Two years after it made its debut at the 2019 Geneva International Auto Show, the Koenigsegg Jesko is finally ready for production. To mark the event, Koenigsegg showed off a pre-production Jesko finished in a bright orange color that was offered on Koenigsegg’s CCR in the company’s early days.
Customer deliveries of the Jesko are due to start in early 2022 and just 125 examples are destined to be built. All build slots are gone, despite the car starting at $3 million.
Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut (left) and Koenigsegg Jesko
For those readers wiping their tears on a blank check, there may still be a way to secure a Jesko. A handful of build slots for exotics like the Jesko are usually earmarked for dealer partners, so don’t be surprised if examples start showing up for sale—with huge markups—in the near future.
Koenigsegg has two versions of the Jesko. The standard version designed for top track times and a low-downforce version designed for top speed runs. The latter, known as the Jesko Absolut, can be identified by its missing rear wing. The Jesko Absolut should be able to crack the 300-mph barrier, and Koenigsegg has stated that it will never attempt to build a faster car. Buyers that opt for the standard version will be treated to more than 3,000 pounds of downforce through numerous aerodynamic elements that adorn the car’s body.
Koenigsegg Jesko
Both versions sport a 5.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8. With E85 in the tank, the hypercar makes 1,600 hp. Filling the car up with gasoline drops the power rating to 1,280 hp. The engine pairs with a 9-speed automatic that Koenigsegg calls the Light Speed Transmission. Technology within the transmission allows the Jesko to skip gears, allowing it to drop seamlessly from, say, seventh to fourth. The transmission never sees fifth or sixth gear in this example.
“Because of its seamless shifting, whether up or down, everything just happens much faster,” Markus Lundh, a Koenigsegg test driver, said in a statement. “There are no delays, it is very responsive and behaves exactly the way you want it to.”
Koenigsegg Jesko pre-production model
Unlike some of Koenigsegg’s earlier models, the Jesko has been homologated for roads around the world, which means that, yes, we will see at least one in the United States.
Alongside the Jesko, Koenigsegg is building the Regera. The company is also continuing work on another model, the Gemera, its first four-seater. The Gemera combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-3 with a sophisticated electric system to generate a combined 1,700 hp. Koenigsegg plans to build 300 Gemeras, though there’s no word on when production will start.