Filed under: Sports/GTs, Geneva Motor Show
Koenigsegg CCX goes for top speed title with 900bhp!
You would think that when a company like Bugatti builds a $1 million super-duper car like the Veyron that the top speed title would sit pretty for awhile. The fact that the Veyron's terminal velocity is already being contested is proof positive that the supercar segment is once again healthy enough to support some friendly competition.
Perhaps the only production car in the world that won't resign its life to the rearview mirror of the Veyron will be this car, the Koenigsegg CCX that debuts in Geneva next week.
David Naylor received some inside info on the CCX that reveals Koenigsegg is aiming for 900bhp and a top speed greater than 400 kmh, or 248.5 mph. The Bugatti Veyron has been clocked around 407 kmh, or 252.9 mph, so the Koenigsegg will have to pull a few extra ticks out of its pocket if it hopes to match the current king of the hill.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Nick Haug 7:54AM (2/23/2006)
I say no.
The Veryron was clocked doing 252mph. That is not its top speed. The CCX might reach 252mph, but beating the Veyron? Not in this lifetime. But who am I to say?
Why not get the two of them on a runway strip and see who hits the horizon first.
PerformanceGT.COM
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Dr. Woo 8:52AM (2/23/2006)
If this thing is able to defeat the Veyron at its own game (a game, I might add, which has been meticulously and painstakingly engineered for years now), then these guys are engineering geniuses.
240+ mph and we're talking some SERIOUS modifications and power for each tick higher.
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DrNo 8:56AM (2/23/2006)
Being that the Koenigsegg CCR/CC8S weighs in at around 2580lb (1175 kg), and the Veyron at 4300 lb (1950 kg), the 101hp deficency of the CCX should be more than in enough to top the Veyron in terms of power-weight-ratio. CCX should have around 765hp/tonne and Veyron 513hp/tonne.
More important for top-speed is aerodynamics. The CCR has a cD of 0.297. The Bugatti Veyron's drag coefficient is someplace between 0.36-0.41 depending on how much the rear spoiler is up.
The Koenigsegg CC8S with 655hp can already go 250mph, I'm sure the Veyron's 252mph can be easily beaten with this 900hp version.
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DrNo 9:03AM (2/23/2006)
Correction typo: I meant the CC8S can do 240mph
note: The CCR has been recorded at 245mph.
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Justin 9:28AM (2/23/2006)
Swedish engineering for teh WIN!!!!!
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Nick Haug 9:31AM (2/23/2006)
Power to Weight only really makes a difference when you consider the cars dynamics. Round a track for instance. It has nothing to do with the top end DrNo..
If that was the case Lotus Exige's, Caterams and Ultimers would be making headlines every 3 months. The Veyron cannot be "easily" beaten. It took several years work at a cost of 5million a car to produce the Veyron. I agree with Dr Woo, I can't see a manufacturer overwhelming the performance of the Bugatti in just a couple of years.
PerformanceGT.COM
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Justin 9:45AM (2/23/2006)
How can you compare this thing to a Caterham? The CCR already does 245mph. They just have to squeze another 8mph out of that car and they beat the Veyron. Nothing an extra 100hp and few aerodynamic tweaks can't handle.
The Veyron is a bloated monument on one person's ego. VW will never make a dime on those turds since the car costs 5 times more than they can sell it for.
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zatrix 10:04AM (2/23/2006)
correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Veyron's top speed is capped, so said Jeremy from Top Gear, when the car was featured...
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DrNo 10:07AM (2/23/2006)
Well Nick Haug, like I've already stated, the most important aspect of top speed is aerodynamics. Which the Koenigsegg has the Veyron beat in having less drag. However, power is still important, being that the car has to still be pulled through the air.
Remember, the Koenigsegg was mainly designed for top speed while the Veyron is more all around, and has downforce to think of, hence incresing drag. Also remember, the Veyron took the production car speed record from Koenigsegg (which had taken it from the McLaren F1).
With proper tweaks to the CCX should be able to retake the crown. Tires with lower-rolling resistance, reduce drag, more power, right track conditions, etc.
Thing is, qualities that make a car go high speeds, negatively impact other qualities of the car, which is the reason why Bugatti/VAG and Koenigsegg are the only ones that even bother to contest for the record. Porsche and Ferrari have found better things to do.
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Nick Haug 10:38AM (2/23/2006)
Fair enough DrNO
But you emphasized power to weight and I responded to that with the example of caterham etc. You say the Veyron took the top speed record from the CCR but what you must remember my learned friend, is that the Veyron was in production long before the CC series was an itch in Christian's pants. Let me also correct you by saying the Veyron was THE car that was designed with top speed in mind. Not saying the Koenigsegg wasn't, but it took the advantage and slipped into production before Veyron, thats all. Koenigsegg's title of "fastest car" never really was on the cards They had an opportunity and they took it. If it hadn't been for the technological genius's at VW taking the time, lots and lots of time, to make sure the Veryron is the fastest most impressive car of all time, the Koenigsegg would just be "another" supercar with an immense top end. So is the Saleen...
