Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Koenigsegg CCX is a mid-engined roadster from Swedish car manufacturer Koenigsegg. The CCX has been engineered to comply with the U.S. regulation and market demands and is an evolutionary design that replaced the Koenigsegg CCR.

CCX is an abbreviation for Competition Coupe X; the X commemorating the 10th anniversary, (being the Roman numeral for ten), of the completion and test drive of the first CC vehicle in 1996.

The CCX was first unveiled on February 28, 2006 at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show although its existence was announced earlier. A derivative known as the CCXR is available, the main difference being that CCXR's engine is tuned to run on biofuel. The different fuel and tune allows the CCXR to produce 25% more power than the CCX.



Specifications Performance

The CCX can accelerate from 0–62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.2 seconds and from 0–124 mph (200 km/h) in 9.8 seconds. According to Koenigsegg it has a top speed of 259 mph (417 km/h), although this has not been officially verified. On 15 June 2008, a standard fully equipped CCX was independently timed by sport auto in achieving a record 0-186-0 mph (0-300–0 km/h) in 29.2 seconds, beating out the Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR 722 Edition, the Lamborghini MurciĆ©lago LP640, the Porsche 997 GT2, the Alpina B6 S (based on the BMW 6 Series), and the Corvette Z06.

Engine

While previous Koenigsegg models were powered by an engined based on the Ford Modular V8 engine sourced from the U.S., and modified by Koenigsegg, the engine of the CCX was designed by Koenigsegg themselves and is built ground up in the Koenigsegg factory. The Engine block is cast for them by Grainger & Worrall, a British company that produces drivetrain components for Formula One cars.[8][12] The engine is a 4.7 liter 288 cu in (4,719 cc) V8, with dual overhead camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder. The engine block is made of 356 Aluminium that has undergone a T7 heat treatment, a form of accelerated precipitation strengthening. The aluminium alloy is stronger than the previous engine and allows a thinner, thus lighter, engine block that will withstand higher cylinder pressures. The engine is boosted by two centrifugal superchargers that provide 17.5 psi (1.2 bar) of boost with an 8.2:1 compression ratio. The engine produces 806 bhp (601 kW; 817 PS) at 6900 rpm and 678 lb·ft (919 N·m) of torque at 5700 rpm on 91 octane (U.S. rating) gasoline. The engine is lubricated with a dry sump system with a separate oil pump, the pistons are cooled by oil sprayed onto them and the oil itself has an external cooler. The CCX engine burns 17 L/100 km (17 mpg-imp; 14 mpg-US)

Exterior

The CCX is a two-door targa top and the removable roof can be stored under the front trunk meaning that, unlike many of its competitors, it can be changed at any location, not only one where the roof can be safely left the body, made of pre-impregnated carbon fiber and Kevlar, is 169 in (4,300 mm) long, 78.6 in (2,000 mm) wide and 44.1 in (1,120 mm) tall with a ground clearance of 3.9 in (99 mm). As with all previous Koenigsegg models, the "dihedral synchro-helix" actuation doors rotate forward and upwards similar to scissor doors though the Koenigsegg design avoids the problem of the open door obscuring the passenger's entry or exit.

The CCX has a frontal area of 2,894 sq in (1.867 m2) and a drag coefficient of just 0.30. It also has a flat underside with venturi tunnels at the rear and an optional rear spoiler to improve aerodynamics. Between the 2 speedster humps (humps behind the seats) is a vortex generator used as a ram-air intake that allows higher pressure in the air box without a roof scoop that would increase the frontal area. At 124 mph (200 km/h) there is 132 lbf (60 kilograms) of downforce over the front axle and 143 lbf (65 kilograms) over the rear.



Transmission

The CCX has a six speed manual gearbox made for Koenigsegg by Cima with a twin plate clutch of diameter 8.5 inches (220 mm) as default but a sequential manual transmission option is available. The power is fed to the wheels through a torque sensitive, limited slip differential. The option to select gear ratios is available, but the default ratios of the 2007 CCX can be seen in the table below.

Wheels and brakes

The standard CCX wheels are Koenigsegg's magnesium alloy wheels, though the option to upgrade to carbon/magnesium wheels which each weigh 6.6 pounds (3.0 kg) less than the standard wheels is available. The front wheels have a diameter of 19 inches (480 mm) and the rear, 20 inches (510 mm). Each of the wheels is attached by center locking wheel nuts. The car comes with Michelin Pilot Sport 2 unidirectional tires with asymmetric tread. The front tires have codes of 255/35 Y19 and the rear 335/30 Y20.

The front and rear cast iron disc brakes are 14.3 in (360 mm) across with 1.3 inches (33 mm) of contact at any point and have 6 piston calipers. The brakes can be upgraded to SystemST carbon ceramic brakes which weigh 4.4 pounds (2.0 kg) less per wheel, a diameter of 15 in (380 mm) with 1.3 in (33 mm) of contact and eight piston brake calipers.

Top Gear

In 2007, the CCX was the fastest car to complete a lap of the BBC Top Gear circuit, in a time of 1:17.6 on the Power Lap, until it was beaten by the Ascari A10 with a time of 1:17.3. The car originally lapped the circuit in 1:20.4, but was then fitted with a non-standard rear spoiler to provide downforce, after the show's test driver (The Stig) spun the original version off the track. The Stig purportedly recommended this modification, predicting that the car would then be the fastest ever round Top Gear's track but Koenigsegg later stated that the improvement was due to adjustments to the chassis and suspension settings and not the addition of the rear spoiler.

CCXR

The CCXR is an "environmentally-friendly" version of the CCX, powered by a modified twin-supercharged V8 engine from the CCX, converted to use E85 or E100 ethanol fuel as well as standard 98 octane petrol. When run on regular petrol, the CCXR develops 806 bhp (601 kW), but when the car is run on E85 Biofuel, the CCXR develops 1,018 bhp (759 kW). Weight-to-power ratio is 2.76 lb/hp. Torque is 782 ft·lb (1,060 N·m). The CCXR can achieve 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.9 seconds. Christian von Koenigsegg is quoted as saying, "Our engineers couldn't quite believe the figures when we tested the car". The increased power is a result of the cooling properties of ethanol in the engine's combustion chambers allowing for a higher pressure in the cylinder and the biofuel having a higher octane rating of 113 RON compared to 95 RON for gasoline in North America and 100 RON for gasoline in Europe, although the CCXR burns slightly more fuel than the CCX with about 15 mpg (17L/100 km). The only changes to the engine are modified fuel injectors, upgraded fuel lines and piston rings and a higher boost setting on the superchargers.

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