Koenigsegg launches 2300hp V8-powered Gemera
The most powerful production car on the planet. Practical, too
You’ll recall the Gemera, no doubt. Once you’ve seen it, it’s rather hard to forget. Koenigsegg originally showed the four-seat concept back in 2020, to much acclaim. Not just because it looked staggering with its full-length dihedral doors, but also because its maker had conjured up a 600hp twin-turbocharged 2.0-litre three-pot backed by three electric motors that promised to deliver a all-wheel-drive, 1,700hp ‘Megacar’ to customers. Well, that was then and this is now. Late on Monday, Koenigsegg finally got around to revealing the Client Specification Gemera, the one it will actually offer to buyers. So what’s changed?
Well, a lot as it happens. Koenigsegg is one of those niche manufacturers seemingly with a knack for dreaming up something dazzling every fortnight. One of those moments was encapsulated in the Light Speed Transmission (LST) it introduced with the more recent Jesko. We don’t have time to go into how it works here (mostly because it’s fiendishly complicated) but the long and short of it is that it removes the requirement for a clutch and flywheel to the benefit of ‘driver engagement and exhilaration’. Not to mention weight and size.
As you might expect, Koenigsegg thought it would be a wizard idea to fit the Gemera with the same gearbox, but ended up developing it to the point where it felt obliged to change the name: “We added 'Tourbillon' to the name of the LST, as this mechanism represents the automotive equivalent of a high-end Swiss watch and is simply beautiful,” explains Christian von Koenigsegg. Fair enough. Did it stop there? No.
To better complement the new LSTT, Koenigsegg ditched the three E-motors it had previously been working on and instead created a single (patent-pending) 800hp, six-phase Raxial Flux E-motor which it has creatively dubbed ‘Dark Matter’. Mated with its aforementioned three-cylinder engine (did we mention this is called the Tiny Friendly Giant?) the Gemera is capable of outputting 1,400hp and 1,364lb ft. Less than the concept, but thanks to the weight saving made possible by fewer motors and the new gearbox, apparently much quicker, too.
So there we have it, right? Erm, no. Apparently, at some point in all this fine-tuning, Koenigsegg realised that the space-saving attributes of the LSTT meant that there was now room behind the second row of seats to squeeze in a 5.0-litre version of the V8 it uses to great effect in its mid-engined supercar. ‘To make it happen, we had to convert the Jesko V8 into a so-called Hot V8 where the exhaust exits at the top centre, but otherwise, it is very similar to the Jesko engine,’ the firm says, casually. In its new format, the HV8 develops an eye-popping 1,500hp.
Then it was just the small matter of twinning it with the new Dark Matter e-motor and, hey presto, a four-seat hybrid boasting 2,300hp and 2,028lb ft of torque, which is said to be a new world record for a production car and available to customers when manufacturing begins at the end of next year. "The Gemera HV8 is not only the most powerful and extreme production car on the planet Earth, with an astonishing 1,11hp per kg, but it is also the most practical and user-friendly sports car ever created,” reckons Christian von Koenigsegg. “We are extremely proud to have brought the Gemera HV8 to life and very much look forward to delivering this new level of performance and technology to our esteemed clients and fans.” They can expect to see their car in early 2025. Who knows what Koenigsegg will come up with in the meantime...
Very sensible family car, and should be fast enough to sneak past Sunday drivers on a nice open A road.
Only questions before I buy, how does mpg look on an average 200mph blat and will my local Quickfit be able to perform all servicing and repairs, and can get it on finance, I can afford 0% APR over 300 years?
This car, for me, is one of the best and most interesting engineered machines of the last 20 years. I have huge respect for Christian as there's a real honesty in the way he goes about things.
2300hp in a road car is indeed madness and if this the 'last gasp' of the super-car, what a way to go! As hybrid propulsion goes, I think it's brilliant and a world away from a Prius.
I also think it looks brilliant too; nothing over-the-top, just simple, clean styling. I'm sure they will sell every single one they can make.
Have to respect CVK's absurd levels of ambition for such a small company, reliable or not. Still a great place to be if broken down.
People, companies and cars like this should be celebrated over Germanic sports boredom.
The article failed to mention that they they managed to squeeze in a 115 litre fuel tank, so this thing will have continent-crushing range when combined with the electric motor.
The article failed to mention that they they managed to squeeze in a 115 litre fuel tank, so this thing will have continent-crushing range when combined with the electric motor.
More detail here
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