As for you justin, I used the phyiscal effects of Caterham's fantastic Power to weight of the to prove that it doesnt ultimately determine top speed. Before you go spouting your gums, read and learn. Then just maybe you wont sound like a blabbering idiot.
PerformanceGT.COM
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Joel 11:11AM (2/23/2006)
It occurs to me that a raw, straight-line speed record (like the Bonneville flats) would likely be much higher than a track speed record, since you would be removing from the picture such considerations as the car's cornering ability and the driver's skill. Are any manufacturers going for a straight-line speed record? Speeds in far excess of 260MPH ought to be totally feasible on the flats even for a street-legal vehicle, though a car designed for that would be completely hopeless anywhere else.
Are any manufacturers going for that?
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Justin 11:44AM (2/23/2006)
Why are you still talking about the Caterham? You have no clue about anything if you keep bringing that car up. Yes its a sports car but it doen't belong in this conversation.
As for the veyron it was a flawed disign from the very begining. Its quick in a straight line and thats about it. The speed was capped at 252mph because it becomes unstable after that.
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Jones 11:56AM (2/23/2006)
Justin!
Are you stupid or something??
Nick made a valid point about the power/weight ratio using the caterham and other light track cars. He didnt make a comparison you fool, so whats your f-ing problem..
The Veyron becomes unstable at high speeds.. DUH!!
What car is'nt.
Nicks right. you really sound stoopid!
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Justin 12:07PM (2/23/2006)
You flippin idiot. YOU CANT COMPARE THIS CCX TO THE CATERHAM. This is not a light track car. It weighs 2500lb to caterhams 1000. It has nowhere near the same power to weight ratio at least compared to caterham 500r. The the differences in aerodynamics are just worlds apart. So stop being such a flippin idiot and grow up. How do you expect to ever get past the 6th grade if you are skipping school right now?
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chas 12:43PM (2/23/2006)
DrNo makes a good point on aerodynamics (drag). All things equal both cars compete for low numbers in a few places, Cd and frontal area of the vehicle. That said the next question is how best both will be able take advantage of the forces they already are producing thru ..as mentioned before.. the application of low rolling resistance tires and so on. Whoever puts all these together will take it home. And if Cd proves to be the winning variable what is to stop McLaren from throwing a monster engine into a bionic which BTW has a Cd of only .19. Just kidding ?
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JS240SX 1:01PM (2/23/2006)
The problem with the Veyron is all the performance benchmarks and styling were established before the car was even deigned/built. The aerodynamics are not nearly as good, so they overcame this by giving it a ton of power to pass 400KM/H.
Since The styling of the CCX is in result of the aerodynamics, it won't neccesarily need more power to go faster.
I think the problem with the saltflats is the rolling resistance between the stock tires and the ground. In a test I read about with the Veyron the resistance was significantly greater and they couldn't get the car over 235 MPH.
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Jones 4:26PM (2/23/2006)
Justin you flamin Pleb! He is talking about power/weight principles you flipin arse!!
You obviously have some sort of hangup about caterhams. What happened? You caught your girl blowing a guy in one?
You can use principles from any vehicle to make a point. So happens he chose the caterham which has excellent power to weight but no extreme top end which I understood to be his point.
If you cant understand that, maybe you should pull your head out your arse.. better still leave the physics talk to the grown ups and go pull your girl off that guy in his caterham..you turd!
6th grade beats being a nappy wipe everyday.
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cdc 6:43PM (2/23/2006)
The Koenigsegg CCX wasn't even made to compete with the Veyron, but to comply with the US safety and emission regulations. It doesn't have 900 bhp, but "only" 806 bhp, same as the CCR.
More info with the official specs and pics can be found here: http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/koenigsegg_ccx.asp
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Ted K 7:24PM (2/23/2006)
the bugatti is a big, fat, ugly piece of crap. i hope the keoeoeoensisgisgiggggiggggg beats it at the only thing it's good at, so then the rest of the world will recognize the bugatti as being good for nothing. the keoeoeoensisgisgiggggiggggg is a fine sports car while the bugatti is a land-based rocket, every bit as one-dimensional as the other bonneville salts flats cars.
what kind of a goal is 1001hp? someone forgot to tell those VW dopes that driving isn't just about numbers.
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Blake 6:26PM (2/26/2006)
Oi the koenigsegg CCX actually has to do better than 410km/h cause hennesy have taken a nice shiny viper and made 24 hennesy viper venom 1000's and they already accelerate and do a better top speed for about a quater of the price and if say nah its not a production car well 24 is more than the amount of CCR's that koenigsegg made last year so haha good luck CCX
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