Christian Von Koenigsegg

Christian Erland Harald von Koenigsegg (born July 2, 1971) is the founder of the Swedish high-performance automobile manufacturer Koenigsegg Automotive AB.

He was born in Sweden to a family of ancient German ancestry. When Koenigsegg was five years old he saw the Norwegian animated film Flåklypa Grand Prix; in the movie a local bicycle repairman makes his own racing car. This gave Koenigsegg the dream of creating the perfect sports car. After several years of planning he launched the Koenigsegg project in 1994. Designer David Craaford provided a design concept following Koenigsegg’s guidelines. The prototype enabled the foundation of Koenigsegg Automotive AB.

The story of Koenigsegg is as fascinating and unique as the cars themselves. Christian was only 5 years old when he first saw a stop-motion film from Norway about a bicycle repairman who builds his own racing car. The film must have made an impression, as a young Christian grew up dreaming of creating the perfect sports car. Some 17 years later, and against all the odds, he did just that. Koenigsegg and his wife, Halldora von Koenigsegg, are active in the company's management.

Innovations

One of the innovations was called the Chip Player. He believed that one day, computer memory chips would be able to store an entire CD’s worth of data and that it would probably be a cheaper way to buy and store music. He conducted some patent searches for a musical device that would play chips instead of discs. In the end, however, no one seemed interested in the idea, so Christian moved on.

In 1991 he invented a new solution for joining floor planks together without adhesive or nails. He called it Click, as the profile enabled the planks to simply click together. Christian presented this technology to his father-in-law, who ran a flooring factory at the time. He rejected the idea, saying that if it was viable, someone would have come up with it a long time ago. Christian then showed the concept to a few other floor manufacturers who also dismissed it. In 1995 a Belgian and Swedish company patented virtually exactly the same solution as Christian’s Click floor – they even called it Click! This is now a billion dollar industry.

Most of the patents that Koenigsegg hold today are Christian’s brainchild, such as the ‘Rocket’ Catalytic Converter and the Supercharger Response/Relief system.

The start-up

After the Chip Player and Click disappointments, and amidst the general boredom of running his import/export company, Christian decided that instead of chasing after the perfect business idea, he would follow his heart. He would build his dream car. Christian understood that it was virtually impossible and that many had failed before him. But to him, it was a mission – to create the perfect car with no compromises, no limits, and no fear of failure.

In 1994, at the age of just 22, Christian launched the Koenigsegg car company and set about creating what he believed to be the ultimate car, one for which no technical solution was deemed too difficult.

Today, Koenigsegg has a full R&D department with state-of-the-art equipment to call upon. In those early days, however, Christian had to make do with self-belief, imagination and determination in order to create the first working prototype. Christian sketched the initial technical layout of the car himself and together with a small team working for meager wages, hand-modeled all components for the vehicle. The prototype was completed in 1996 – just two years after the project began.

The first prototype had a unique monocoque chassis with specially designed suspension, brakes, wishbones and uprights. It had a full interior with double-curved hardened side glass, fitted with electric windows. Today, more than 15 years after it was first built, the car still drives perfectly!

Rather like his cars, Christian’s company moved at a record pace. In 2002, Koenigsegg began series production of the CC8S model, a car that was fully homologated and crash tested for the European market. It proved to the world that it is indeed possible for a passionate, dedicated young man to rival the old, established supercar brands.