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20 Feb 2008  -  Germany

Remarkable sports cars

© Koenigsegg Automotive

ACG’s Virgin Carbon Fibre in all its Glory on Koenigsegg’s ‘Edition’ CCX and CCXR

The Advanced Composites Group (ACG) continues its rewarding association with Koenigsegg by supplying MTM®57, its flexible component composite carbon fibre prepreg system, for a limited number of its special ‘Edition’ CCX and CCXR sports cars.

The exclusive nature of these special ‘Edition’ sports cars will take the ‘standard’ cars, if you could ever call them ‘standard’, to a new level when they are launched at the Geneva Motor show in March 2008, where the first hand-over will take place. It’s not surprising that, at the time of writing, two Editions have already been sold.

Just twenty of the special ‘Edition’ versions will be built, sixteen based on the CCX model and four based on the CCXR (E85/petrol flex fuel) model, both of which feature a 5.0L twin supercharged Koenigsegg engine, delivering 888bhp and 1018bhp respectively. While supplies will be severely limited, performance certainly is not! With acceleration quoted as being 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 2.9 seconds and a top speed 417+ km/h (250+ mph), there’s definitely nothing remotely ‘limiting’ about these cars!

The most distinguishing feature that makes Koenigsegg’s ‘Edition’ versions stand-out from their ‘standard ’ CCX and CCR counterparts is the shimmering virgin carbon fibre finish. While the ‘standard’ versions use ACG’s composite carbon fibre prepreg Body Panel System BPS240 for the sleek and stylish painted body, the ‘Edition’ versions use ACG’s MTM®57 composite carbon fibre prepreg (pre-impregnated) material to give that distinctive carbon-effect appearance. So, what you really see is that exquisite mixture of a carbon fibre weave and the specially formulated resin matrix right there on the surface of this sleek and stylish, world-class ‘Edition’ sports car. MTM57, just one of ACG’s composite carbon fibre component prepreg materials, exhibits excellent toughness and can be processed using autoclave, vacuum bag and press techniques. As will be evident on the Edition sports cars, the surface finish achievable with this prepreg is second to none.

Built more as track-based sports cars, the Edition versions have stiffer springs and anti-roll bars, reset dampers and a lowered chassis. They also feature a large adjustable rear wing, larger front splitter and side strakes for increased down force and a unique ‘forged’ wheel design.

The interior of the Edition is also reworked to include features such as color matched leather carpets, Edition side step plates, Edition chronograph instrument cluster, and a new layout for the centre console control panels. Also included as standard features are carbon wheels, special interior trim and colour, rear view camera, Satnav or Bluetooth, amplifiers, and a complete Inconell exhaust system, the latter of which plays a major part in the overall weight savings.

All of Koenigsegg’s CCX and CCR sports cars (both ‘standard’ and ‘Edition’) use ACG’s MTM®58FRB for the chassis, under-bonnet and structural components. What you experience here is the amalgamation and application of products that are the result of a long-term partnership between ACG and Koenigsegg, one that started at the initial engineering stage of the CCX project. ACG assisted with the manufacture of tooling and several pre-production prototype body kits at its UK base. However, large-scale commercial production of the car is handled by Hampshire–based GE Aviation (formerly Smiths Aerospace), which is renowned for its involvement in the McLaren-Mercedes SLR project, amongst others.

The ‘standard’ CCX and CCR models are only available in painted livery. ACG’s BPS240 composite carbon fibre prepreg Body Panel System is employed for the sleek, stylish and sculptured body panels. BPS240 is a two-part, partially-impregnated epoxy prepreg system designed for the manufacture of body-in-white panels. It provides excellent surface quality from vacuum-only or press moulding. The first ply of BPS240, which utilises ACG’s ZPREG partial impregnation technology, consists of a structural fabric coupled to a surface scrim by a high performance resin system. The second ply combines low density syntactic core material and a structural fabric to create significant panel rigidity in a rapid laminating format. The system is designed to be ready for painting without additional surface rework. In many cases, paint can be applied directly to a degreased panel. Excellent environmental performance can be expected from panels painted in Low-Bake and Hi-Bake paint systems.

All of the prepreg systems used for Koenigsegg’s CCX and CCR models offer the flexibility of curing under vacuum-only conditions, thus optimising work flow through GE Aviation’s manufacturing plant. GE, which has significant experience in the exclusive sports car market, is responsible for full-scale production of the CCX body-in-white.

At GE’s Hamble facility in Hampshire, all prepregs are nested onto XY CNC cutting machines at the earliest opportunity, giving optimum material usage with a fixed bill of materials for order placement purposes. This resulted in efficient materials scheduling into their plant for the duration of the contract, together with enhanced quality control of the moulded components. All finished mouldings are also CNC machined on 5-axis milling machines, thereby minimising labour input while also increasing repeatability. GE also assembles the chassis and panels to Body-In-White standard, providing instant feedback on any engineering issues that needed to be addressed on-line, again giving their customer the advantage of an entire turn-key package.

Proof of reliability and Koenigsegg’s demonstrable confidence in the ‘Edition’ versions is delivered in an all inclusive 5-year free service and warranty package.

About Advanced Composites Group
Advanced Composites Group (ACG), part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, is a manufacturer of advanced composites materials and components. ACG specialises in the manufacture of high performance composite materials for a diverse range of industries such as motorsport, aerospace, marine, automotive, construction, wind energy and leisure sports. The main focus of the Group's business, which operates through four divisions, is the manufacture of prepregs for components and tooling. ACG has manufacturing operations in the UK in Heanor near Derby, USA in Tulsa and South Africa in Cape Town. It is managed from its head office in Heanor and employs around 560 worldwide.

About Umeco plc
Umeco is a leading innovator in distribution and supply chain management to the aerospace and defence industries, harnessing new methods for enhancing its customers’ performance and profitability. Umeco also has significant manufacturing interests in advanced composite materials for a growing range of applications in its core aerospace and defence markets and in other high performance technology industries such as motor sport, automotive and wind energy. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Umeco had turnover of £333.9 million in the year to 31 March 2007.
Umeco is managed through two divisions:
Umeco Composites - a provider of a complete range of advanced composite materials and specialist chemical products principally to the aerospace, motor sport, automotive and wind energy markets. A growing range of value-added outsourcing services is provided to major customers. Customers include Boeing, Airbus, BAE SYSTEMS, Goodrich Aerostructures, British Airways, Lufthansa Technik, a number of manufacturers of high performance super cars and Formula 1 teams including Team McLaren Mercedes.
Umeco Supply Chain - a leading international provider of value-added distribution and supply chain outsourcing services to customers in the aerospace & defence market. With its specialisation in the supply of small components and sophisticated IT systems, its growing global customer base can enjoy significant operational, cost and working capital benefits. Customers include Rolls-Royce plc, BAE SYSTEMS, Safran Group, Parker Aerospace, Goodrich, Thales, Aerospace, Turbomeca, Lockheed Martin and the US Department of Defense.

Source : ACG