Watch Christian von Koenigsegg rev a naked Jesko prototype

At the Geneva Motor Show, Koenigsegg revealed its new car, which is named after Christian von Koenigsegg’s father, Jesko. Here’s how we described the latest Swedish benchmark’s wild V-8 engine:

“Any megacar needs four-digit horsepower, and Koenigsegg has redesigned its twin-turbocharged, 5.0-liter DOHC V-8 to produce 1280 horsepower on gasoline and 1600 hp on boost-loving E85. The heart of the V-8 is a billet-steel crankshaft that weighs under 28 pounds, about half as much as the forged- or cast-steel crankshaft found in your typical performance cross-plane V-8, e.g. a Mustang’s 5.0-liter. The Swedish V-8 is a flat-plane design, this time like a Mustang GT350’s 5.2-liter V-8 and also lacks balance shafts.

“To minimize the vibration inherent in a flat-plane V-8, Koenigsegg made the pistons and connecting rods as light as possible. At just 540 grams, the Jesko’s steel rods are as light as the Agera’s titanium rods, yet they’re stronger. Pistons come in at a featherweight 250 grams (barely more than half a pound). Minimizing weight is critical in parts that reciprocate, as stresses increase exponentially with speed, and the V-8 revs to 8500 rpm. All told, the engine and its TIG-welded Inconel exhaust weight in at just 415 pounds.”

With that and much more on its impressive specs sheet, the Jesko sold out almost immediately after its launch, and as we progress towards the next Geneva Motor Show, the crew at the Ängelholm factory is busy developing it into a true “megacar” (a term coined by Koenigsegg after its engines surpassed the one megawatt barrier).

Sometimes, that development includes moments when the boss himself jumps into an unpainted Jesko prototype, drives it out of the gates, and after looping back on the wet tarmac in front of plenty of spectators, revs that flamethrower of a V-8 for durability testing purposes, no doubt:

There’s just something about large-displacement, twin-turbo V-8s, especially when designed and built by Koenigsegg to produce 1600 horsepower all day long.