Video: Koenigsegg CC850 debuts at the Festival of Speed

Designed as a very deliberate homage to Koenigsegg’s first car, the carefully-honed, tastefully-styled CC. The CCs never went too mad on aero – it was the Agera family of the 2010s that did that. The CC was a much more old school supercar, with a bit more power than it could really handle and a good old-fashioned manual gearbox.

The CC850, while giving that first generation of Koenigseggs a nod, also addresses a growing demand within the market for tactility and sensation, with Koenigsegg’s incredible ‘manual’ gearbox. Okay, it’s not actually a manual. Rather, it’s the nine-speed Light Speed Transmission from the Jesko, connected to an artificial clutch pedal, gear shifter and linkage. Artificial is harsh because it reportedly feels anything but, with the driver even able to stall the CC850 if they want.

Because of the multi-clutch, multi-ratio design of the transmission however, the CC850’s six fixed speeds within its six physical gates, can be varied. Short for track use, long for touring. Or, if you so choose, slide it into automatic mode. The LST is an incredible piece of engineering and this interface is pure genius – the best of all worlds. Trust Koenigsegg to engineer a way to have your cake and eat it too.

Of course, it still sounds like a modern Koenigsegg, using as it does the ‘small turbo’ version of the 5.0-litre flat-plane crank twin-turbo V8 seen in the Jesko. It’s still super powerful but certainly, a nice drop compared to the Jesko, with a very usable-sounding 1,200PS (883kW) on pump fuel, or 1,385PS (1,019kW) on E85. What are we on about? That’s still more than the insane old One:1…

On the Hill, the svelte CC850 just looked utterly, spectacularly beautiful, as most supercars from the early 2000s did. Dare we say, by far the prettiest car in Batch 6.

Production was supposed to be limited to 50 units, partly in celebration of Christian von Koenigsegg’s 50th birthday, but due to demand a further 20 were added in celebration of the CC’s 20th birthday. Needless to say, each will set its owner back well upwards of £2.5million.

The 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway, and you can watch every moment of the action on our live stream right here on GRR!