Koenigsegg has once again moved the bar on car performance world records, beating its own markers in four different acceleration and deceleration metrics.
For its latest record attempt, Koenigsegg opted for the Jesko Absolut. This is a speed-optimized version of the Jesko, dropping some of the downforce-generating components of its Attack sibling in order to make the car faster and more stable in a straight line at the expense of lap times.
That means that the enormous rear wing — which generates over 3,000lb of downforce as the Jesko approaches its on-paper 300mph top speed — is gone, along with the air dam on the hood, while the front end is toned down with a smaller splitter and fewer winglets. A pair of shark fins provides some resistance to lateral forces.
The car, named for company founder Christian von Koenigsegg’s father, uses a 5.1-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 developed from that of the Agera but employing a flat-plane crankshaft rather than the cross-plane in the previous car. On pump fuel it’s good for almost 1,300hp, but with the ethanol-rich E85 biofuel used on this record run the Jesko delivers 1,600hp to the rear wheels through a nine-speed gearbox.
For the record attempt, Koenigsegg returned to Orebro Airport where — just last year — the company’s own Regera hybrid had set new records to eclipse those set by the Agera RS back in 2017. Well, that and the Rimac Nevera’s brief reign at the top of the acceleration charts.
With Koenigsegg test driver Markus Lundh once again taking the wheel for the record run, Koenigsegg had to wait until 5am on the morning of Thursday June 27 for ideal conditions: low air temperature and still winds.
In just one run, the Jesko broke four world records, running from 0-400km/h in 18.82s and 0-250mph (402km/h) in 19.20s, as well as subsequently returning from 250mph to a dead stop in 28.27s — adding 0-400-0km/h in 27.83s to its bank of times. The Jesko actually reached almost 413km/h, for reasons which are unclear.
The 0-250-0mph and 0-400-0km/h times, verified by Racelogic, beat the Regera’s records from 2023 by 1.33s and 0.98s respectively — which doesn’t sound like all that much, but actually represents close to a 5% improvement.
Koenigsegg also provided a short video on the day, including an on-board of Lundh’s one and only run as well as some words from company founder and CEO Christian von Koenigsegg:
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