Swedish super car not for chickens

Going from selling frozen chickens to building a super car might seem a big leap, but not for Christian von Koenigsegg of Sweden.

On a bleak winter day, his fire-red 806 horsepower CCR is hardly visible as it powers through the driving rain at over 124mph (198kph), racing along the former runway the firm uses for tests in southern Sweden.

ThatÕs only half the speed the low-slung US$665,000 (Bt26.4 million) machine is capable of. In February, the CCR clocked an official speed of 241 mph, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records and just piping the McLaren F1Õs 240.4mph.

Since then, VolkswagenÕs Bugatti Veyron has claimed the speed top spot. VW says the car officially clocked 252.8mph in May although debate still rages among car aficionados about who officially has the fastest wheels.

ÒThey say they have driven 400kph already ... but we still hold the record title with Guinness,Ó Koenigsegg said. He hopes the CCR will top that speed before next autumn.

ÒTheoretically, this car can go 407kph,Ó he said. ÒBut itÕs not as easy as you think. You have to have a really, really long straight.Ó

The 33-year-old says he first dreamed of building a super car when he was five. But after studying economics, his first venture was trading frozen chickens, plastic bags and perfume.

ÒReally, anything I could find a market for and a supplier and where I could make some money in between,Ó he said in an interview at the companyÕs factory. But he was soon bored. ÒI had proved I could be a successful businessman, but what I really wanted to do was build a car.Ó

His company has more orders than it can handle and has already built 26 super cars.