Koenigsegg: Jesko 310mph attempt ‘in a year or two’

The driver might be the weak point. Or the road conditions. Or indeed something else, but not the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut.

Speaking to Top Gear at the non-existent Geneva Motor Show, boss Christian von Koenigsegg said his new Jesko Absolut – the absolute fastest a Koenigsegg will ever be – won’t fail.

And that it’ll go faster than you could possibly ever need. “We’re thinking the performance of the car will not stop us reaching our hoped-for records,” he told TG. “It’s more than fast enough. We actually don’t even want to build anything faster. Ever.”

Indeed, projections indicate the 1,600bhp+ Jesko Absolut will go “way, way over 500kmh”. Which, in old money, is 310mph. And which, in this scary fast new world of ours, is quicker than That Other Car From Molsheim.

When does CvK reckon on putting that claim to the test? “It’s that process again of reaching out to authorities, police forces, trying to shut down a good road,” he told us. “So it might take a year or two, something like that.

“But the aim is for us to prove what the car is capable of.”

It would also prove to be a smidge faster than the Bugatti; a car that famously did 304mph last year. “I’m sure they drove that fast,” CvK said, “my question is, is that the top speed the customer cars will have?”

It’s not just Bugatti either. Other rivals like Hennessey and his forthcoming Venom F5, and the SSC Tuatara are all lining up for a crack at the title. “With these magical flat numbers [of speed] it’s always cool to be first,” CvK said.

“I think the Tuatara looks extremely slippery and has similar drag numbers to what we have. Then it’s a matter, from my point of view, of are we fully homologated. Is it the customer car spec. High speed stability and driveability.

“But good for them, and let’s see what happens!”

Check out the video above for the full interview and debrief on that wild Jesko Absolut, and then watch this space...