The car is the first one from the Swedish supercar maker that uses the company's new naked carbon fibre.
Koenigsegg has just revealed an all-new Regera. And we mean revealed. The car is the first one from the Swedish supercar maker that uses the company’s new naked carbon fibre.
For years after automakers starting using the lightweight composite material to make cars stronger and lighter, the carbon weave had to be hidden. That’s because UV rays from the sun didn’t do it any favours in the long term. The surface would degrade and bad things would happen. Then exposed-weave carbon became a thing after new UV-protective clear-coat paints capable of protecting it were developed. GM, somewhat famously, helped debut the product on the Corvette ZR1, where it was said to cost more than $15,000 per litre.
But it still left a thick clear layer on top of the carbon. You could see the weave, but not touch. Now Koenigsegg has taken away that layer.
The Koenigsegg Naked Carbon, or KNC, has no lacquer, varnish, paint, or any other coating added to the carbon part. That exposes the weave as much as possible. Just leaving off that last layer, though, wasn’t enough. Normally, a finished carbon fibre piece comes out of the autoclave with a thin layer of the epoxy resin. The clear resin that holds the carbon fibre in place and helps give it strength.
Koenigsegg workers actually polish off that outer layer of resin to make the KNC. It’s hand sanded, stroke by stroke, then polished until the layer is gone.
Christian von Koenigsegg says the naked carbon “takes the idea of visible carbon fibre to a whole new level, revealing a beautiful lustre and a very silky finish.”
The company says that the material takes on a more graphite appearance since the strands are exposed. And that the light bounces off of each strand in a different way, giving the finish a more complex look. Koenigsegg also says that the body is cold to the touch since the insulating epoxy and lacquer are gone.
They’ve made winglets and splitters using the technique before, but this is the first time for an entire car made using the process. Each part had to be perfect in order for it to remain durable and visually appealing.
To make sure the panels could handle the UV, they were tested in the summer sun for multiple years, as well as facing winter weather and cold temperatures. Removing the exterior layer has some side effects too, like trimming 20 kg from the curb weight of the car.
The first naked carbon car was ordered by the Swiss distributor for the brand and has been delivered to its owner.
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Keyword: Koenigsegg Regera Gets Naked. Naked Carbon, That is