KOENIGSEGG

Koenigsegg CCGT: the exclusive running edition that is for sale

Many blamed Christian von Koenigsegg for his absence from any running activities in endurance or sprint championships. However, the story of the CCGT and the Swede's attempt to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is known by few.

Koenigsegg presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2007 the racing car that he intended to put him in the big halls. The CCGT was the result of many years of development by the company itself and its engineers in Ängelholm, Sweden. Koenigsegg undertook this venture at a time when it was in its infancy as a supercar manufacturer, and its priority was selling cars, making the CCGT more of a side project.

Car development was led by Dag Bölenius, with the Koenigsegg CCGT designed to compete in the ACO and FIA championship series in the GT1 class. The pilot was based on a Koenigsegg CCR, although it also had some CCX elements. Regulations required the car to weigh at least 1,100 kg, but due to the use of carbon and kevlar in the Koenigsegg CC models, the CCGT weighed around a ton and therefore needed to use 100 kg of ballast to meet the regulations. In addition, it had the necessary aerodynamic design for use on the track, and the cockpit had to occupy more than 70% of the car's width, which however could not exceed 2 meters.

Mechanically, the Koenigsegg CCX production engine was chosen. This was a supercharged 4.7-liter V8 that produced 806 horsepower. However, to run in the championship, the “auxiliary” breath had to be removed, and for this reason it was decided to increase its capacity to 5 liters (which is also in today's models). The power of the naturally aspirated unit was just over 600 horsepower, with its reliability assured, as with the extra horsepower that street cars had, no problems arose.

After the first prototype was produced, Koenigsegg began testing the CCGT and the results were encouraging, with engineers satisfied with the CCGT's pace and control.

But, unfortunately, he was never able to set foot on the track in an official race, as two months after the first tests the Le Mans regulations were changed. The revisions banned the use of racing carbon monocoques, and the minimum production the car must have to gain homologation was increased from 20 to 350 vehicles.

The car in particular is being auctioned by Bonhams, where it hopes to fetch between £3m and £4m (€3.5m – €4.7m). According to the house, it is kept in a temperature-controlled room and twice a year the necessary maintenance is done.

from: Kyriakos Pilidis