Your move, Rimac: Koenigsegg has recaptured the 0-400-0kmh world record

Koenigsegg has not only recaptured the world record for the fastest car to accelerate and then decelerate from 0-400-0kmh, it has also found the time to throw out a little shade.

“Beating four-wheel drive electric cars in a straight line is almost magical and shows that ‘truths’ can be rewritten,” said big boss Christian von Koenigsegg.

That ‘four-wheel-drive’ reference is directed squarely at Rimac and the astonishing Nevera, which only last month claimed the 0-400-0kmh record with a time of 25.79s. In July, that was 2.04s quicker than Koenigsegg managed last year in the Jesko Absolut.

But it’s August now, and Koenigsegg has fired straight back with a time of 25.21s in the Absolut. That’s what you call a proper return volley.

And get this, test driver Markus Lundh laid down that time of 25.21s on a drying track following a rain shower, meaning he had to contend with what Koenigsegg calls ‘sub-optimal’ conditions and what TopGear.com calls ‘bloody terrifying’.

Still, complete it he did. He also reeled off a few more times while he was there: 0-400kmh in 16.77s, 400-0kmh in 8.44s, 0-250-0mph in 25.67s, 0-250mph in 17.18s, and 250-0mph in 8.49s.

The gains came as a result of “improved software strategies” coded into the same Jesko Absolut that claimed the record back in 2024, and the result of that is customer Jesko Absoluts will soon be given these improved software strategies. Koenigsegg’s calling them ‘Absolut Overdrive’. Want a quick recap of what customers experience? A 5.1-litre flat-plane-crank V8 producing 1,578bhp and 1,106lb ft, a rev limit of 8,500rpm, and a 0-62mph time of 2.5s. Flat out... well, Koenigsegg reckons it's theoretically capable of 300mph+, and that's the record we're all waiting for.

“Our software engineers have been tweaking and adjusting the Light Speed Transmission and engine management system and have introduced a new torque control system which manages the grip of the Absolut like never before,” CvK added.

Your move, Rimac.