Koenigsegg Absolut breaks new 400km/h record

ACCELERATING from 0-100km/h really quickly is challenging with the current production car record at around 1.74 seconds for the fully electric 1900hp (1454kW) Rimac Nevera hypercar.

But going 0-400-0 km/h (yes, back to zero!) is something else again as it requires not only monumental accelerative power but something similar in braking, aero and a driver with nerves of steel…. and potentially a g-suit.

Swedish specialist automotive engineering and manufacturing outfit Koenigsegg has just knocked off the 0-400-0km/h record with its Jesko Absolut model in 27.83 seconds at an airfield in Örebro, Sweden. The time bettered a previous 2023 effort in a Koenigsegg Regera car that clocked 28.81.

In achieving the feat, the Jesko Absolut confirmed its status as an innovative extreme performance car that is fully homologated and can be driven on the road (subject to local restrictions).

The Jesko Absolut, was driven by Koenigsegg test driver, Markus Lundh and in Absolut trim is designed specifically for straight-line speed with a body designed with a smaller frontal area, limited and targeted venting for the release of high-pressure air and no active aero, all intended to minimize drag.

The Jesko Absolut has one of the lowest drag ratings in the hypercar world with a Cd of just 0.278.

Preliminary runs were conducted on June 26, however the ambient air and track temperatures were higher than optimal to record the times Koenigsegg engineers believed the Jesko Absolut was capable of.

In one particular run during the record attempt the Absolut went from a standstill to 412km/h and back to zero that may be a record in itself but the official (metric) records for a fully homologated, standard production car are: 0-400-0km/h – 27.83 seconds, 0-400km/h – 18.82 seconds.

Motivation for the mid-engine coupe comes from an E85 burning twin-turbocharged petrol V8 engine displacing 5.0 litres with a lightweight flat plane crankshaft and dry sump that generates 1195kW and 1500Nm fed to the rear wheels through a nine-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Turbo boost pressure of up to 2.2bar (31psi) is pumped from the ceramic ball bearing turbos through a carbon-fibre intake exiting through an Inconel exhaust. Total engine weight is 189kg.

The chassis is a carbon fibre monocoque with aluminium honeycomb and integrated fuel tanks incorporating a Koenigsegg safety cell with integrated crumple zones.

The two-door, two-seat body with removable hard top is a pre-impregnated carbon-fibre/Kevlar construct with lightweight sandwich reinforcements fitted with carbon-fibre sport bucket seats with memory foam.

The record setting car was in “standard”, as-delivered condition, running on E85 pump fuel and standard Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyres. The only modifications made were the addition of a roll cage for driver safety and a single race seat, the driver’s preference for such events.

Data was recorded using industry-standard timing equipment from Racelogic and verified by Racelogic HQ in the UK.

Christian von Koenigsegg said of the record run – and the potential for more, “This record run validated the accuracy of the simulated and calculated performance of the Jesko Absolut, which gives us great confidence in its ability to outright be the fastest, fully homologated production car in the world”.

“Now it is all down to tyre testing, development, and approval, before we finally can make an attempt at that record. In parallel, we plan to see what kind of records the Jesko Attack can achieve given its astonishing track performance,” he concluded.