Motor Australia – May 2019

80 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor

The chain reaction almost never ends, but it is also the
philosophy of Koenigsegg. If you sell cars for around £2.5m
(AUD$4m) each, everything must be perfect.
“The engineers construct the whole car together. It is not
good, for example, for those who develop the suspension
to just do their bit. Everything must work optimally with
other parts, which in turn affect other parts. In this way, we
constantly find new solutions.”
Christian gives us a tour and explains all the details, like the
new gearbox with seven couplings and nine gears. It is lighter,
smaller and faster than any other “double-clutch ’box”. It
should also be cheaper to build than normal gearboxes.
You can switch from any gear to any other in milliseconds,
it is a so-called “Light Speed Transmission”. Press hard on
the gear selector lever and the car’s computer will find the
optimum gear that is lightly placed in position and maximum
power delivered. It’s a bit like an electric motor, which always
gives everything directly. The fact that the gearbox is compact
means that the aerodynamics can be improved and the weight
distribution gets better. It weighs only 90kg against the 140kg
a conventional double-coupling ’box can weigh.
When I ask if they tested the gearbox and why no-one has
used it before, Christian replies, “I don’t understand why no
one has done this before, there are only benefits. We have run
it in a simulator lots of times, but I would be disappointed if
we didn’t burn some clutches when we start driving!”
You should also be able to “switch over” with the paddles, by
pushing past a resistor. The feature is best for getting super-
acceleration in a straight line. When braking, you often want

to use the engine brake and change over through the ’box.

“We are going to build the world’s fastest street-legal car in

all markets,” Christian says happily.

The car must then be able to be registered in any country

and be able to run in normal traffic. It receives all modern

luxury equipment that you may need for everyday driving,

while it must also meet all safety requirements and exhaust

regulations – just like a ‘normal’ car.

But it is on racetracks that it should show. What visually

distinguishes the Jesko is the huge front splitter and the

boomerang-shaped double rear wing. The aerodynamics have

been optimised to suit the design.

The designer, Joachim Nordwall, has been able to adapt

to the aerodynamics, creating little resistance. Of course, the

legal requirements have also been affected – nothing must

stand out too much. However, it is very much Koenigsegg over

the forms, with the special front window and the proportions

remaining an integral part. It looks a bit like a slightly beaten

Koenigsegg, with racing ambitions.

The rear wing has been optimised to reduce turbulence

over the body. The front splitter has two small “aircraft wing

brakes” underneath which can be folded out to reduce ground

pressure if you want a higher top speed. In theory one could

control the flaps individually.

The aim of aerodynamics has been to maximise downforce

and cooling while at the same time the air resistance should be

low. Even the rear-view mirrors contribute 20kg of downforce

to the rear of the car.

At 250km/h, the downforce is 800kg and at 275km/h it is

ONE

The interior was far

from finished when we

visited, but the centre

console features

a new design with

touch-screen tech

TWO

At just 12.5kg, the

Jesko’s 180-degree

flat-plane crankshaft

is the world’s lightest

and allows the 5.0-litre

V8 to rev to 8500rpm

THREE

Koenigsegg’s Triplex

suspension (from the

Agera) is used with

a third, horizontal

damper being added

near the rear window

to combat squat

BELOW

Jesko is 30mm taller

and 40mm longer than

the Agera, allowing for

a bigger cabin

➜

AT TOP SPEED, DOWNFORCE IS 1600KG – OR

MORE THAN WHAT THE JESKO WEIGHS