Engine Koenigsegg’s Subaru F1 Flat-12 Prototype

Subaru Close to Outdoing Mercedes in Hypercar

Koenigsegg’s die-hards are well aware that – aside from the Gemera – each of the Swedish hypercar marque’s production models has been sporting a V8 engine; on the other hand, they might not have known things could have gone differently. Indeed, an early prototype contained a highly unusual powerplant, namely a flat-12 sourced from a Formula 1 car and manufactured by Subaru. This hidden fact may have been omitted from most accounts of Koenigsegg’s history.

Enthusiasts of Koenigsegg possess a certain level of fanaticism, thus resulting in special registries that trail each structure and construction with great finesse. Of all the registries out there, Egg Registry has one of the most comprehensive databases, revealing info regarding attestation #7XX1 recently. Even though it is documented as the CCV8S or XP003, a prelude to the creation of the CC8S, what often goes unknown is the fact it was originally equipped with an engine from Formula 1 at its introductory phases.

The original design of the prototype underwent several makeovers, even after its debut in 2000, and is mainly recalled as having a 4.6-liter Ford-backbone V8 engine capable of delivering 655 horsepower. In the long run, Koenigsegg models would utilize the same engine, yet three years before the show car was shown to the world, it possessed a 3.8-liter flat-12 with redline set at 9,000 rpm.

This engine was a permissible interpretive version of Subaru’s unsuccessful F1 apparatus from the 1989/1990 Formula One campaign (at an engine speed of 12,000-rpm, it had a 3.5-liter capacity). This project was jointly engineered with Motori Moderni. It met with only minimal success in F1 due to not providing enough power output to compete successfully against rival suppliers. Nevertheless, coupled with a Koenigsegg chassis, this would have been a remarkably unique combination.

To start, providing the hypercars with an impressively low center of gravity would’ve been achievable by positioning the engine below the wheel’s peak. Additionally, it was reported as being extremely smooth, thus leading to reduced instability.

In 1999, Koenigsegg acquired the resources of Motori Moderni including assorted parts, molds, plans, and more. Even so, no ‘Segg creations came to life from this purchase.

It has been rumored, that although Christian von Koenigsegg was partial to the engine, it simply did not meet his expectations for power. Even if turbocharged, it would have only peaked at 750 horsepower. For someone who is passionate about Miatas, Christian may find it hard to complain about such a figure; however, what his composed Koeningseggs have signified, is the adoration of robust horsepower outcomes. It seems as though people tend to overlook that before now, 750 horses was a relatively large number.

All the blueprints and molds were crafted manually, and they were not in pristine shape, thus requiring a considerable amount of effort to refurbish the engine.

In the end, Koenigsegg elected to go with a Ford-derived motor, providing them until they ceased construction of the CCR. After this, an engine created internally was used for their CCX designs.

One may ponder if a Boxer-12 would have been more exotic. However, making the call to exclude it was surely the right decision.