Koenigsegg has reclaimed the 0-400-0km/h record for road-legal hypercars, with the Jesko Absolut logging the sprint in 25.21 seconds. That’s quicker the previous record set by the Rimac Nevera R, which set a time of 25.79 seconds in July.
The new mark was recorded at Örebro airfield on 7 August, with factory driver Markus Lundh at the wheel, and verified by Racelogic instrumentation. Koenigsegg also published an accompanying video outlining what changed and why.
Crucially, the car itself didn’t gain new hardware. Koenigsegg’s engineers deployed “Absolut Overdrive” – a suite of software strategies that remaps the Light Speed Transmission and engine management while adding far more precise torque control. The aim? Reduce traction control intervention off the line and clean up gear shifts at very high speeds. Koenigsegg says these updates will be rolled out to customer cars.
The run yielded splits of 16.77 seconds from 0–400km/h and 8.44 seconds from 400–0km/h. The context matters because the Nevera R’s July figure had reset expectations for straight-line performance; Koenigsegg’s response re-frames the ICE vs EV battle and it did it without resorting to all-wheel drive or hybrid assistance.
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Christian von Koenigsegg argues the breakthrough is as much digital as it is mechanical. “The control we have today over the engine and the transmission equals the control electric cars have over their electrical motors,” he says in the video. He adds, “Beating four-wheel-drive electric cars in a straight line is almost magical and shows that ‘truths’ can be rewritten.”
For its part, Rimac graciously responded to Koenigsegg’s Instagram post with: “Nice work, now let’s make this fun. Game on.”
For now, the Jesko Absolut’s time reasserts Koenigsegg’s position at the top and the flame of internal combustion still burns brighter – for now.
