Photo Bonhams
It’s a little-known fact, but in 2007 Koenigsegg had a car ready to race at Le Mans under GT1-rules. And then the rules changed. Now, Bonhams offers the Koenigsegg CCGT GT1 Competition Coupé for sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed auction this weekend.
Koenigsegg is known for fast cars and plenty of stunts – think world’s fastest production car or a bit of an off on Top Gear – but not for its motor racing involvement. That was to change in 2007, when Koenigsegg was preparing this car for the GT1 category.
Developed within the rules that then applied – maximum width of 2 metres and a cockpit that accounted for at least 70 per cent of the width of the car – Koenigsegg was preparing a car that would have given the Maserati MC12 something to chew on in the FIA GT championship and at Le Mans, it would have been up against the Corvette C6 R and the Aston Martin DBR9.
Work on the car had started in 2003. Koenigsegg prepared a 5-litre V8 that was reigned in through regulations at 600 hp. With an all-carbon monocoque, weight was below 1000 kilos. Loris Bicocchi, who had previously sorted out the Bugatti EB110, took care of testing. Two months into what would have been final preparation, the FIA and the ACO changed the rules for GT1 cars. Carbon monocoques were banned, thus keeping the Maserati MC12 from running at Le Mans… and killing the Koenigsegg project in one go as well.
Apart from some demo runs, the car has never raced. Bård Eker, one of Koenigsegg’s backers, bought the car, stored it and kept it serviced every two years. Masters Historic Series has already confirmed it would accept the car in Endurance Legends.
With that, one of the most exciting GT1s to never have raced comes up for sale at the Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Even without racing history, this is a highly interesting car since it is the only bona fide Koenigsegg racing car. It does come with a steep price tag, Bonhams expects the car to fetch between 3 and 4 million GBP (3.5 – 4.67 million euros). More info here.
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