Meet the Koenigsegg Gemera: A Hypercar For The Family

Even though the Geneva motor show got cancelled, Koenigsegg has managed to catch the world’s eye with its newest creation. Dubbed as the world’s first mega-GT and the brand’s first-ever four-seater, this is the Koenigsegg Gemera.

First up, performance. As usual, Koenigsegg has done some engineering wizardry to put together this new powertrain setup and explored just how far they can push their drive technology. It’s a hybrid setup that uses a more developed version of the Regera’s DirectDrive and is the first Egg to have all-wheel drive. The noisy bit is a 2.0-litre twin-turbo 3-CYLINDER Freevalve petrol engine making 600hp and 600Nm that revs up to 8500rpm. It is mid-rear mounted, behind all the seats, with top-mounted Akrapovic exhaust tips. Koenigsegg calls it the Tiny Friendly Giant. The engine drives the front wheels and there is an electric motor mounted on its crankshaft for an extra 400hp and a lot more torque. There are two motors in the back, one for each wheel and each capable of 500hp and 1000Nm of performance. Peak usable performance from the combined outputs of its TFG and three electric motors stands at a brain-frying 1700hp and 3500Nm. Why? Well, company founder said that was the only way to get the Gemera to be capable of launching from nought to a 100kph in under 2 seconds (1.9s is the official figure) with a “fast enough” top speed of 400kph. What an absolute mad man and the car world is ever so grateful for him!

Of course, Christian Von Koenigsegg is also eager to save the planet and so like other Eggs, the Gemera also works on CO2 neutral high alcohol fuels like E85. It’ll even run on something called Vulcanol which is methanol fuel harnessed from the fumes of the semi-active volcano in Finland. Ideally, it should only be run on volcano fuel but that might be hard to source on a regular basis. Worst case scenario, the Gemera can also run on regular petrol. It does have a plug-in 800V battery which can give it a pure EV range of 50km if needed while the hybrid setup can do 1000km on a full tank of fuel and charge. An eco-friendly mega-GT indeed.

In terms of looks, the Gemera has some quintessential Koenigsegg design features like the wraparound windscreen, egg-like body shape and the beautiful curves that are a mix of design and aerodynamic function. It looks phenomenal from all angles in my opinion. It has cameras on the wings instead of mirrors and rides on the largest carbon fibre wheels currently in production — 21-inch up front and 22-inch at the rear, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber. It sports large vents behind the rear haunces and a dovetail spoiler to keep the Gemera planted firmly on the tarmac. The car’s massive size becomes a lot more manoeuvrable thanks to rear-wheel steering and will make easy work of the corners thanks to its all-wheel torque vectoring. It even has vents under the headlamps to direct cool air to the brake. Despite being a four-seater, the Gemera is still a two-door offering and gets rid of the B-pillar. As a result, you have these long, beautifully sculpted dihedral synchrohelix doors that allow easy access to both front and rear seats on each side.

Speaking of the Gemera’s beautiful and epic doors, let’s move into the cabin. The show car’s interior is a mix of carbon fibre and yellow which make it look like the yolk of this particular ‘Egg’. But I like the colour combo and I’m sure lucky owners like Mr JWW will get to personalize it as they wish. It is designed such that a person of an average height of around 6 feet can step into the rear seats without having to move the front seats. The rear seats are like heavily padded bucket seats, holding its occupant snugly into place. Despite the cosy cabin, it feels airy thanks to the skyview glass panel in the fixed roof. The central console has a rear entertainment screen of decent size for one to enjoy a movie out on the road. The front seats have been specially developed to be as sleek as possible to allow for adequate rear passenger space. Made from carbon fibre, the front seats also feature integrated seatbelts.

Upfront, there are two small displays, one on each A-pillar, for the outside rearview camera feed. There is a central touchscreen display for various vehicle controls and infotainment purposes. However, the driver’s view is quite uncluttered with a squared-off steering wheel featuring haptic touch controls and a steering-mounted digital display for the rotating instrument cluster first seen on the Jesko. The Gemera’s central console and dashboard are elegantly simplistic with some of the button controls mounted on the roof instead. It also has a total of 8 cupholders, four up front and four in the back, two per person. Why? Because one can chill a drink while the other can keep a drink warm and why not be able to keep both at hand. Of course, minor revisions and improvements can be expected to the interior fittings as the Gemera moves towards its final production specification.

In terms of practicality, this mid-engined hybrid hyper-GT has a trunk as well as a frunk. The boot can accommodate three full-size carry-on suitcases and a fourth-one can be tucked into the front space. Of course, if you don’t have anyone in the back seats, then you can carry more stuff in there as well.

The Koenigsegg Gemera is limited to a production run of just 300 units with the manufacturing expected to start in early 2022. No word on the price, but Christian Von Koenigsegg did say it’s one of their more affordable cars given that they’ll be making more than the usual double-digit hypercar production run. So, it’s going to be a long wait to see one out in the open world or in JWW’s garage.

While the Gemera won’t make me quit on the M5 as my top-pick, this mega-GT is the first of its kind. It is a phenomenal feat of engineering and a very desirable poster car indeed. What do you make of it? Share your thoughts in the comments, explore its details in the gallery below and don’t forget to subscribe to The Auto Loons for more cool updates from the car world.