CarBrandLogos archive · Koenigsegg · 2002

KoenigseggCC8S

Six cars from a Swedish start-up that had spent eight years proving it could.

Photo: Norbert Aepli, Switzerland (User:Noebu) · CC BY 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Koenigsegg history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Koenigsegg CC8S, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Christian von Koenigsegg founded his company in 1994 with no industry backing and the stated aim of building a Swedish supercar. It took eight years, a prototype called the CC, and a move into an abandoned air force facility at Angelholm before anything reached a customer. The CC8S, delivered from 2002, was the result.

Koenigsegg CC8S - Side 01 · G-Tinnetje · CC BY-SA 2.0

Design and engineering

The engineering was ambitious for a company of that size. A carbon fibre monocoque with an aluminium honeycomb core carried a rear mid-mounted 4.7-litre V8 based on Ford's Modular architecture but heavily reworked and fitted with twin superchargers, driving through a six-speed manual. Two details became company signatures and appeared on every car since: dihedral synchro-helix doors, which rotate outward and forward on a single arm rather than scissoring upward, and a removable targa roof panel that stows under the front bonnet rather than being left at home.

In production

Only six were built between 2002 and 2003, four left-hand drive and two right-hand drive, all at Angelholm. The significance is not the volume but the fact that the cars existed at all and worked well enough to be taken seriously, which established Koenigsegg as a manufacturer rather than a project. The CCR followed directly from it, and the CC850 of 2022 was offered as a deliberate homage.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

4.7&nbsp

Designer

Christian von Koenigsegg

Body

2-door Targa top

Technical specification

The CC8S, in detail.

Production: 2002–2003; (6 built) LHD: 4 made RHD: 2 made
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door Targa top
Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine: 4.7 L Koenigsegg twin-supercharged V8 (based on Ford Modular engine)
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Designer: Christian von Koenigsegg; David Crafoord
Assembly: Sweden: Ängelholm
Manufacturer: Koenigsegg Automotive AB