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1995 - Christian Koenigsegg starts development of the first koenigsegg supercar.

1996 - The first CC prototype ready for test drive.

1997 - The first Koenigsegg concept car makes an eye-opening debut in cannes.

2000 - CC8S makes its debut at Paris Motor Show in March and receives world-wide acclaim.

2004 - Koenigsegg launches the CCR and moves its headquarters to state of the art fighter jet facility. A fitting place to assemble what is probably the world's best performing supercar.

2005 - the CCR takes the production car Guinness world record.

2006 - The CCX is launched to overwhelming critical acclaim.
    
2007 - Koenigsegg launches the CCXR and finalizes US-homologation, enabling us to sell our cars worldwide.

2008 - Two exclusive Koenigsegg Edition models - The CCX Edition and the CCXR Edition - are launched at the Geneva Motor Show.

 
Koenigsegg CCX vs Ferrari 430 Scuderia

So that's why Ferrari's are red

The story of Koenigsegg is as fascinating and unique as its cars. Inspired at the age of 5 by a Norwegian animated film about a bicycle repairman who builds a racing car, Christian von Koenigsegg grew up dreaming of creating the perfect sports car. Against all the odds - here we are.
Christian showed an early keenness for design and technical solutions. As a young boy he always pried apart video recorders and toasters just to see how the worked and if they could be improved upon.

As a teenager he was known as the best moped tuner in town and in the early 1990’s, around his 18th birthday, Christian began to work more seriously with technical innovation and came up with two interesting ideas.

One he called the Chip Player. He believed that one day computer memory chips would be able to store an entire music CD’s worth of data and that it would probably be cheaper. He therefore envisioned and conducted some patent searching for a musical device that would play chips instead of discs. In the end no one seemed interested in the idea so Christian moved on and in 1991 invented a new solution for joining floor planks together without adhesive or nails. He called it Click, since the profile enabled the planks to simply click together.
    
Christian showed this technology to his father-in-law, who at the time ran a flooring factory. He rejected the idea, saying that if it was a good idea someone would have already come up with it a long time ago, and no one was asking for such a product.

Most of the patents that Koenigsegg hold today are Christian’s brainchildren, such as the Rocket Catalytic Converter and the Supercharger Response/Relief system.

After the Chip and Click disappointments and general boredom of running his import/export company, Christian decided that instead of chasing after the perfect business idea he would instead follow his heart, which told him to build his dream car. Christian understood that it was virtually impossible and that many had failed before him. But to him it was a mission - to create the perfect car, no matter what.
    
Therefore in 1994 at the age of 22, Christian launched the Koenigsegg car company and set about creating what he believed to be the ultimate car, where no technical solution was deemed too difficult.

Christian himself sketched the initial technical layout of the car and in those days he even hand-modelled everything himself, together with a few friends who helped out for meager wages.

Nowadays Christian enjoys a full R&D department with state-of-the-art equipment to help him out, but in the beginning fantasy, keenness and imagination had to suffice in order to create the first working prototype. Incredibly enough the prototype was completed in 1996 - just two years after Christian started!

The first prototype had a unique fabricated monocoque chassis with specially designed suspension, brakes, wishbones and uprights. It had a full interior with double-curved hardened side glass fitted with electric windows. Today, 12 years on, the car still drives perfectly!Rather like his cars, Christian’s company moved at a record pace, and in the year 2002 Koenigsegg began series production of the CC8S model that was homologated and crash tested for Europe. It proved to the world that it was indeed possible for a passionate, dedicated young man to rival the old, established supercar brands.

After a fire in the original premises Koenigsegg relocated in 2003 to its present location and headquarters - a 4000 sqm former fighter jet facility, which had previously been home to the Swedish Air Force. Along with the buildings came a 1.7 km runway, which turned out to be perfect for high-speed testing. Since the runway is 50 meters wide it can also be converted into a "race track".

Many Koenigsegg customers have enjoyed the possibility of landing their private jets just outside the door of the factory. There is also a helipad in front of the main entrance for flying visits.

In the spring of 2004 Koenigsegg launched the CCR, a vehicle that left all others behind, breaking the Guinness World Record for the fastest road-going car in production by beating the Mclaren F1 by 1 kph.

In 2006 the Koenigsegg CCX took the top position and put in the fastest lap in the now famous BBC Top Gear programme. Koenigsegg were ahead - faster than all known supercars.

In 2007 Koenigsegg launched the CCXR - a 1018 bhp version of the CCX which can run on environmentally friendlier E85 Fuel. This pioneering development made it the world’s first and only green supercar. In 2008 the Koenigsegg CCX set a new 0-300-0 km/h record, completing the dash in just 29 seconds.

  Koenigsegg Today

Today Koenigsegg sells its cars all around the world and complies with most known homologations. This is unparalleled by any small, independent car manufacturer.

One of the keys to Koenigsegg’s success, and what distinguishes us from every other low-volume supercar manufacturer is the fact that we have created our own engine family. Every engine is precision-made and designed in-house to suit the car it is built for. This means that we never have to compromise.

Furthermore, we are able to fabricate intricate hand-made metal and carbon fibre components in our own hi-tech production facilities, as well as being able to source specialist components from a network of dedicated specialist suppliers and partners - most of which are based in Sweden.

Many of these suppliers are small companies and craftsmen that produce low volumes of incredibly high quality components. Both the assembly and the manufacture of the components that make up a Koenigsegg are incredibly labor-intensive (there are more than 300 hand-formed carbon fibre parts alone in each car, for example), and the materials are without exception extremely costly.
    
Each and every Koenigsegg has a premium price, but then each and every Koenigsegg has been painstakingly built by a select group of automotive artisans to the highest possible standards.