Enjoy a deep dive on the Koenigsegg Jesko’s 1,600-hp V-8

The Koenigsegg Jesko hypercar is full of ingenuity, including a high-revving twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter and ultra-fast Light Speed Transmission. In a recently released video, company founder Christian von Koenigsegg walks us through the assembly of these components.

Both the engine and 9-speed transmission are assembled in a clean room at the company’s headquarters in Ängelholm, Sweden. One person can assemble one transmission or engine per week. For the transmission, the job includes fitting intricate valves that direct transmission fluid, as well as shafts and bearings that hold the gears. There’s no flywheel though; clutch packs close up to send power to the rear wheels.

The Jesko engine is among the world’s most powerful productions engine, thanks to an output of 1,600 hp on E85 fuel and 1,280 hp on pump gasoline. It’s also one of the fastest revving. Koenigsegg previously showed that this engine can rev from idle to 7,800 rpm in just 213 milliseconds (redline is at 8,500 rpm).

Getting so much power from a 5.0-liter engine means immensely high cylinder pressures, von Koenigsegg says in the video, something the engine internals had to be specially designed to cope with. Engineers didn’t ignore aesthetics either. Each piston has a Koenigsegg logo etched in its ceramic coating, something only visible when the engine is opened up for servicing. 

Further along in the assembly process, the engine is fitted with its 3D-printed Inconel exhaust headers and turbos. Despite being turbocharged, von Koenigsegg says the Jesko engine was designed to sound naturally aspirated, accomplished by considering not only the exhaust system but also the placement of the turbos.

Koenigsegg is undertaking a major plant expansion that will accommodate production of both the Jesko and the new Gemera, a four-seat hypercar first shown in 2020 with a 1,700-hp hybrid powertrain consisting of a 3-cylinder engine and a trio of electric motors. Koenigsegg earlier this year announced that the Gemera will also offer a V-8 hybrid powertrain, boosting output to 2,300 hp.