What is cubic capacity (CC)?

Cubic capacity (CC) is used to measure the size of an engine. It's calculated from the total volume of an engine's cylinders, and is usually measured in litres or cubic centimetres (cc). It used to be a general indication of how powerful an engine is, with a bigger cubic capacity leading to more power but, these days, things like turbochargers and hybrid systems mean that size doesn't matter quite as much as it used to.