Yahoo Autos Koenigsegg Jesko Breaks Lap Record at Laguna Seca on First Try
Hypercars are fast by definition, but setting a lap record at a world-renowned, historically challenging circuit requires more than just raw speed. Koenigsegg, however, makes it look easy: the Swedish automaker just set a new lap record at Laguna Seca Raceway with a driver who'd never been there before — in a car that also had never been driven there before.
The car in question is the Koenigsegg Jesko Attack, a 1,600-horsepower twin-turbocharged carbon-fiber monster with a curb weight lower than that of a new Toyota Supra. It creates over 1,500 pounds of downforce at 150 mph — which came into play at Laguna Seca, since the Jesko Attack is powerful enough to reach that speed three different times on the 2.24-mile track.
At the helm for this record run: Markus Lundh, a test driver and prototype technician at Koenigsegg. Once again, to reiterate, this was the very first time Lundh had been to to this particular track, and the first time the carmaker had brought the Jesko there. Despite that, Lundh managed to pilot the Jesko Attack to a 1:24:86 lap time — quick enough to take the crown from the Czinger 21C, which managed a 1:25.44 back in 2021.
Those figures, clearly, are blisteringly quick. Consider this: the Acura ARX-01B, a bonafide Le Mans series race car, currently holds the the fastest absolute lap time ever set at Laguna Seca, and it only managed a 1:10:10. For a production car of any ilk to be as close to that as the Koenigsegg demonstrates just how insanely capable it is.
And let's not forget the fact that Koenigsegg managed this the very first time it brought the car to the track, which means there might be more time out there too. (Oh, and Lundh, while fast, could probably be even quicker with more experience on the course.) If you haven't already, watch the full lap on the embedded video above. It's well worth your time — and hey, it's not that long a lap.
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