Koenigsegg reports 'unprecedented' CC850 demand
Originally just 50 cars were to be made; now there will be 20 more
What with all the lightweight Porsches, V12 Aston Martins and a Gran Turismo McLaren made real, it would have been easy to miss the Koenigsegg CC850 announced during Monterey Car Week. Prospective buyers certainly didn’t, though; what was meant to be a 50-car production run (because Christian von Koenigsegg is 50 years old this year) is now being increased to 70. The original run ‘meant that not even the most loyal of Koenigsegg owners could all get their desired share of CC850s, while hopeful new owners would also not be able to obtain one.’ And that’d be no good. Handily the additional 20 can represent the 20 years of Koenigsegg supercar production.
Even in the context of an incredible few days for new exotica, the CC850 seems quite the car. Five minutes with the spec and it’s easy to see why dozens signed themselves up for the latest Koenigsegg. Like the One:1 of 2014, it has one horsepower for every kilo of weight; run the CC850 on E85 and the 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8 makes 1,385hp, matching the kerbweight to the kilo. Even on 93 octane it makes 1,185hp, so performance is never going to be in doubt. ‘The visceral experience and accompanying aural signature are otherworldly and incomparable’, reckons Koenigsegg, even with a slightly more relaxed remit than cars like the Jesko.
As is becoming tradition for the Swedish megacars, that’s really just the start of the CC850’s epic spec. It uses a carbon tub with pre-preg carbon/Kevlar panels, which contribute to that slender kerbweight; there are huge ceramic brakes at each corner, Triplex dampers, hydraulically adjustable ride height and giant forged wheels on Michelins wider than manhole covers. So far, so supercar.
But there’s one crucial difference for the CC850 that separates it from the rest, and is likely the reason for the demand: the Koenigsegg has a manual gearbox. Well, sort of. The transmission is the nine-speed Light Speed Transmission (LST) first seen in the Jesko, a 20-millisecond mega dual-clutcher. But there’s also a clutch pedal and a six-speed gated manual with the Swedish flag on top like the old CC8S. What gives?
Well, in what’s being described as a revolutionary world first, the Light Speed Transmission now has something called an Engage Shift System on top, which means it can operate as a six-speed manual as well. Right down to stalling if you don’t get the clutch right. The choice of running as an auto or manual is entirely the driver’s decision; don’t ask us how on earth a manual DCT works, but it seems that Koenigsegg may have the automotive holy grail on its hands, with auto ease-of-use and proper clutch-and-stick engagement. No wonder those millionaires couldn’t move fast enough.
Combine all that with a look that perfectly evokes the old CC8S of 2002 - ‘familiar, yet all-new’, says Koenigsegg - and the CC850 looks one heck of a 50th birthday present. Plus a fine addition to any collection; plenty of mid-engined poster cars claim to be one of a kind, but this Engage Shift System really does promise something unique in the segment. Christian von Koenigsegg said of his latest megacar: “The CC8S put us on the map and made us successful – and celebrating 20 years of production, alongside my 50th birthday, felt like the right time to reveal the CC850 to appreciate our roots.” Now it’s time to make the thing - there are at least 70 people out there desperate to find out what 1,385hp and three pedals are actually like.
A DCT isn't really suited to true manual control because it effectively has to coordinate two clutches and two shifts doing different things at the same time. It's really two gearboxes in one, which is why they're so heavy compared to a manual.
But then I realised that I don’t give a s
t about anyone involved.Despite cost, the CC850 is entertaining and now occupies territory in my mind that used to be "Pagani". Of course, I'll never own a Pagani or Koenigsegg. But it is good to know someone is trying to advance the hypercar into full electric territory. While Pagani has simply given up on that front, Koenigsegg declares "Forward!"
(I exaggerate the patheticness of Pagani to emphasise my point, but they're surely not in the same league of achievement as Koenigsegg.)
The fact that a car with such gimmicks, let alone based one on a 20year old ext. design, is being celebrated on a site like pistonheads, is greatly alarming and indicative of the mess that car culture has morphed into during the current timeline.
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