Carbon Fetish Redefined – The Koenigsegg CCXR Edition

“What car is this?” asked a guy who was seems very fascinated with the spaceship-looking four-wheeled vehicle sitting in front of him.

“It’s a Koenigsegg”, I answered, doubting that he had even heard of such name in his life.

I was right. As he continued admiring the car before turning back to me, he asked again, “So which car manufacturer made this; Ferrari?” Lamborghini?”

“No, no. It’s a Koenigsegg, a supercar manufacturer from Sweden”.

And right at the moment I mentioned Sweden, his face was filled with half astonishment and half disbelieve, in which I believe most of them was more to disbelieve.

Yes, this impressive carbon-clad piece of automotive engineering is the work of Mr. Christian von Koenigsegg, a brilliant inventor who had always dreamt of creating his own supercar, and is totally unaware that his creation is going to generate a gigantic tremor across the hypercar scene. Maybe with the exception of Malaysia, since we do not really have much hypercars over here.

Koenigsegg may not have a long and diverse lineup; not that surprising since it is still a pretty young company established back in 1994. Even so, simply by mentioning his name, there is no way that one could run from associating it from outstanding performance that demands respect at all times. Have you seen what the CCX did to the Stig when he challenged it to the limit?

Enough for the intro, now let’s take a closer look on this limited six-in-the-world Koenigsegg CCXR Edition; and yes, this is the first and only Koenigsegg in Malaysia so far. The car sounds familiar by the way?  Yep, this is actually the same car that had made an appearance in Fast Five, the one bought by both Rome and TJ. Well, they are not the exact one as those are the CCXR Special Editions, but this is pretty much close enough.

Anyways, venturing into the hypercar scene, facing off the established big players is not an easy task especially when there are lots of them around today. So how did Koenigsegg made his car to be instantly recognized to the eyes of the world? The recipe is very simple actually, but at the same time very tricky to get it right. All you got to have is a powerful engine stuffed in the middle of a lightweight body, and a unique name that complements its futuristic yet stunning looks. Balance all of them up properly and you got yourself a new hypercar that will send all the Sheikhs and tycoons grabbing every single one of this limited production masterpiece.

The CCXR Edition instantly wows the onlookers with its lowly-slung body and the bullet-like design. And for those actually knows/recognizes what carbon fiber is…

…you’ll be treated with a barrage of carbon fiber goodness as the CCXR’s wet carbon fiber body is left naked for your viewing pleasure.

With this carbon fiber overdose, the CCXR Edition is complemented not only with the looks, but also having a very light weight of 1280kg; a featherweight compared to the other hypercars in the same category!

And while it floats like a butterfly, the CCXR also stings like a bee. It may only have a V8 residing in the middle of the car, but a massive boost from two superchargers catapults the grunt coming out from the hypercar to a colossal 1018bhp!

Oh, and I may have left out another part in making a new creation bathing in fame; you have to prove that the whole package works too.

Pairing their XXL brake discs with both Brembo and AP Racing calipers, this insanely fast machine that could do a 0-100 dash in just 2.9 seconds…

…could be put to a halt with incredible force which could almost pop your eyes off from the socket.

Unfortunately due to its limited headcount, we might not be able to see any of them being trashed into a cloud of smoke by either Jeremy or the other Top Gear chaps. The only Koenigsegg that had ever made its way to the show was the CCX, in which the Stig fed it with a tire later in the show.

Having witnessing the Koenigsegg up-close and personal here in Malaysia is more than enough for one to ask for. The naked carbon fiber, awesome looks and surreal performance is just mind-boggling, especially when the chance of spotting this machine on other occasion is almost close to zero.