Koenigsegg unveils world’s most powerful car

Wild ‘megacar’ promises to redefine the way ultra-wealthy enthusiasts approach high-performance motoring.

2023 Koenigsegg Gemera

Most car manufacturers measure power in kilowatts. But Koenigsegg is different.

Sweden’s boutique supercar brand measures power in megawatts, where life starts at 1000kW – more than four times the output of conventionally powerful cars such as the Volkswagen Golf R.

The Koenigsegg Gemera shapes up as the world’s most powerful car.

Koenigsegg describes the new Gemera as “the world’s first 4-seater Megacar, defined by its awe-inspiring power of over 1 megawatt”.

Customers can choose between two hybrid engines.

Huge doors allow access to a four-seat cabin.

The entry-level model – if you could call it that – combines a turbocharged three-cylinder motor with an enormously powerful electric motor to send 1044kW and 1850Nm to the tyres.

Folks who aren’t satisfied with doubling the power and torque figures of twin-turbocharged V12 Aston Martin supercars can dig deeper to take home a V8-powered version of the Gemera.

The Gemera’s interior features lightweight bucket seats.

Swapping the turbo triple for a twin-turbocharged 5.0-litre V8 elicits scarcely believable 1690kW and 2750Nm peak figures.

Or as Koenigsegg might put it, 1.69 megawatts of power.

2023 Koenigsegg Gemera

It’s hard to put that into context.

The Gemera outguns the 1176kW Bugati Chiron Sport and 1417kW Pininfarina Battista by handy margins.

Meanwhile on planet earth, the Koenigsegg claims almost four times the power and torque of Porsche’s 911 Turbo, a car that feels shatteringly fast while sprinting to 100km/h in 2.8 seconds.

The 911 Turbo manages to get by with less than 0.5 megawatts. Picture: Daniel Kalisz.

The Swedish jet has 2.75 kilonewtons of torque.

We don’t hear much about Kilonewtons.

The air force talks about them when reporting the thrust of fighter jets such as the new F-35 and its 191kN of punch – a mere 69 times the thrust of our Koenigsegg.

Good luck parking an F-35 outside your local cafe. Picture: Evan Morgan

If that’s not scary enough, consider the Gemera’s asking price

Basic three-cylinder versions started at €1.6 million ($2.65m), without taking into account GST, import duties and luxury car taxes that push that figure beyond $4 million on the road.

The V8 upgrade reportedly adds $US400,000 ($598,000) to the total, before personalisation and other add-ons are taken into account.

2023 Koenigsegg Gemera

It won’t be easy to ask your bank manager to transfer the best part of $5 million to a Swedish bank account to finance the acquisition of a new toy.

But it might go down better if you pitch it as just five megadollars.

Originally published as Koenigsegg unveils world’s most powerful car