Koenigsegg: Difference between revisions
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===Purchase of Saab=== |
===Purchase of Saab=== |
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On June 11th, 2009, it was reported that Koenigsegg and a group of Norwegian investors had signed a letter of intent with [[Saab_Automobile|Saab]] to take over the brand from [[General Motors]]. The sale is expected to close in |
On June 11th, 2009, it was reported that Koenigsegg and a group of Norwegian investors had signed a letter of intent with [[Saab_Automobile|Saab]] to take over the brand from [[General Motors]]. The sale is expected to close in September. On 16th June, General Motors announced that they have chosen Koenigsegg as the buyer of Saab.<ref>http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/16/saab-koenigsegg-update-markets-equity-autos.html</ref> |
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==Models== |
==Models== |
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Revision as of 15:46, 16 June 2009
| File:Koenigsegg Logo.png | |
| Company type | Aktiebolag |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Christian von Koenigsegg |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Christian von Koenigsegg Bård Eker |
| Products | Supercars |
| Website | koenigsegg.com |
Koenigsegg Automotive AB (IPA: [ˈkəːnɪgsɛg] in Swedish: ) is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars based in Ängelholm, and an announced buyer of Saab Automobile from General Motors.[1]
Company
The company was founded in 1994 in Sweden by Christian von Koenigsegg, with the intention of producing a world-class supercar. Many years of diligent development and prototyping finally led to the first street-legal production car delivery in 2002 to an awaiting customer.
What signifies all Koenigsegg models is a very high attention to details and a state-of-the-art fit and finish as well as high-tech materials and solutions.
In 2006 Koenigsegg hit a milestone, with the production of the CCX. The CCX is street-legal in most countries, including the United States, and has an engine purposefully created for the CCX. These two criteria makes Koenigsegg unique as a small volume Supercar manufacturer. The only other small-volume manufacturer that can say the same is Bugatti and then larger companies like Lamborghini and Ferrari.
Apart from developing manufacturing and selling the Koenigsegg line of supercar, Koenigsegg is also involved in "green technology" development programs. This enabled Koenigsegg to produce the CCXR - "Flower Power" flexfuel supercar as an example.
Koenigsegg is also active in development programs when it comes to plug-in electrical cars systems and next generation combustion engine technologies.
Koenigsegg holds patents within the engine development area, for example, the Rocket catalytic converter that reduced backpressure and size while shortening light of time and a Supercharger response system that eliminated the need to use bypass valves, which in turn reduces consumption and improves engine response time.
In March 2009 the Koenigsegg CCXR was chosen by Forbes to be one of the ten most beautiful cars in history.
History
The initial design of the Koenigsegg CC was drawn by Christian von Koenigsegg. He then went with his sketches to Industrial Designer David Crafoord in order for him to realize the sketches into a scale 1:5 model. David then laid his personal touch to the design brief and finished the model. This model was later scaled up by Sven-Harry Åkesson in order to create the base plug for the initial Koenigsegg prototype that was finished in 1996. During the next years the prototype went through extensive testing and several new prototypes were built.
Von Koenigsegg got the idea to build his own car after watching the Norwegian puppet movie Pinchcliffe Grand Prix in his youth.[1] However, he took his first steps in the world of business in his early 20's running a trading company called Alpraaz in Stockholm, Sweden. The success of this venture gave von Koenigsegg the necessary financial standing to launch his chosen career as a car manufacturer.
Initially, Koenigsegg Automotive was based in Olofström. In 1997, The company needed larger facilities and moved to Margretetorp, just outside of Ängelholm. However, on February 22, 2003, one of the production facilities caught fire and was badly damaged. From 2003 and on Koenigsegg has converted two large fighter-jet hangars and an office building into a car factory. Since the factory is located on the still-active Ängelhom airport, clients can arrive by private jet right next to the factory. Furthermore, Koenigsegg controls and uses the former military runway for shakedown runs of production cars and high speed testing.
The Koenigsegg badge was designed in 1994 by Jacob Låftman, based on the shield of the Koenigsegg family. The shield has been the family's coat-of-arms since the 12th century when a family member was knighted by the German-based Holy Roman Empire. The phantom insignia on the Koenigsegg's rear window is a tribute to the Swedish squadron that operated from the F10 base, which had the ghost as its emblem.
