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Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Top Speed
Koenigsegg says the Jesko Absolut is built to do 500 km/h (310 mph), and its own simulations put the theoretical ceiling as high as 531 km/h. Nobody has driven it that fast. There has been no controlled top-speed attempt, so the figure is a calculation, not a result. The fastest this car has actually been recorded going is 373 km/h (232 mph), as a trap speed at the end of a half-mile run on 6 June 2026. We list the claim because Koenigsegg makes it, and we put what the car has really done right next to it.
Full specifications
| Engine | 5.1L twin-turbo V8 |
|---|---|
| Power on E85 | 1,600 hp |
| Power on pump petrol | 1,280 hp |
| Torque on E85 | 1,500 Nm |
| Torque on pump petrol | 1,000 Nm |
| Redline | 8,500 rpm |
| Transmission | 9-speed Light Speed Transmission, 7 wet clutches |
| Drag coefficient | Cd 0.278 |
| Downforce | 150 kg, against 1,400 kg for the Jesko Attack |
| Body | 85 mm longer tail, no rear wing, twin fins |
| Claimed top speed | 500 km/h, unverified |
| Theoretical ceiling | 531 km/h, simulated |
| Fastest recorded speed | 373 km/h, half-mile trap |
| Quarter mile | 8.54 sec at 306 km/h |
| Half mile | 12.76 sec at 373 km/h |
| Record date | 6 June 2026, Angelholm |
| Record driver | Markus Lundh |
| Production run | 125 Jeskos, Attack and Absolut combined |
| Price | Around 3 million dollars |
About the Jesko Absolut
The car is named after Jesko von Koenigsegg, Christian von Koenigsegg's father, who put up the money that got the company off the ground in the first place. Absolut is just the Swedish word for absolute, and it tells you which of the two Jeskos you are looking at.
The other one is the Jesko Attack, and the two are built to do opposite things. The Attack is a track car, and it generates 1,400 kg of downforce, which is roughly the weight of the car pressing it into the road. The Absolut generates 150 kg. That is not a small change, it is close to throwing downforce away entirely, and it is deliberate. Downforce is made by pushing air around, and pushing air around costs you speed on a straight.
So the wing came off and was replaced by two small fins that keep the car pointing straight without dragging on it. The front splitter and side winglets went. The tail was stretched by 85 mm so the air leaving the back has somewhere gentle to go instead of tumbling. Even the rear wheels get covers that clip on for high-speed runs. All of that got the drag coefficient down to 0.278, which is remarkable for a car that also has to force enough air through it to cool a 1,600 hp engine.
That engine is a 5.1-litre twin-turbo V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft that saved 5 kg over the old one and let the redline go up to 8,500 rpm. It makes 1,280 hp on the petrol you can buy at a pump, and 1,600 hp on E85, because the biofuel resists knock and lets the turbos push harder. Behind it is the Light Speed Transmission, which has nine forward gears and seven wet clutches and does not work through them in order. It simply engages the gear it wants, immediately.
So why has the 500 never happened? Because you need somewhere to do it. Roughly eight kilometres of closed, flat, straight road, plus enough room after that to stop a car doing 500 km/h, plus tyres rated to survive it and someone willing to insure the whole thing. Koenigsegg has said for years that it intends to make a proper attempt. It has not yet.
What it did do, on 6 June 2026 at its own airfield in Angelholm, was set two acceleration records with test driver Markus Lundh and Racelogic timing gear. The quarter mile took 8.54 seconds and the car was doing 306 km/h at the end of it, the first time a production car has cleared 300 km/h over that distance. The half mile took 12.76 seconds, at 373 km/h. Those numbers were measured. The 500 still has not been.
Claimed and theoretical top speeds are Koenigsegg's own figures. Acceleration records set 6 June 2026 at Angelholm, timing verified by Racelogic using VBOX equipment.