JOHANNESBURG - There was good news for fans of ridiculously powerful cars this week, with the announcement that Daytona had been appointed as the sole distributor of Koenigsegg cars in South Africa, giving the Swedish hypercar specialist an official presence in the country for the first time.
However, while many might have hoped to see two-seater hypercars like the 1195kW Jesko Absolut, or the Regera, a local contact from Daytona has confirmed to IOL that only the four-seater Gemera will be sold locally for now.
“There will be future models on offer however we are not getting the Jesko or Regera in SA. We will have all options from Gemera onwards,” the representative said.
World’s fastest four-seater
And while the Gemera might be the ‘sensible family car’ in the line-up, it’s still one of the quickest cars in the world, with Koenigsegg referring to it as the world’s first ‘Mega-GT’ car.
Koenigsegg is claiming system outputs of 1268kW and 3500rpm for the Gemera’s hybrid powertrain, as well as a 0-100km/h sprint time of 1.9 seconds and a 400km/h top speed.
Interestingly, the internal combustion component of the hybrid powertrain is a 2-litre, three-cylinder twin-turbo unit dubbed the Tiny Friendly Giant. Mid-mounted and powering the front wheels, it contributes 440kW and 600Nm to the tally, and it is assisted by three electric motors: one for each rear wheel and another fitted to the engine’s crankshaft.
The hypercar can also run on electric power alone for up to 50km, Koenigsegg claims.
The Gemera is also more luxurious than you’d expect from a hardcore hypercar.
Not only does it claim to accommodate four occupants and their luggage, but it offers features such as memory foam heated seats, an 11-speaker premium sound system, three-zone climate control and on-board Wi-Fi.
Just what models will follow it into South Africa remains to be seen, but for now the Gemera is certainly an enticing option.
Daytona is not making any pricing information available, stating that the Gemera is a “highly customisable car”.
Timing for the arrival of the first units is still to be confirmed.