On 28 February 2005, at 12.08 local time, the Koenigsegg CCR broke
the production road car speed record, achieving a new official top
speed of 242.42 mph at Italys Nardo Prototipo proving
ground.
A team of five Koenigsegg engineers and mechanics together with
founder Christian von Koenigsegg ran, a technically standard
Koenigsegg CCR in order to take the top speed record for
productions road cars. The famous supercar test driver, Loris
Bicocchi who is a veteran recorder breaker, drove the CCR.
The CCR raised McLaren's previously unofficial mark of 232.5mph set
at Nardo/Prototipo in 1993 by 10mph. On top of this the CCR broke
the official McLaren F1 record of 242mph, which was set on the
5.5-mile straight line VW Ehra facility in Wolfsburg Germany.
A team of Nardo Prototipo technicians independently verified the
speed of the CCR. The car was clocked using Tag Heuer´s Splitmaster
650 with photocells stationary at the track, recording the average
speed over one kilometre.
Nardo Prototipo is a circular track with a circumference of nearly
eight miles. This means that the car is constantly turning, making
the exercise and speed even more impressive. The steering wheel at
this speed is kept at around 30 degrees -- a sharp corner for the
speed.
The constant turning motion of the car creates extra friction on
the tyres, friction that soaks up horsepower needed for further
acceleration. The maximum speed was reached at around 6,790rpm,
even though maximum hp is reached at higher engine speeds.
With this verification of speed, Koenigsegg said he was even more
confident that the CCR was capable of reaching its projected top
speed of 247mph, or more, in a straight line.
Driver Loris Bicocchi was very impressed by the performance of the
car. This test was very important for the customers and owners of
Koenigsegg cars. It proves that their belief and faith in the small
Koenigsegg Company was well founded, he said.
Filmator, a Swedish film crew that currently is making a
documentary about the Koenigsegg Company for Swedish television,
documented the record attempt.
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=9986
