The Swedes have made a bold claim that the Jesko Absolut, the latest model from Koenigsegg, will surpass the top speed of any other car they have ever built. It’s been four years since Christian von Koenigsegg made this promise, yet the exact speed remains a mystery. Koenigsegg asserts that this performance will not only outdo their own models, but also any other fully homologated car that came before it. This puts them in direct competition with the likes of Bugatti, Rimac, and Hennessey, all of whom have aspirations of reaching speeds over 300 mph (480 kph).
The first customer-spec Jesko Absolut has recently been delivered to the official Koenigsegg dealer in Switzerland. While the odds of getting concrete numbers are slim, enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting any information about the car’s performance. Although it may be some time before we see this privately-owned example breaking land speed records, the anticipation is high.
This particular Jesko Absolut features Koenigsegg’s proprietary Koenigsegg Naked Carbon, which reduces the car’s weight as much as possible. Despite this, the car still weighs 1.39 tons. The body is made of pre-impregnated carbon fiber/Kevlar and lightweight sandwich reinforcements. The KNC treatment removes the lacquer from the carbon weave, making the fibers exposed and reducing the weight by 20 kg (45 lbs).
The combination of the car’s low mass, hyper-efficient aerodynamics, and powerful twin-turbo V8 engine with the Lightspeed Transmission should help it exceed top speed limits. At full speed, the Absolut generates 150 kg (330 lbs) of downforce. Even at 250 kph (155 mph), the sleek Jesko experiences only 40 kg of air resistance.
To put this into perspective, the Jesko Attack, which shares the same engine and transmission setup but weighs slightly more at 1.42 tons, exerts 1.4 tons of downforce at maximum speed. This is over nine times more than the Absolut.
The car featured in the video on Instagram showcases a super-lightweight flat-plane crankshaft that weighs only 12.5 kilos (27 lbs). This crankshaft can handle the engine’s peak performance of 1,600 PS (1,578 hp) and 1,500 Nm (1,106 lb-ft) of torque when running on E85 fuel.
As we eagerly await more information about the Jesko Absolut’s top speed, it’s clear that Koenigsegg has created a remarkable machine that pushes the boundaries of automotive performance.
