It's been said before, and it'll no doubt be said again, but the success of Koenigsegg stands out as pretty extraordinary on Planet Supercar. Formed in 1994, it arguably stands alongside Pagani as the only entirely new supercar companies of the 90s to take it to establishment and succeed. Once upon a time you would think only of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Porsche; these two have ensured that's no longer the case, and Koenigsegg probably deserves even greater recognition as a manufacturer operating out of Sweden - which is obviously not known for its supercar heritage.
The progress has been extraordinarily rapid, too. Not to sell cars like this CCR short, but we now think of Koenigsegg as making cars like the Jesko - with its Light Speed Transmission, 1,000kg of downforce and 1,600hp - and the hybrid Regera, not supercars with Ford-based V8 engines and manual gearboxes. How quaint.
What a quaint combination it was, though. The CCR, one of which you see here, was an evolution of Koenigsegg's original car, the CC8S. Thing is, when Koenigsegg says 'evolution', what it really means is 'total overhaul', the R taking the 8S and completely revamping the aero, suspension and brakes, plus adding another 150hp. This was not just a lights and bumpers kind of facelift.
Koenigsegg's transformation from small-time player to big-league supercar manufacturer has also had a dramatic impact on numbers. Nowadays we're used to 125-run models costing millions of dollars selling out in weeks; the CCR, on the other hand, was made for two years and just 14 were produced. That makes this car both exceptionally rare and a really significant part of the Koenigsegg story, given the CC8S was made in even smaller numbers - just six were produced.
The CCR's claim to fame, much as it was with the CC8S, was its outrageous power. Today nobody really bats an eyelid at 800hp, when series production Ferraris are being made with that much, but back in the early 2000s - and combined with a minuscule kerbweight - it was a real talking point. The CCR, in fact, was briefly the fastest car in the world, between the McLaren F1 and Bugatti Veyron, taking the record that had been held by the former for eight years at Nardo in 2005 - the CCR hit 241mph. Yep, just one mile per hour more...
So what an opportunity this is. A right-hand drive, record-breaking supercar, one that's rarer than damn near anything else comparable ever made. It's manual, V8 and rear-wheel drive, a combination that will surely only become more desirable as an electrified future draws inexorably closer. It's a silly colour and has cool doors, like all true supercars should. (The colour is in fact Jesko Koenigsegg Racing Green, which features in the accents of the Jesko production car.)
The CCR is listed at POA, though it would be safe to assume this is a seven-figure supercar given its significance and scarcity. Still, it might be the bargain of the Koenigsegg range, given an Agera R will cost you £2.5m and a One:1 £7m...
Whatever the price, the CCR will always be a record-breaker, and as important in the early-2000s supercar story as any Zonda, Enzo, Murcielago or Carrera GT. Rarer than all of them, too...
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