Koenigsegg has snatched back the 0–400–0km/h record for a road legal car a month after losing it to Croatia’s Rimac Nevera R.
The Swedish hypercar maker set the new mark on August 7 at Örebro Airfield, where factory driver Markus Lundh piloted a Jesko Absolut from standstill to 400km/h and back to zero in 25.21 seconds. That’s 0.58 seconds quicker than the Nevera R managed on July 9, and faster than Koenigsegg’s previous best set in June last year.
The latest run used the same Jesko Absolut as in 2024, but with fresh software upgrades the company has labelled Absolut Overdrive. Koenigsegg said the changes will be offered to all owners, promising real-world gains rather than one-off record tricks.
“The run demonstrated the power of cross functional teamwork and exceptional communication between our in-house developed drivetrain systems,” said Christian von Koenigsegg, founder and CEO.
“It’s a testament to the synergies between our engineering and development teams, our cutting-edge software architecture and avant garde class leading mechanical solutions.”
Conditions on the day weren’t perfect. Earlier rain left the tarmac patchy and drying in places, making grip unpredictable at high speeds. Even so, the Absolut’s 1,193kW twin-turbo 5.0l V8, slippery aerodynamics and revised traction control kept it hooked up.
The car also posted a 0–250–0mp/h time of 25.67 seconds, trimming more than 2.5 seconds from last year’s 0–400–0 run of 27.83 seconds in the same vehicle.
“Our software engineers have been tweaking and adjusting the light speed transmission and engine management system and have introduced a new torque control system which manages the grip of the Absolut like never before,” Von Koenigsegg said.
“That we achieve the level of performance with a production car using a combustion engine with rear wheel drive only, beating all four-wheel drive electric cars in a straight line, is almost magical and shows ‘truths’ can be rewritten.”
If history is any guide, Rimac won’t leave the challenge unanswered.
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