My Koenigsegg Gemera experience.
Finally meeting the Koenigsegg Gemera, the stupendous, outrageous and magnificent four seater Grand Tourer from Sweden.
Last year the boutique Swedish supercar company Koenigsegg unveiled a radical new car called the Gemera. This is Koenigseggs first four seat grand tourer, a departure from their traditional offering of lightweight supercar/hypercars such as the Agera RS, the One to 1, the Regera, and now the all new Jesko. Watching Christian von Koenigsegg and his family drive out at the Geneva motor show last year I was gobsmacked by the audacious design of this Mega-GT. It was rather amusing watching Christian, his wife Hallodora and their two children climb out of the car and then proceed to take out four regular sized carry on luggage bags from the luggage compartment in the front and rear of the car.
Finally an eminently practical mega car. Ever since that launch I have been madly impatient to see the Gemera in flesh. Sadly the pandemic has played havoc with world tour of the Gemera, the net result being that is has taken over a year and a half to bring the car to Canada, but that time is now upon us. At long last I would get to see if all my enthusiasm was worth the long wait.
Yes! Most definitely yes! Oh my god yes. It was worth the wait. The Gemera is one of those cars that looks even more imposing in person than it does on camera. Up close the Gemera is not as big as I was expecting though length wise its a tad shorter than a Porsche Panamera, while the roof line is very low. It is mesmerizing to gaze upon and then you become hypnotized as the car performs its party tricks with the electro servos remotely opening the two huge dihedral synchro helix doors (try saying that a few times in a row). And oh my, what an interior, clothed in striking yellow alcantara, and equipped with four seats, and eight cup holders. With no huge B pillars, the front seats appear to float in air as the seatbelts are cleverly integrated into the seat. My wife Kelly came along to assist me with taking images of the car and she tried out the rear seats and declared them immensely comfortable. As my wife points out supercar seats often do not take into account the fact that all shapes and size bodies need to fit these seats, possibly to the denigration of the more generously proportioned. Koenigsegg has addressed this issue by helpfully designing bucket seats that can accommodate a wide range of passengers and drivers. Entering and exiting the Gemerea is fairly simply thanks to the low sill and the large one piece dihedral synchro helix door opening. I tried out the back seat and the drivers seat and both made me feel like I belonged in this car. This being a prototype there will be changes to the production vehicles, notably in shaving off some of the padding on the side of the rears seats to make it even easier to get in and out. The central glass roof panel brings in a lot of light thereby enhancing the perception of roominess in the interior. I think a closed roof would make the occupants feel a bit confined.
Sitting in the driver's seat gave me a moment to pause and appreciate all the unseen technology that helps propel this Mega-GT. The design of this car would not have been possible without the Tiny Friendly Giant Engine, a two liter 3 cylinder engine created by Koenigsegg and its sister company Freevalve. Adding to this small but powerful motor are two 500-horsepower electric motors on each rear wheel, with a third 400-horsepower electric motor attached to the crankshaft that drives the front wheels. In total the Gemera delivers a mind bending 1700 horsepower, which will hurl the Gemera to a top speed of 249 mph if they chose to drive on an unrestricted German Autobahn. For a short sprint the Gemera will do 0-62mph in 1.9 seconds. The Mega-GT is also an all wheel drive machine, a Koenigsegg first, as well as possessing all wheel steering and torque vectoring. Not to mention its ability to run on second generation CO2 neutral renewable fuels. The synergy of all these technologies combine to enable this single speed Koenigsegg direct drive Mega-GT to enjoy a driving range of 621 miles or a 1000 km before refueling. Gobsmacking performance indeed.
Now all this mega performance does not come cheap, so if you want to be one of the lucky 300 owners of a Gemera then be prepared to pony up $1.8 million. Canada has a 20 car allocation with deliveries beginning in 2024. I have only two problems with the Gemera, one how on earth I am going to find $1.8 million to buy this tour de force of a machine, and more importantly what color should I get? Koenigsegg sales adviser Arthur Power recommended a bright interior with a more muted exterior. I might be tempted to go with the show car colors of grey exterior and yellow interior. How about the optional $80,000 odd carbon fibre wheel rims, decisions decisions. This will have to be a family decision, as my wife Kelly has already laid claim to the Gemera. Fortunately we have a few years to decide on our color pallet and wheel options.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention that accompanying the Gemera to Vancouver was the Jesko Absolute. This mid engine supercar is a successor to the Koenigsegg Agera and named as a tribute to Koenigsegg founder Christian von Koenigsegg's father Jesko von Koenigsegg. The Jesko uses a 5.0 liter twin turbocharged V8 engine previously used in the Agera to produce 1281 brake horsepower. Production will be limited to 125 units. Two versions will be offered, one in a high down force configuration with a rear wing meant for track use, while the second model will be high speed version called the Absolute, which theoretically can reach a top speed of 300 mph (483). The Absolute version was on display here in Vancouver. A privilege to see this car, but I confess I only had eyes for the Gemera.
A big thanks to Natasha D’Souza the Marketing Manager for Grand Touring Automobiles for making it possible to get up close to the Koenigsegg Mega-GT and the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut. My thanks also go out to Arthur Power for his tour of the finer details of the Gemera. I simply cannot wait to drive a Gemera in the future. Roll on 2024 delivery dates.
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Comments (10)
I love how someone can be so calm when seeing one of the rarest cars in the world
I will go absolutely insane 😂
Oh I was anything but calm. Next time I will be include my whooping and hollering. I was sooo excited to see and get inside this staggeringly awesome machine.
Very nice article
Thanks Aleksandr, appreciate the repost.
When will they show a video doing its top speed?
Not sure but I will ask Christian if I get the chance to interview him later this month.
Thanks David. We should form a club :)
Would be nice to see car photos without someone wearing the mark of tyranny: masks.