When talking about the greatest supercars of the last 30 years, most people identify models like the McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, and Ferrari Enzo. These exotics deserve their roses, for sure, one supercar, in particular, that doesn’t get the love it deserves is the Koenigsegg CCR. It’s easy to see why. The CCR was in production for all of two years — 2004 to 2006 — and the Swedish automaker only made 14 units of the model. There aren’t a lot of them to begin with, and the units that are still around are usually tucked away in some billionaire’s garage, away from public view. Make no mistake, though. The Koenigsegg CCR was a record-breaking monster that took down the almighty F1 as the fastest production car in the world. If that’s part of your résumé, you deserve to be recognized for it, and while it might be a little too late for some, YouTube channel Mr. JWW is shining a well overdue spotlight on one of the century’s greatest supercars.

What’s the background on the Koenigsegg CCR?

The Koenigsegg CCR burst into the scene at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show. Not only was it billed as the successor to the CC8S supercar, but more importantly, it was classified as the most powerful version of Koenigsegg’s CC lineup. Evidently, that comes with the territory of being powered by a 4.7-liter twin-supercharged V-8 engine that produced 806 horsepower and 679 pound-feet of torque, walloping numbers for a supercar that was released 16 years ago.

The CCR wasn’t just powerful for a Koenigsegg; it was one of the most powerful performance cars of its time, a fact that wasn’t lost on McLaren, which, at that time, boasted the fastest production car in the world: the F1.

What’s the history between the Koenigsegg CCR and the McLaren F1?

The McLaren F1 is regarded as the greatest supercar of all time. Not of its era. Of all time. A total of 106 F1 models were built during a production run that started in 1992 and ended in 1998. During its time in the market, the F1 set enough world records to make the Guinness Book of World Records dizzy. No record was as important, though, as the one the F1 set on March 31, 1998. On that day, the F1 became the fastest production car in the world after reaching a speed of 240.1 mph. Not only did it set the record, but it did so in devastating fashion, destroying the previous record of 217.1 mph that the Jaguar XJ220 held for the better part of the decade.

The F1’s story is important in telling the CCR’s story because the McLaren supercar’s status as the fastest production car in the world was untouched…that is, until the CCR showed up. In February 2005, at the Nardo racetrack in Italy, the Koenigsegg CCR hit a top speed of 241.1 mph, breaking the F1’s then seven-year record by an incredible one mph. Ask any McLaren F1 aficionado today about the Koenigsegg CCR, and you’re likely to get death stares, curse words, and combinations of the two.

Unfortunately for the CCR, it’s reign as the fastest production car in the world was short-lived. Only two months after breaking the McLaren F1’s record, the CCR’s record-breaking top speed was surpassed by an upstart French supercar that was still, at that time, a prototype. What was that French supercar? The Bugatti Veyron.

What’s so special about the Koenigsegg CCR that served as the star of Mr. JWW’s video?

We’ve established that in the course of the CCR’s two-year production run, Koenigsegg only made 14 units of the record-breaking supercar. Well, one of those 14 units is the one that’s prominently featured in Mr. JWW’s video. Even more incredible, it’s one of only five units of the CCR that was built in right-hand-drive specification, and it’s the only one of the five that wears the super-exclusive Koenigsegg Racing Green paint finish. In other words, this particular CCR is a singular model. It’s a true one-of-one.

We can drown in the misery of envy as we watch Mr. JWW take this Koenigsegg CCR out for a spin on the track. That feeling is perfectly understandable, especially in the context of how rare this model is. But we can also admire it from afar, as everyone who sees a CCR should. Not only is the Koenigsegg CCR one of the rarest supercars of the 21st century, but it also will be forever remembered as the supercar that took down the McLaren F1. That counts for a lot.