Christian von Koenigsegg wants to take the Jesko Absolut to VW Group’s Ehra-Lessien test track.
It was March 2020 when Koenigsegg unveiled the Jesko Absolut with the promise of hitting the magical 300-mph mark. In fact, the Swedish brand pledged no other future model would be able to top it, much like Bugatti has stopped chasing speed records after the Chiron Super Sport 300+. While the folks from Molsheim have managed to hit 304.77 mph (490 km/h) – albeit in only one direction – we have yet to see a top speed run with the fastest egg ever.
Don’t worry, it’s still happening. Christian von Koenigsegg sat down and had a chat with Top Gear magazine and expressed the company’s commitment to go full throttle in the Jesko Absolute. He even said “it would be a shame not to show what it can do” given what the simulations and real-life performance the hypercar have delivered thus far. However, it’s easier said than done.
“At the same time, it’s really scary stuff. When we did the prevailing record of a homologated production car in two directions at 277 mph in Nevada on an open road [with the Agera RS], it’s just super dangerous. I would like to have a closed-off area, maybe like Ehra-Lessien where it’s very wide, where you can take out some of that side of it because it’s scary enough anyway. We’d definitely want to have our hand over it just for safety reasons. Checking the venue, the road, having an experienced driver.”
The company’s top brass was referring to the Volkswagen Group’s Ehra-Lessien test track in Lower Saxony, Germany where unrestricted versions of the Chiron Super Sport 300+ and the Veyron Super Sport before it made history. Of course, one must wonder whether VW would be so kind as to allow Koenigsegg to use its circuit and dethrone the W16 hypercar on its home turf. Safety is also a concern because should something go wrong during the attempt, it would make VW look bad.
Christian took a jab at how some other speed machines chasing records are too extreme, up to the point they lack airbags and are therefore not homologated for public roads. He was obviously referring to the Hennessey Venom F5. He made the point about how engineering the Jesko Absolut to comply with all regulations adds complexity and weight while reducing the engine’s power.
“If you bring that [non-homologated cars] into the mix, you can bring in these ‘rocket cars’ from the salt flats – they don’t have airbags, or emissions controls or OBD either. And they go 1,000 mph.”
