Watch 1,600HP Koenigsegg Jesko Set New Lap Record At One Of Europe’s Longest Tracks

We don’t often hear about Koenigsegg lap records and, indeed, the most recent one achieved by Jesko was set by accident.

The name Koenigsegg is synonymous with insane performance, but with the mad-scientist-engineering going on at the Swedish automaker, we rarely hear about track times. It decided to change that by posting a video of Jesko earning an instant record in Sweden.

The record is shot from three angles with the hood camera, dash camera, and cabin camera, which shows unbroken images of the lap timer, which shows that the car completes the lap in 2:56.97. The record was set by test driver Niklas Lilja at the Gotland Ring in Sweden.

You could be forgiven for not knowing the circuit, located on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea. However, at 7.3 kilometers (4.5 miles) it offers drivers one of the longest circuits in Europe. Although not as long as Europe’s most famous race track, the Nurburgring, Koenigsegg notes that the Gotland Ring has a number of jumps and twists, and offers cars as challenging as the German course.

Read: See TG Drive New Koenigsegg Jesko Completely Like Few Owners Ever Will

However, even with the race entry itself, it is mostly used as a test track for car manufacturers and hobbyists. Indeed, Koenigsegg says it was not the Gotland Ring to try to set a record, but to conduct tests and marketing activities.

That makes the 2:56.97 lap time even more impressive, though. Lilja says he was only riding Jesko at 90 percent when it beat the old record by about seven seconds. The moment was set by the Porsche 911 GT3 RS Manthey-Racing Edition, which is a useful toy.

It should come as no surprise that Jesko is fast, though. Its 5.1-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine is capable of producing up to 1,600 hp (1,193 kW/1,622 PS) when running on E85. However, for this run, it was using 98 octane fuel, which means that it makes 1,280 hp (954 kW / 1,297 PS).

Although that’s an intimidating amount of power, the car (or maybe Lilja) manages it all, and the result is a clean lap on this twisty track, which you can enjoy below.