The Swedes at Koenigsegg manufacture carbon fiber parts for Tesla vehicles, and these are now available for order. Contrary to what you might believe at first, this is not an idea that Elon came up with after a Twitter discussion, but a project that was started by Unplugged Performance, a tuning company.
Instead of making a costly investment in acquiring more tooling that enables them to build large carbon fiber components at scale, Unplugged Performance teamed up with Koenigsegg. The Swedes already have a proprietary carbon fiber weave, and now they offer parts for Model 3, Model S, Model Y, and Model X Tesla vehicles.
For now, the range is composed of trunk spoilers, which are available in different configurations, but there is also a set of front fenders available. As usual with carbon fiber parts, these are not cheap.
The most affordable component starts at $1,745, while the most expensive, which is a set of wide front fenders, is $8,845. Those fenders will allow owners to fit 315-mm tires on the front axle without any modifications to the fenders.
Moreover, the ones made out of carbon fiber also have a claimed increase in downforce after wind tunnel development, but with no mentioned impact on range. On the other hand, there is no such thing as affordable, hand-assembled carbon fiber parts. But let us be optimistic and say not yet.
The range is called UP x KAM, and the parts are available in limited quantities. The two partners have confirmed that they will release additional collaborations later this year. In other words, as long as these parts are sold like there's no tomorrow, both partners will be motivated to develop more.
It is worth noting that Koenigsegg's carbon fiber weave is pre-impregnated with epoxy resin, and then it is cut by computer-aided machines to the geometry of the required product. From there, specialists assemble them by hand into the specialized tooling in the autoclave.
Once extracted, each component is trimmed to eliminate unwanted elements, and then sanded to be ready for its UV clear coat. A special sticker to mark the collaboration is also applied.
Sadly, the sticker is not sold separately, as many would have wanted, but we are sure that other aftermarket suppliers will take care of that aspect. If you were wondering, yes, it would be tacky to fit that sticker to a stock Tesla.
For now, the range is composed of trunk spoilers, which are available in different configurations, but there is also a set of front fenders available. As usual with carbon fiber parts, these are not cheap.
The most affordable component starts at $1,745, while the most expensive, which is a set of wide front fenders, is $8,845. Those fenders will allow owners to fit 315-mm tires on the front axle without any modifications to the fenders.
Moreover, the ones made out of carbon fiber also have a claimed increase in downforce after wind tunnel development, but with no mentioned impact on range. On the other hand, there is no such thing as affordable, hand-assembled carbon fiber parts. But let us be optimistic and say not yet.
The range is called UP x KAM, and the parts are available in limited quantities. The two partners have confirmed that they will release additional collaborations later this year. In other words, as long as these parts are sold like there's no tomorrow, both partners will be motivated to develop more.
It is worth noting that Koenigsegg's carbon fiber weave is pre-impregnated with epoxy resin, and then it is cut by computer-aided machines to the geometry of the required product. From there, specialists assemble them by hand into the specialized tooling in the autoclave.
Once extracted, each component is trimmed to eliminate unwanted elements, and then sanded to be ready for its UV clear coat. A special sticker to mark the collaboration is also applied.
Sadly, the sticker is not sold separately, as many would have wanted, but we are sure that other aftermarket suppliers will take care of that aspect. If you were wondering, yes, it would be tacky to fit that sticker to a stock Tesla.