One-Off Koenigsegg Prototype Had A Subaru-Developed Formula 1 Flat-12

Koenigsegg fans will know that aside from the Gemera, every production model hailing from the Swedish hypercar manufacturer has been powered by a V8, but that nearly wasn't the case, as an early prototype vehicle had something completely different: a Subaru-developed flat-12 from a Formula 1 car. It's a detail you won't find in most histories of the Koenigsegg brand.

Because Koenigsegg fans are the obsessive sort, there are dedicated Koenigsegg registries that track every chassis and build in great detail. Egg Registry has one of, if not the most, complete databases in the world and shared details of chassis #7XX1 recently. While the prototype is officially known as the CCV8S or XP003, a precursor to the production CC8S, it's little known that it once housed a Formula 1 engine in its early development stages.

The prototype went through several incarnations, even after it was first revealed to the public in the year 2000, and was most commonly known to have a 4.6-liter Ford-based V8 engine producing 655 horsepower. Production Koenigseggs would ultimately use this engine, but three years before the show car was revealed, it had a 3.8-liter flat-12 with a 9,000-rpm redline.

This motor was a road-legal derivative of Subaru's failed F1 engine from the 1989/1990 F1 season (a 12,000-rpm 3.5-liter) codeveloped with Motori Moderni. It had failed in F1 because it was too heavy and didn't generate enough power to rival the other engine suppliers, making for a short-lived concept. But in a Koenigsegg chassis, it could've been something particularly unique.

First of all, it would've given the hypercars a remarkably low center of gravity, as the engine would've been lower at its highest point than the top of the wheels. And it was remarkably smooth, so it would've produced minimal vibration.