Koenigsegg CCR
There's been a lot of chatter lately in the automobile world about the Koenigsegg CCR. Being the huge car enthusiast that I am, I had to go and do a little research on this new supercar. Did I like what I found? Read on.
The CCR was debuted in September of 2004 at the Geneva Auto Show, so in some respects, it's not that new at all. I had heard of Koenigsegg before, but it wasn't until the CCR beat the McLaren F1's speed record in February 2005 that Koenigsegg really caught my eye.
In my opinion (an opinion that few would probably dispute), the McLaren F1 is a legend in motorsport history, so when the CCR managed to beat the F1's speed record, I knew that Koenigsegg meant business. The F1's speed record stood for a long time, and to build a car capable of beating it is not an achievement to be scoffed at.
At first glance, I liked the look of the CCR. It has a 'simple' look to it; a quality I find quite desirable. The body design screams functionality over flash. Outwardly, it's the type of car that spawns trust, it doesn't look like it will try to kill you. It's sort of like a well-mannered Rotweiler. Sure, you can pet it, but push the wrong buttons, and you're a dead man.
This isn't to say that I don't have my complaints about the CCR's exterior; there are a few things that I just don't like. As a visual aid, here's a picture for you.
For starters, the door looks awkward to me, it seems so small and chopped, almost as if it was a design after-thought. I giggled as I imagined the geniuses at Koenigsegg sitting around at their drawing boards dreaming up the delicious curves of the CCR. They must have drawn picture after picture, and then all of a sudden:
So, they just slapped a door onto their drawings, and still finished the design work on time and under budget. The door has one of the only contours on the car that isn't swept backwards. New door please. Oh yeah, and the rims look like they were lifted from a diablo.
I'm much more impressed with the front-angle shot of the CCR than I am with other angles. The frontal design of the CCR is delightfully simple, and it looks super mean. It's the type of front end that yells,
at you as you drool on the rear-view mirror of your Ford Pinto. The roof is gorgeous.
I think my only complaint from this angle is how hideously large the side mirrors look. Positioned on those long poles, they really look huge to me; they're not well blended with the rest of the car. Maybe it's a freaky illusion of some sort, but really, something should be done. I'm sure the designers were just trying to give the driver a spitting chance of seeing over the huge rear fenders, but they could have sloped the mirrors outwards or something.
The rear angle shot of the CCR is the one that I don't like; it looks so cheap. Koenigsegg needs to lose the ridiculous looking bezels that wrap the tail lighting; it makes the CCR look like a Lexus SUV. Truth be told, the round lights actually look a little out of place. I think I would have gone with the more uniform appearance of a single lensed bulb housing for each side. But hey, that's just me.
Oh, and look at that exhaust outlet. Is that where the exhaust comes out, or is that a plastic orifice for depositing biodegradable foodstuffs for composting. I can't tell, can you? With its wide road stance, a car like the CCR absolutely begs for dual exhaust, but instead they give it an outlet that I'm sure people will mistake for a postal box.
What is the pit light doing there? I know this is a car that is at home on a race track, so it should have a pit light system, but Koenigsegg should have at least put it in the middle of the car rather than on one side. The CCR has a very symetrical look to it, yet they threw it all away by putting the pit light on one side. Ugly.
Oh, and now look at this. This is a shot of the rear of the giant engine cowling on the rear of the car. The curves are lovely, but do they actually expect that tiny rear view mirror to be at all helpful? If you ask me, it looks ridiculous and entirely non-functional. Lose the rear view mirror, Koenigsegg and replace the tiny window with a viewing port into the engine chamber. No real driver cares what's behind him anyway, it's what's still in front of you that counts.
This is the interior. If you feel the need to vomit, try to aim for the dashboard, you might actually improve things. I like the seats and the steering wheel. The steering wheel is so pretty, and the seats, they suit the car well. I'm not sure about their choice of upolhstery for the seats; it almost looks like the same fabric they use to make cheap guitar cases.
I more or less despise the rest of the interior. The center console and instrument panel are an absolute abomination. Is it just me, or does the center console control unit look like a rotary phone? It also really reminds me of the console in the new Nissan Quest minivan. Gross.
The instrument pod looks like the one in a Toyota Echo. They really should have sprung for some more gauges to give the instrument panel a little more flare. It's so sparse, and looks too small for the car, the type of instrument cluster that would look more at home in a Mini.
The gear shift lever is a big dissapointment as well, and when I say big, I mean BIG! The lever is huge, and I'm sure anyone who does not have any Orangutan in their blood will throw their shoulder our just trying to shift gears. This is a street-going race car, not a Mac truck. I guess maybe they expect CCR owners to bust out a hack-saw and cut it down to a normal size. Heck, they could even use the scrap piece as a new flagpole for their yard. No thanks.
