Motor Australia – May 2019

82 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor

1000kg.ComparedtotheKoenigseggOne:1,thisisanincrease
of 30 percent,and 40 percentcomparedtotheAgeraRS.At
topspeed,downforceis1600kg– thatismorethanwhatthe
carweighs.
Forthecarnottobottomout,Koenigsegghasfittedthe
same typeof horizontally lyingsuspensionthat the Agera
usedfortherearaxlein2010.Theadaptivesuspensiongives
the caroptimal groundclearance athigh speeds, whileat
the same time the road holding is good even under low
pressureatlowerspeeds.Theusualdampersareotherwise
fullyelectronicallyadjustableOhlins.
Therearwheelscanalsoswiveluptothreedegrees,inthe
oppositedirectiontothefronts atlowspeedforincreased
agility, orinthesamedirectionat higherspeedsformore
stability.Thisprovidesbettergripinhigh-speedcorners.The
engine mounts are active,which can give higher comfort
whencruisingandmoredirectbehaviourwhenpressingon.
Thenewcarbon-fibrerimsareextremelylightweight,7.4kg
rearsand5.9kgfronts,each.Theyaresmallerthantherear
wheelsontheAgeraRS.NewlydevelopedaretheMichelin
PilotSportCup 2 Rboots– thestickiestroadtyreMichelin
has everdeveloped,theoneused byPorscheforits latest
Nurburgringrecordlaps.It’sa newpatternthatwillgive 10 per
centmoreroadcontactand,accordingtoMichelin,willlower
laptimesasmuchasiftheeffectwasincreasedby10-30per
cent– comparedtothebrand’susualCup2 tyres.
Theenginehas,ofcourse,alsobeenmodified,whysettle
for Koenigsegg One: 1 and its 1360 horses with E85?The
world’slightestcamshaftina V8isa goodstart.Andithasa
180 degreeangle,whichcanprovidemorepower,butalsoa
morepowerfulsoundandmorevibration– whichcanthus
counteracttheactivemotormounts.
The connecting rods are newly designed and extremely
lightweight.Thepistonsarealsoextremelylight.Thesystem
thatinjectshighlycompressedairintotheturbochargers,like
Volvo’sPowerPulse,willreduceturbolagandmakeit possible
tousetwolargeturbochargersinsteadoffoursmallerones.
Thesystemshouldalsoprovidefasterstart-upofthecatalysts.
Theengineisalsothefirstseriesproductionenginewith
three injectors percylinder. The thirdinjector is centrally
locatedandshouldprovidecoolingtothecylinders,cleaner
combustionandlessstressontheengineathighrevolutions.
Eachcylinderalsohasa built-inpressuresensor(firstinthe
worldaswell,ofcourse)whichshouldgivemoreflexibility
andbettercontrol.WithE85inthetank,thismeans1195kW
and1500Nm– whichisnotonlythebrand’sstrongestengine,
Koenigseggalsobelievesthatit isthemostpotentcombustion
engineinseriesproduction.
Andwhatdoesallthismeaninreality?WeaskedNiklasLilja
whohasthehighspeedrecordwithanAgeraRSof477km/h.
“IthinkthatKoenigsegg’scarsarea littleundervaluedasroad
carsandI thinkwecouldbeatmanyrecordswiththeAgera
RS.Butthiswillbeevensharper.Lowerweightandlotsof
downforceonthefrontwheels.”
Whatrecordsdoyouwanttobeat?“Therearemanytracks
thatitwouldbefuntotesttheJeskoon.ButtheNurburgring
shouldbepossible in 6 minutes 30 seconds. Butthereare
manyfastcompetitors.”
Dream lap time? “Six minutes...”
At the same time, the team worked on the show car, which
was also unveiled at Geneva before embarking on an around-
the-world tour to show it off. Niklas dreams of the first real test
car, which he will aim to set records with. Construction of this
car will start in the next few months. Production of customer
Jeskos will, however, only start next year with deliveries

in2021, and there are already orders for 80 (including a

rumoured four orders fromAustralia). The factory is fully

workingandChristianisplanningforthefuturewiththenew

slightlycheaperKoenigseggcarswhichwillbepartlybuiltin

Trollhattan,togetherwithNEVS.

“TheybecomerealKoenigseggcars,butdifferent.Designed

tobeeasiertobuild,buttheywillnotcompetewiththecars

webuildtoday.”

Finally,I cannothelpaskingChristianwhytheJeskodoes

nothaveanykindofelectricmotor.“Batteriesarestillheavy

and an electric car does not sound as good. We wanted

tocelebrate bybuilding the roughest and fastest internal

combustionenginewecould.AndifyoudriveitonE85you

arefinewhenit comestoemissionsandcarbondioxide–

maybeevenbetter than anelectric carif youinclude the

batteryproduction.”

Is there no new Koenigsegg after this, without any form of

electrification? “No” is the answer from the man who waits

impatiently for his new Tesla Model 3.

So it is full speed ahead like never before. But at the

same time, the Jesko is a car reminiscent of its origin. The

passion and the belief that one can succeed with what one is

passionate about. And that is not always easy.

TOP

Creatorand the

created.Koenigsegg

saystwo large

turbochargers

areassisted by

compressed air for

rapidresponse

OPPOSITE

Theboomerang-

shapeddouble back

wingisactive and

designedto provide

maximum downforce

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