Koenigsegg Jesko review

The hypercar’s hypercar. Of all the cars that have earned the right to call themselves hypercars, this is the most hyper. We know, hard call to make, but we’d argue Koenigsegg understands and fulfils the brief better than anyone else. Three things: Artistry, Innovation and Speed. 

Those are the three pillars a hypercar is constructed on. Artistry: they need to be beyond the common understanding of luxury and exclusivity. Innovation: whether it’s in materials or mechanics they need to showcase new thinking. Speed: you’ve got this one, right? Hard to pin a number on, since an 864bhp Pagani Utopia is emphatically a hypercar, yet a 1,016bhp Ferrari SF90 isn’t, but speed needs to be wrapped up with drama.

No-one blends those three elements better than Koenigsegg. And Koenigsegg has never done it better than the new Jesko. 

WHAT ARE THE INNOVATIONS HERE?

The main one is the Light Speed Transmission, Christian von Koenigsegg’s very own seven clutch, nine-speed gearbox. It is ludicrously complex. Unlike a twin clutch it doesn’t need to pass through each gear in sequence, but – aided by software logic and a three shaft design – can skip straight from seventh to third almost instantaneously because all the gears are constantly engaged and ready. Nor does it need a flywheel, hence its appetite for revving like a superbike. Hit the throttle in neutral and it smashes to the 8,500rpm rev limiter in 0.2 seconds. It also only weighs 90kg and has to cope with prodigious amounts of power. It’s quite a remarkable feat of engineering.

HOW MUCH POWER ARE WE TALKING? 

1,263bhp and 1,106lb ft from Koenigsegg’s own 5.1-litre twin turbo V8. Which, if you stick E85 super juice in it rather than conventional pump gas, will develop 1,578bhp. We had the good go-go gear in it when we drove it.  

The Jesko – named for Christian’s father who helped him start the company 28 years ago – comes in two versions. You can choose from the be-winged Attack or the low drag Absolut. Or, at around £2.85 million a pop, perhaps have one of each. Only 125 Jeskos (both Attack and Absolut) will be built at a rate of around 30-40 per year. All are already spoken for.

ATTACK AND ABSOLUT? I’M GUESSING TRACK AND ROAD VERSIONS?

Kinda. Both are road legal, the difference is one of approach. In the Absolut you can approach corners faster. In the Attack you get to go round them faster. 1,000kg of downforce at 171mph and a max of 1,400kg makes it the one for hot laps, fast cornering and general Stigging about. The more slippery long tail Absolut, complete with wheel spats for a 3mph speed boost and a mere 150kg of downforce, is your straightliner. 

The world’s fastest in fact, the Absolut having set the 0-400-0kmh record back in July 2024, its time of 27.83secs two seconds faster than the Rimac Nevera that we all thought was intergalatically fast and essentially unbeatable. 

WHAT OTHER NUMBERS DO I NEED TO KNOW?

That all the horsepower comes from an engine weighing just 189kg. That although torque peaks at 5,100rpm, you have over 737lb ft available anywhere between 2,700 and 6,170rpm. That the carbon monocoque has a torsional rigidity of 65,000Nm per degree of twist. And that it weighs 1,420kg with fluids, giving it a power to weight ratio of 1,111bhp/tonne. So it beats the magic 1:1 ratio of having a horsepower for each kilo of mass. By way of comparison, a 911 Turbo S has a power to weight ratio of 391bhp/tonne. 

CHRISTIAN DOES LIKE HIS CARBON FIBRE, DOESN’T HE?

More than that, the quality of it is utterly sensational. You can have your Jesko painted, but then you’d be covering up this level of craftsmanship, why would you bother? The carbon bodywork covers a full carbon tub, there are carbon ceramic brakes plus Koenigsegg were was the first to develop carbon wheels. Another innovation, they weigh less than 7kg corner and a set will cost you £100,000.

And it’s the same inside the fairly sparse cockpit – lashings of silvery exposed carbon. But plenty of neat features too: the key magnetises to the dash, the small screen is mounted to the steering binnacle so moves with the wheel, but the graphics in it remain upright. Clever. 

WHERE DOES THIS FIT IN THE KOENIGSEGG LINEAGE?

It’s a direct replacement for the Agera, which was built from 2011-2018, and before that the CC cars (CC8S, CCR and CCX). This is Koenigsegg’s supercar line, while the Regera and Gemera are the grand tourers. 

And just look at the other innovations that Koenigsegg has brought through, such as the Regera’s single speed Direct Drive Transmission – which also necessitated the unique HydraCoup hydraulic torque converter. Then there’s the 800bhp Dark Matter e-motor for the forthcoming Gemera or even the wonderful dihedral doors fitted across the range. Koenigsegg does things its own way, and by and large, they work brilliantly. 

AND DOES IT DRIVE LIKE A SUPERCAR? 

This may sound like we are damning it with faint praise, but yes it does. Brakes like one, turns like one, grips like one. It’s as sweet a handling car as any McLaren or Ferrari. More McLaren actually, such are the levels of communication. The intimidation? That is there if you choose to keep the pedal buried. Because if you need convincing about what separates a supercar from a hypercar besides a few million quid, keep this pinned above 100mph. 

We’ll go into more detail on this in the driving tab, but in our tests, the Attack accelerated from 50-150mph in 5.66secs, did 100-200mph in 8.18secs. Think on that for a second. It then proceeded to set the production car lap record around Dunsfold in Stig’s be-gloved hands, turning in a 1min 10.9sec lap. 

WHAT COULD I HAVE INSTEAD?

You’re not approaching this like a hypercar buyer. For them the answer is always ‘and’ rather than ‘or’. They buy everything. There are very few other successful boutique brands, the major names being Pagani and Bugatti who both emphasise the artistic elements arguably more than Koenigsegg, and GMA, which eschews conventional artistry all together to focus on driving purity. 

Then you’ve got the bigger brands with their one-offs: Ferrari’s latest F80, Porsche’s Mission X or McLaren’s W1. All cars with specific remits, but none with quite the showmanship of the Jesko.  

If one car can be said to define the hypercar class, then it’s the Koenigsegg Jesko. Its combination of engineering innovation, stunning design and raw, shocking power is unlike anything else. If you’re concerned that hypercars are too much about the show and not enough about the go, the Jesko will put you right. It’s a fabulously rewarding car to drive, more usable and less intimidating than you’d ever expect, cleverly engineered and in every way exciting to look at, be in and pore over. 

It’s all even more of an achievement when you remember that hypercars are built in tiny numbers. These are boutique businesses that don’t have the money and resources to develop cars as rigorously as larger marques. Why would they need to after all? All these cars do is loop around sleek city blocks looking for an audience to impress. There’s so much more to the Jesko experience than that. The vibe here is lux Le Mans racer.