Want to see a video of the CCR. Check out what Top Gear has to say:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7016898738854371657
The CCR was debuted in September of 2004 at the Geneva Auto Show, so in some respects, it's not that new at all. I had heard of Koenigsegg before, but it wasn't until the CCR beat the McLaren F1's speed record in February 2005 that Koenigsegg really caught my eye.
In my opinion (an opinion that few would probably dispute), the McLaren F1 is a legend in motorsport history, so when the CCR managed to beat the F1's speed record, I knew that Koenigsegg meant business. The F1's speed record stood for a long time, and to build a car capable of beating it is not an achievement to be scoffed at.
At first glance, I liked the look of the CCR. It has a 'simple' look to it; a quality I find quite desirable. The body design screams functionality over flash. Outwardly, it's the type of car that spawns trust, it doesn't look like it will try to kill you. It's sort of like a well-mannered Rotweiler. Sure, you can pet it, but push the wrong buttons, and you're a dead man.
This isn't to say that I don't have my complaints about the CCR's exterior; there are a few things that I just don't like. As a visual aid, here's a picture for you.
For starters, the door looks awkward to me, it seems so small and chopped, almost as if it was a design after-thought. I giggled as I imagined the geniuses at Koenigsegg sitting around at their drawing boards dreaming up the delicious curves of the CCR. They must have drawn picture after picture, and then all of a sudden:
Uh. Guys? How are people going to get into this thing?
So, they just slapped a door onto their drawings, and still finished the design work on time and under budget. The door has one of the only contours on the car that isn't swept backwards. New door please. Oh yeah, and the rims look like they were lifted from a diablo.
I'm much more impressed with the front-angle shot of the CCR than I am with other angles. The frontal design of the CCR is delightfully simple, and it looks super mean. It's the type of front end that yells,
"Get out of my way, numb-nuts. I own this road."
at you as you drool on the rear-view mirror of your Ford Pinto. The roof is gorgeous.
I think my only complaint from this angle is how hideously large the side mirrors look. Positioned on those long poles, they really look huge to me; they're not well blended with the rest of the car. Maybe it's a freaky illusion of some sort, but really, something should be done. I'm sure the designers were just trying to give the driver a spitting chance of seeing over the huge rear fenders, but they could have sloped the mirrors outwards or something.
The rear angle shot of the CCR is the one that I don't like; it looks so cheap. Koenigsegg needs to lose the ridiculous looking bezels that wrap the tail lighting; it makes the CCR look like a Lexus SUV. Truth be told, the round lights actually look a little out of place. I think I would have gone with the more uniform appearance of a single lensed bulb housing for each side. But hey, that's just me.
Oh, and look at that exhaust outlet. Is that where the exhaust comes out, or is that a plastic orifice for depositing biodegradable foodstuffs for composting. I can't tell, can you? With its wide road stance, a car like the CCR absolutely begs for dual exhaust, but instead they give it an outlet that I'm sure people will mistake for a postal box.
What is the pit light doing there? I know this is a car that is at home on a race track, so it should have a pit light system, but Koenigsegg should have at least put it in the middle of the car rather than on one side. The CCR has a very symetrical look to it, yet they threw it all away by putting the pit light on one side. Ugly.
Oh, and now look at this. This is a shot of the rear of the giant engine cowling on the rear of the car. The curves are lovely, but do they actually expect that tiny rear view mirror to be at all helpful? If you ask me, it looks ridiculous and entirely non-functional. Lose the rear view mirror, Koenigsegg and replace the tiny window with a viewing port into the engine chamber. No real driver cares what's behind him anyway, it's what's still in front of you that counts.
This is the interior. If you feel the need to vomit, try to aim for the dashboard, you might actually improve things. I like the seats and the steering wheel. The steering wheel is so pretty, and the seats, they suit the car well. I'm not sure about their choice of upolhstery for the seats; it almost looks like the same fabric they use to make cheap guitar cases.
I more or less despise the rest of the interior. The center console and instrument panel are an absolute abomination. Is it just me, or does the center console control unit look like a rotary phone? It also really reminds me of the console in the new Nissan Quest minivan. Gross.
The instrument pod looks like the one in a Toyota Echo. They really should have sprung for some more gauges to give the instrument panel a little more flare. It's so sparse, and looks too small for the car, the type of instrument cluster that would look more at home in a Mini.
The gear shift lever is a big dissapointment as well, and when I say big, I mean BIG! The lever is huge, and I'm sure anyone who does not have any Orangutan in their blood will throw their shoulder our just trying to shift gears. This is a street-going race car, not a Mac truck. I guess maybe they expect CCR owners to bust out a hack-saw and cut it down to a normal size. Heck, they could even use the scrap piece as a new flagpole for their yard. No thanks.
Want to see a video of the CCR. Check out what Top Gear has to say:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7016898738854371657
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