Swedish hypercar maker Koenigsegg has added yet another high-speed milestone to its résumé when a Jesko Absolute recently hit 359.83 km/h (223.59 mph), setting an unofficial world record for production car top speed in a standing 1/2 mile, and took 13.27 seconds.
A short Instagram video that briefly features founder Christian Von Koenigsegg captures all the action. The run was carried out just outside Koenigsegg’s factory in Ängelholm with test driver Markus Lundh behind the wheel. Onboard footage included a GPS-based Dragy readout. Now, although the record hasn’t been independently verified just yet, it outpaces the previous 221.92 mph benchmark set by the Hennessey Venom F5 back in July 2024, where it took 14.51 seconds to complete the standing 1/2 mile.
Now, this isn’t the Jesko Absolut’s first claim to fame. It already holds the 0-400-0 km/h record, completing both acceleration and braking cycles in just 27.83 seconds. Edging out its own stablemate, the Regera’s previous best, the Jesko Absolut hit 412 km/h (256 mph) on that historic run in 2023.
At the heart of the Jesko lies a proprietary 5.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 1,280 horsepower on regular gas, and 1,600 horsepower on E85 fuel. This flat-plane crank V8 sends power exclusively to the rear wheels via a 9-speed multi-clutch transmission that the company calls Light-speed. Unlike traditional gearboxes, what sets this unit apart is the seven clutches, making those lightning shifts possible, paying dividends on record runs like this one.
Koenigsegg has delivered Absolut and Attack variants since 2022, with production capped at 125 units. The Absolut variant has one purpose: top speed. Where the track-oriented Jesko Attack variant focuses on downforce, up to 3,000 pounds of it (F1 cars make up to 6,000 pounds of downforce), the Absolut is all about being as slippery as possible, allowing it to slice through the air with minimal drag. With a curb weight of just 3,100 pounds, the result is a theoretical top speed of 310 mph, based on factory simulations.
As the competition in the hypercar space races to break the 300+ mph barrier, Koenigsegg certainly remains a frontrunner. As for this particular record, as it is yet to be certified by third parties, now all that remains is an official run from Koenigsegg.
Source: Koenigsegg