROL F1-style for optimal performance with five different handling modes. WHEELS Koenigsegg carbon alloy wheels with centre locking.
Front: 19" x 9.5"
Rear: 20" x 12.5"
