Koenigsegg Jesko

Koenigsegg Jesko at a glance

The Jesko follows the CC, CCX and Agera cars that made the Swedish company famous; see our Koenigsegg Agera R and Koenigsegg CCX articles and all models in the Koenigsegg catalogue.

Development and reveal

The Jesko was designed by Christian von Koenigsegg and Joachim Nordwall and named after Jesko von Koenigsegg, the founder's father. It was shown at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, and all planned build slots were sold before the show ended. Koenigsegg planned to build 40 to 50 cars per year.

Unlike earlier Koenigseggs, the Jesko was developed for homologation worldwide. A pre-series car was presented in July 2021, with customer deliveries first expected in spring 2022; the first car finally reached its owner in June 2023. The low-drag Jesko Absolut was revealed online on 3 March 2020, together with the four-seat Gemera.

The carbon fibre tub is 40 mm longer and 22 mm wider than that of the Agera, giving more leg and head room. The Jesko keeps typical Koenigsegg features: dihedral synchro-helix doors that swing up and out, a removable roof panel, and the "Autoskin" system that opens the doors and bonnet by remote control. A hydraulic lift raises both axles for extra ground clearance.

Engine: twin-turbo V8 on petrol or E85

The engine was developed from the Agera's twin-turbo V8. It has a displacement of 5,065 cc (bore 92 mm, stroke 95.25 mm), four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 8.6:1. A new 180-degree flat-plane crankshaft saved 5 kg and allowed the rev limit to rise from 8,250 to 8,500 rpm. Active engine mounts taken from the Regera reduce vibration in the cabin.

To reduce turbo lag, Koenigsegg added a 20-litre carbon fibre air tank and an electric compressor that supplies air at 20 bar to the turbochargers. Pressure sensors in each cylinder monitor combustion in real time.

Koenigsegg itself quotes the outputs in brake horsepower (954 kW = 1,280 bhp; 1,193 kW = 1,600 bhp). As with earlier Koenigseggs, the engine gives its full output only on E85 bioethanol fuel.

The Light Speed Transmission

The Jesko's gearbox, developed in-house, is called the Light Speed Transmission (LST). It has nine forward gears and seven wet multi-plate clutches: three on the input shaft and four on the output shaft. Instead of moving from one gear to the next in sequence, it can jump directly to any gear — Koenigsegg calls this "Ultimate Power on Demand". Gear changes take 20 to 30 milliseconds.

The LST weighs 90 kg and is at least 50 per cent shorter than the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox of the Agera. Because the rotating mass of the gearbox is large enough, the engine does not need a conventional flywheel. The driver changes gear with paddles on the steering column or with the selector.

Jesko Attack and aerodynamics

The Jesko Attack is the standard, track-oriented version. It has a large rear wing and a big carbon front splitter. Koenigsegg claims 800 kg of downforce at 249 km/h, 1,000 kg at 275 km/h and 1,400 kg at top speed. To control the car under such loads, the Attack uses Koenigsegg's Triplex dampers at both ends together with Öhlins dampers: the horizontal third damper at the rear stops the car from squatting under hard acceleration, and the front one stabilises the car at high speed. Active rear-wheel steering adds stability.

Standard wheels are forged aluminium centre-lock rims, 20 inches at the front and 21 inches at the rear, with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres; carbon fibre wheels and Cup 2 R tyres are options. Brakes are ventilated carbon-ceramic discs. The Attack set a lap of 2:56.97 at the Gotland Ring in Sweden and 1:24.86 at Laguna Seca.

Jesko Absolut: the low-drag version

The Absolut is built for top speed. The rear wing is replaced by two vertical fins, the front splitter and side winglets are removed and the rear is extended, making the car 85 mm longer. Downforce falls from 1,400 kg to 150 kg, and the drag coefficient is 0.278 with a frontal area of 1.88 m². According to Koenigsegg, the work took more than 3,000 hours of aerodynamic analysis and more than 5,000 hours of design and engineering.

Engine and gearbox are the same as in the Attack. The Absolut is 30 kg lighter, at 1,390 kg kerb weight. Koenigsegg says it is destined to be faster than any of its earlier cars; Wikipedia quotes an estimated top speed of about 500 km/h and higher theoretical values, but no official top speed run had been published by the time of writing.

A third version, the Jesko Sadair's Spear, is limited to 30 cars. It is named after the horse that Jesko von Koenigsegg rode in his last race as a jockey. It has a more extreme aero package, slightly more power and a lap time at the Gotland Ring 1.1 seconds faster than the Attack.

Records

The Absolut has set acceleration and braking records. On 26 June 2024 at Örebro Airport in Sweden, with Markus Lundh at the wheel, it accelerated from 0 to 400 km/h in 18.82 seconds and completed the 0–400–0 km/h sprint in 27.83 seconds. On 7 August 2025 it improved these times:

The Jesko was also named Hypercar of the Year at the BBC Top Gear Awards for 2022. The history of the company is told in our Koenigsegg history.

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