2010 Koenigsegg CCXR
The "green" version of the CCX, modified to run on ethanol.
There’s a new and attractive Scandinavian alternative for those with a need for speed. It’s the Koenigsegg CCX, an 800-plus horsepower supercar that delivers on performance – like nothing else on four wheels.
Capable of more than 245 mph, this carbon fiber and Kevlar supercar, which is adaptable for street or track use, the CCX also is built to comply with the toughest emission regulations in the world. And that’s something for the Swedish builder.
The Koenigsegg CCX, which features scissor-style doors and a removable hardtop, is derived from the company’s CC model, but possesses a more aggressive stance and unique styling cues. Unlike the CC, the CCX was built to compete in the world supercar market – a daring leap for this relatively small car maker. Expect to pay plenty for this Swedish supercar, however.
The cost is $650,000, give or take, and about two dozen cars a year are expected to be produced, making the Koenigsegg one very limited sports car. But good news for the rest of us as Koenigsegg just bought Saab, and will hopefully inject a little spirit and update the styling of the more affordable Swede. That way we can spend in the neighborhood of $45K and say we're driving a Koenigsegg. Technically, at least. –LS
PHOTOS and VIDEOS at right.
SPECS:
Price: $650,000 / Engine: V-8 / Horsepower: 806 / Torque: 693 @5500 / Top Speed: 245+ mph
Acceleration
0-100 km/h (0-62 mp/h) 3.2 seconds
0-200 km/h 9.8 sec, 0-200-0 km/h 14 sec
0-300-0 km/h: 29.2 Sec
Top Speed: 395+ km/h (245+ mph)
W hen he was just a kid in the 1950s, Ron Nardone started to collect things such as old signs. His father said, “You can keep that stuff, but you have to put it in the garage. I don’t want to see it from the street.” Today, people love to see what he’s gathered over the years. Their interest makes his assortment of gas station signs, pumps, and other memorabilia worth it. People stop over with their street rods to photograph them by the old Shell pumps at his gate. Others drive up just to gawk at the three full-size reproduction service stations he’s built on the property, each bearing its own collectibles. If he’s around, he’ll usually open the gate and invite them in for a closer look.
He’s always loved to collect things. “I can’t tell you why,” he says. But a lot of people are glad he does. Little, if any, of what he owns is still made in that form or style, and much of this memorabilia exists only in the hands of collectors and museums. With a few exceptions—the ones Nardone and his peers hope to find—the rest of these historical pieces have been scrapped, or have deteriorated to the point of no return.
Nardone began collecting gas station memorabilia in the mid-1960s, before it became popular. Every time a gas station remodeled, it got rid of its old signs and pumps. More often than not, the station owner considered the old stuff junk and was content to be rid of it.
And Nardone was happy to oblige. Even when an old station had nothing to offer, he photographed it to preserve the image. By the late 1970s, his collections had grown large enough that he needed more space to house them. What did he build for that purpose? Service stations, of course.
Using his many photographs for inspiration, Nardone has constructed three full-size reproduction service stations on his seven-and-a-half acre property. Together they hold a vast assortment of oil cans, product and service signs, Tonka trucks, gas pumps, and related memorabilia. He inventoried everything in recent years but the collection moves on. He travels a lot and hits every swap meet in his area. For some of the things he collects, such as large signs, he doesn’t have much competition. Few other people have the room to store or display them. But unwieldy size makes these items rare for the same reason—what can’t be easily moved or stowed is usually scrapped. His biggest sign, and one of his favorites, is a Richfield service station sign made in 1937. Featuring a bald eagle in flight, the sign is 14 feet high and over 9 feet wide.
From Dream Garages by Kris Palmer
A friend of Nardone’s spotted the sign on a closed Richfield station in the center of a small town in Nevada. Nardone tracked down the owner—the grandson of the woman whose family once ran the station—and offered to buy it.
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