Koenigsegg
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| File:Koenigsegg Logo.png | |
| Company type | Aktiebolag |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1994[1] |
| Founder | Christian von Koenigsegg |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Christian von Koenigsegg Bård Eker |
| Products | Sports cars |
| Website | koenigsegg.com |
Koenigsegg Automotive AB (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkøːnɪɡsɛɡ] , English: /ˈkʌnɪɡsɛɡ/) is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars based in Ängelholm. In 2009, the company announced they would purchase Saab Automobile from General Motors;[2] however, this deal was later scrapped.[3]
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 development and prototyping led to the company's first street-legal production car delivery in 2002.
Norwegian designer and entrepreneur Bård Eker bought a 45 percent share in the company in late 2005, and is currently the largest owner with 49 percent. Christian von Koenigsegg owns 18 percent, and the balance of the stock is held by some 90 small investors.
In 2006, Koenigsegg began production of the CCX, which uses an engine created especially for that vehicle. The CCX is street-legal in most countries, including the United States.
Apart from developing manufacturing and selling the Koenigsegg line of supercars, Koenigsegg is also involved in "green technology" development programs, including the CCXR ("Flower Power") flexfuel supercar. Koenigsegg is also active in development programs when it comes to plug-in electric cars' systems and next-generation combustion engine technologies.
Koenigsegg holds patents within the engine development area, for example, the Rocket catalytic converter that reduced back pressure and size while shortening light-off time and a supercharger response system that eliminated the need to use bypass valves, which in turn reduces consumption and improves engine response time.[citation needed]
In March 2009 the Koenigsegg CCXR was chosen by Forbes to be one of the ten most beautiful cars in history.[4]
History
Prototypes and production
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 1:5 scale 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.[5] 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. Alpraaz exports food from Europe to the developing world. 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 Ängelholm 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 a squadron from the Swedish air force wing F 10 Ängelholm, which had the ghost as its emblem.
Koenigsegg received backing from Volvo, which provided access to a wind tunnel as well as providing financial aid. Volvo's parent company, the Ford Motor Company, supplied the original Koenigsegg with a V8 engine; however, Koenigsegg now has developed its own in-house engines that are used in their cars (see Koenigsegg CCX). The company also secured support from Norwegian entrepreneur Bård Eker, whose holding company acquired a 49 per cent share of Koenigsegg's concern.
Attempted purchase of Saab
On June 11, 2009, the media 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. General Motors confirmed on June 16 that they had chosen Koenigsegg as the buyer of Saab Automobile.[6] The deal, set to close September 30, 2009, included US$600 million in financing from the European Investment Bank, guaranteed by the Swedish government. By comparison, in 2008 Koenigsegg with its staff of 45 produced 18 cars at an average price of US$1 million each; Saab employed 3400 workers and made more than 93000 cars.[7]
General Motors announced on August 18 that the deal had been signed although certain financing details remained to be completed.[8] On September 9, 2009, Koenigsegg announced that BAIC was going to join as a minority stakeholder in Koenigsegg.[9]
In November 2009, Koenigsegg decided not to finalize the purchase of Saab and therefore left the negotiations. The reason for the withdrawal was that the take over was planned to have been finalized early Autumn and at the end of November it was clear that the deal still had some time left before it could be concluded. The timing uncertainty of finalization of the take over was the reason Koenigsegg stated for leaving the deal.
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 worldwide regulations for road use. This meant the cars had to go through extensive development in order to reach the latest and most stringent safety and emission standards that the world's authorities demanded; 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 10000 cars annually for a certain model. Therefore, the Koenigsegg CCX may be the only supercar with this safety feature.[citation needed]
In 2007 Koenigsegg premiered the CCXR, a biofuel/flexfuel version of the CCX. The car features a modified engine, fuel system and engine management system, that enables the car to run on regular gas or ethanol, and in any mixture between these two fuels. Ethanol has a higher octane rating compared to regular gas and has an internal cooling effect on the combustion chamber. This enables the power of the CCXR to rise to 1,018 hp (759 kW),[citation needed] when run on a mixture of 15% regular gas and 85% ethanol, known as E85.
