Not content with showing off one new car today (the four-seat Gemera) Swedish hypercar maker Koenigsegg is also revealing this, the Jesko Absolut.
Could it hit 500km/h?
Obviously, it's based on the existing Jesko hypercar (named after company founder Christian Von Koenigsegg's dad) but strips away that car's big rear wing and track-day based setup for a more slippery aerodynamic profile. The idea, says Koenigsegg, is to make it the fastest car the company has ever made, and never to make anything any faster.
What that top speed will be, Koenigsegg isn't saying yet, but speculation has it that it will be the first road car to bust past the 500km/h (310mph) barrier. That's thanks to a twin-turbo V8 engine that, running on E85 bio-fuel, develops at least 1,600hp. All that Koenigsegg will say, officially, for now is that it will be "unbelievably fast."
Inspired by the F-15 fighter jet
Apparently, the styling of the Absolut model has been inspired by the McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter jet - hence the twin-tail layout on the engine cover. Koenigsegg says that careful aerodynamic massaging has brought the coefficient of drag down to 0.278Cd, with a frontal area of just 1.88 m2.
More that 3,000 hours were spent honing the shape in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, alongside another 5,000 hours of physical design and engineering work. Removing the massive rear wing from the standard Jesko means a reduction in downforce from 1,400kg to just 150kg, so you can imagine the improvement in drag that makes at high speed. The standard Jesko will corner faster, but this Absolut will run away from it in a straight line. To complete the slippery makeover, partly-covered rear wheels are fitted, the rear body has been made longer and more tapering, and all the front splitters and spoilers have been removed.
Nine-speed multi-clutch transmission
The mighty V8 turbo engine (with an ultra-light crankshaft that weighs just 12.5kg) powers the reat wheels through an in-house nine-speed multi-clutch gearbox. Koenigsegg claims that "It is capable of gear changes between any gear, at near light speed. This is thanks to the simultaneous opening and closing of clutches, which make the driving experience so seamless that it feels like the driver and car are symbiotically connected." The whole transmission weighs just 90kg.
It also uses "UPOD" technology - Ultimate Power On Demand - which predicts which is the best gear to use next, and so tries to provide seamless power delivery.
The chassis' adjustable dampers are made by Öhlins, and are fully adjustable at the touch of a button.
Inside, there's a luxurious interior which Koenigsegg says is "more befitting a grand tourer than your typical track weapon." The cabin is swathed in lots of leather, alcantara, carbon fibre, aluminium and glass. Both the steering wheel and pedal box adjust to suit, and the steering wheel is a new 'smart' unit with two built-in touchscreens that look after such functions as audio control, phone control, ride height control and cruise control.