Purchase of Saab
On June 11th, 2009, it was reported that Koenigsegg and a group of Norwegian investors had signed a letter of intent with Saab to take over the brand from General Motors. The sale is expected to close in September. On 16th June, General Motors announced that they have chosen Koenigsegg as the buyer of Saab.[2]
Models
A Koenigsegg CC prototype was first publicized in 1996, while the full carbon fiber production prototype was finally unveiled at the 2000 Paris Motor Show. The first customer took delivery of a red CC 8S in 2002 at the Geneva Auto Show and four more cars were built that year. Koenigsegg was established in Asia later that year with a premiere at the Seoul Auto Show. In 2004, the new CCR was unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show.
In 2006 Koenigsegg introduced the CCX, a new model, that was created in order to meet world-wide regulations (homologations) for road use. Never before had such a big undertaking been executed by an independent manufacturer. This meant the cars had to go through extensive development in order reach the latest and most stringent safety and emission standards that the world's authorities demanded. Therefore Koenigsegg had to, for example, develop their own engines and other related technologies. Furthermore, Koenigsegg is the only supercar and low-volume manufacturer to pass the new European pedestrian impact tests. Just after Koenigsegg passed this test, the test requirement was deemed too complicated for low-volume manufacturers to cope with. So it is now not necessary to meet these regulations if the production volume is lower than 10.000 cars annually for a certain model. Therefore, the Koenigsegg CCX may likely be the only supercar with this safety feature.
In 2007 Koenigsegg premiered the world's first "green" supercar in production - the CCXR. The CCXR is a bioflexfuel version of the CCX. The car features a modified engine, fuel system and engine management system, that enables the car to run on regular petrol or ethanol, and in any mixture between these two fuels. Ethanol has a higher octane rating compared to regular petrol and has an internal cooling effect on the combustion chamber. This enables the power of the CCXR to rise to 1018 HP, when run on a mixture of 15% regular petrol and 85% ethanol, known as E85. Furthermore, this makes the CCXR the most powerful homologated production car in the world, eclipsing the Bugatti Veyron by 17 HP and not counting non-homologated cars with higher HP claims that have not complied with the same strict regulations.
In 2009 Koenigsegg unveiled plans to release a four-seat, two-door "solar electric" sports car called the Quant.
Records
On 28 February, 2005, at 12:08 hrs local time, in Nardò, Italy, the CCR broke the Guinness record for the fastest homologated production car in the world, having attained 388.87 km/h (241.63 mph), breaking the record previously held by the McLaren F1. The record was held until September 2005 when the long awaited Bugatti Veyron broke the record again at 407.5 km/h (253.2 mph), proven by Car and Driver and BBC Top Gear. However, Bugatti's record was set on Volkswagen's own test-track Ehra-Lessien, which features a 9 km (5.6 mi) long straight. Since the Nardò Ring is a circular track of 12.5 km (7.8 mi) circumference, the records are not comparable until Bugatti tests the Veyron on Nardò or allows Koenigsegg to test on Ehra-Lessien.
- During its review of the CCX, BBC television program Top Gear reported that the Koenigsegg CCR holds the fastest speeding ticket in the United States, which was supposedly for 242 mph (389 km/h) in a 75 mph (121 km/h) zone [3] This allegedly occurred in May 2003 in Texas on the San Francisco to Miami Gumball 3000 Rally.[4]
The Koenigsegg CCXR holds the power-to-weight ratio record for homologated productions cars, with a power-to-weight ratio of 1.3 kg per hp.
The Koenigsegg CCX holds the record for the only official and independently conducted 0-300–0 km/h test for production cars, with a total time of 29.2 seconds. The test was conducted by German Magazine Sportauto in 2008.
Awards
Red Dot Award for excellent Design National Swedish Design Price - Utmärkt Svensk Form Entrepreneur of the Year Nomination - Företagarna Sweden Powercar Superexotic import of the year 2007 and 2008 - Germany
Model lineup (1998-present)
- For the present model, see also: Koenigsegg CCX
The following is a history of the models that the manufacturer has produced to date.[5]
- Koenigsegg CC (1998-2001)
- Koenigsegg CC8S (2002-2005)
- Koenigsegg CCR (2004-2006)
- Koenigsegg CCX (2006-present)
- Koenigsegg CCGT (2007, one-off)
- Koenigsegg CCXR (2007-present)
References
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSSAT00632220090611
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/16/saab-koenigsegg-update-markets-equity-autos.html
- ^ "Koenigsegg CCR's speeding ticket". myluxury.info. 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ "Gumball 3000: The Movie". imdb.com. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ Koenigsegg model line up
External links
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| Current models |
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