In 2009 Koenigsegg unveiled plans to release a four-seat, two-door "solar electric" sports car called the Quant.[citation needed]
In 2009 Koenigsegg released information about a very special edition car called the "Trevita" of which only three will be made. The Trevita, which translates into "three whites" in Swedish, has a body made entirely out of Koenigsegg's proprietary material consisting of diamond-coated carbon fiber. The Trevita is based on the CCXR, and therefore produces 1018 hp when running on biofuel.[10]
In 2010 Koenigsegg released information at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show on a new model called the Agera. The Agera features a 4.7-liter twin-turbo V8 engine capable of 910 hp. The Agera's design takes cues from the original Koenigsegg CC but adds many special new features including a new lighting technique they call "Ghost Light," which consists of microscopic carbon nanotubes to hide the lighting until it's turned on, which then shines through what appeared to be solid aluminum. The Agera will go into production in late 2010.[11]
List of models
- Koenigsegg CC (1998–2001)
- Koenigsegg CC8S (2002–2005)
- Koenigsegg CCR (2004–2006)
- Koenigsegg CCX (2006–present)
- Koenigsegg CCGT (2007); special vehicle, one manufactured
- Koenigsegg CCXR (2007–present)
Records
On February 28, 2005, at 12:08 hrs local time, in Nardò, Italy, the CCR broke the Guinness record for the fastest production car in the world, having attained 241.63 mph (388.87 km/h) on the Nardò Ring (a circular track of 7.8 mi (12.6 km) circumference), breaking the record previously held by the McLaren F1.[citation needed] The record was held until September 2005 when the long awaited Bugatti Veyron broke the record again at 253.2 mph (407.5 km/h), proven by Car and Driver and BBC Top Gear. Bugatti's record was set on Volkswagen's own test-track Ehra-Lessien, which features a 5.6 mi (9.0 km) long straight.
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 [12] This allegedly occurred in May 2003 in west Texas on the San Francisco to Miami Gumball 3000 Rally.[13]
The Koenigsegg CCXR holds the power-to-weight ratio record for production cars, with a power-to-weight ratio of 2.9 lb/hp. According to Koenigsegg's own test runs, the CCXR has a top speed that is measured to over 260 mph (420 km/h).
In 2008, the German magazine sport auto conducted a 0–300–0 km/h test for production cars, with the CCX winning the event in a total time of 29.2 s.[14]
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
References
- ^ http://www.koenigsegg.com/thestory.php?page=3
- ^ Koenigsegg, Norwegian investors to buy Saab-Swedish TV | Markets | Markets News, Reuters, 2009-06-11, retrieved 2009-06-16
- ^ Krisher, Tom; Durbin, Dee-Ann, "Saab future unclear as sale to Swedish firm fails", Yahoo News, Associated Press, retrieved 2009-11-24
- ^ Elliott, Hannah (March 26, 2009), "World's Most Beautiful Cars", Forbes
- ^ Jon Einar Kolberg Send epost, Superbilen Koenigsegg blir norsk - Nettavisen, Nettavisen.no, retrieved 2009-06-16
- ^ Koenigsegg Offers Saab Salvation, Forbes.com, retrieved 2009-06-16
- ^ Veronica Ek and Sven Nordenstam, "Sweden: General Motors Sells Saab to Koenigsegg", Die Welt, June 17, 2009. URL: [1].
- ^ http://www.freep.com/article/20090818/BUSINESS01/90818017/1333/BUSINESS01/GM-seals-deal-to-sell-Saab-to-Koenigsegg
- ^ Koenigsegg - press release, Cision Wire, retrieved 2009-09-09
- ^ Koenigsegg Trevita - The Shimmering Diamond, Automoblog.net
- ^ "Koenigsegg Agera Unleashed at Geneva". Automoblog.net.
- ^ Koenigsegg CCR’s speeding ticket, myluxury.info, 2007-04-29, retrieved 2008-04-28
- ^ Gumball 3000: The Movie, imdb.com, retrieved 2008-04-28
- ^ Aktion 0-300-0:Koenigsegg CCX, sportauto-online.de, retrieved 2009-09-16
External links
