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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.