The Koenigsegg Gemera
Swedish hypercar builder Koenigsegg has released the four-seat Gemera - a model it has coined as the first 'Mega GT' plug-in hybrid that packs 1,700bhp, can accelerate from standstill to 62mph in 1.9 seconds and has a top speed of 248mph - and also the biggest pair of scissor doors we've ever seen.
The only stumbling blocks are two small insignificant details: the price - which is expected to be in the region of £1.5million (€1.7million) - and the fact just 300 are being made for the global market.
First off, where does the name come from? According to CEO and founder Christian von Koenigsegg, it was suggested by his mother, with 'Ge' translating from Swedish as 'Give' and 'mera' meaning 'more'.
The Gemera is powered by the brand's in-house developed hybrid powertrain - with a very modest petrol engine producing much of the power.
There's no fire-breathing V12, rampaging V10 or gargling V8 motor. Instead, the unleaded powerplant is a 2.0-litre engine with just three cylinders.
WWith the addition of two turbochargers, this relatively dinky mid-mounted motor - somehow - develops a massive 600bhp and 600Nm of torque. Koenigsegg has fondly dubbed it its 'Tiny Friendly Giant'. Cute.
And it's not like your traditional petrol engine. It uses free-valve technology, which instead of using conventional direct injection and variable valve timing can independently open and close the valves depending on the driving conditions.
In simple English, that means it can automatically switch from maximising performance to cutting emissions and improving fuel economy at the drop of a hat - or a right foot.
Working in unison with a 16.6kWh battery pack and three electric motors - one for each rear wheel and another dedicated to the front axle - the maximum output it can achieve is a monumental 1,700bhp.
It also has the option of running in all-electric mode, which has a range of 31 miles (50km).
With the engine in full fuel-sipping mode and the batteries fully charged, Koenigsegg claims a range of 621 miles (1,000km) when the 75 tank is brimmed.
Weight has kept to a minimum with the use of aluminium front and rear subframes linked to a carbon-fibre monocoque.
Kilogram-shaving designers have even done away with traditional wing mirrors and replaced them with cameras on stalks mounted in their place. They've even demanded it use a single windscreen wiper blade instead of two.
It tips the scales at just 1,850kg, which is incredibly lightweight for a plug-in hybrid four-seater. A Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid, by comparison, weighs close to 2.5 tonnes.
The Swedish car maker has also fitted it with rear-wheel steering and all-wheel torque vectoring to mask its bulk to make it as agile and twitchy as a stripped-out track weapon.
This new breed of Mega-GT also has four seats that will 'comfortably' sit four large adults with enough space for all of them to take their own 'carry-on luggage' - by which we assume means a tiny trolley bag each.
The brand says the Gemera is for 'taking on long-range public roads' for 'family trips, in comfort, style and safety with never-before-experienced performance'.
To make this a reality, it has loaded it with a raft of luxuries you wouldn't normally expect to see in a rip-roaring £1.5million lightweight hypercar.
This includes four cold and four warm cup holders, front and rear seat central infotainment displays, front and rear wireless phone chargers, Apple CarPlay, on-board internet and Wi-Fi, an 11-speaker sound system, exterior and interior cameras, four reading lights, memory foam heated seats, electric front seats and three-zone climate control.
In terms of safety, it gets six smart airbags, stability control, traction control, ABS braking and a semi-autonomous driving mode than can control acceleration, braking and steering. It even has Isofix points for child car seats in the back.
You can't get all those features on the highest-spec Nissan Qashqai if you bargained with a salesman for a week.
Despite all this, Koenigsegg assures us the Gemera retains all the brand's unapologetic design roots.
For instance, it has the wrap-around jet fighter inspired windscreen and hidden A-pillars, short overhangs, large side air intakes and overall unfussy, aerodynamic, shape we've seen on previous models like the Regera and One1.
What's most impressive to us, though, are the Mega GT's giant scissor doors. Well, the correct name is 'Koenigsegg Automated Twisted Synchrohelix Actuation Doors', or KATSAD for short.
The massive doors run almost the full length of the car, and when open give lots of access to the rear seats.
We can't imagine they'll be much use in a multi-storey car park or anywhere with a low ceiling, though.
When Bugatti claimed to have set the first 300mph-plus top speed for a production car last year, Koenigsegg wasn't too happy.
It held (and still holds) the official speed record of 277.87mph with the Koenigsegg Agera RS set in 2017 and, among others, argued that Bugatti's attempt didn't appease the rule books.
That's because the 304.77mph achieved by the modified Chiron SuperSport 300+ in 2019 was only recorded while driving in one direction - and Guinness World Records demand the top speed is an average of two runs going in opposition directions.
Now Koenigsegg wants to cement its title with the arrival of the new Jesko Absolut.
While the name sounds like a potent Russian vodka, it will give you a hangover of a different kind if you floor the throttle.
That's because, flat out, the Swedish maker says it will do over 310mph. Whether it puts this statement to the official test, we will have to wait and see.
By Rob Hull.
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Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lindsay/Trent (Total Drama), Sadie/Sierra (Total Drama), Ezekiel/Justin (Total Drama), Izzy/Harold McGrady V, Katie/Sierra (Total Drama), Cody Anderson/Trent, Beth/Ezekiel (Total Drama), Katie/Sadie (Total Drama), Cody Anderson/Geoff, Ezekiel/Izzy (Total Drama), Beth/Lindsay (Total Drama), Justin/Harold McGrady V, Cody Anderson/Beth, Izzy/Sierra (Total Drama), Harold McGrady V/Trent, Geoff/Katie (Total Drama), Lindsay/Sadie (Total Drama), Geoff/Justin (Total Drama)
Characters: Lindsay (Total Drama), Trent (Total Drama), Sierra (Total Drama), Sadie (Total Drama), Ezekiel (Total Drama), Justin (Total Drama), Harold McGrady V, Izzy (Total Drama), Katie (Total Drama), Cody Anderson, Beth (Total Drama), Geoff (Total Drama)
Additional Tags: Drabble Collection, Shuffle Challenge, iPod Meme, Inspired by Music
Series: Part 2 of Total Shuffled
Summary:
18 pairings, 18 drabbles, 18 songs.
Wherein I chose a pairing, put my music playlist on shuffle, then write a drabble for them in the time it takes for the song to play all the way through. This features 12 characters, included in three drabbles each.
Not all drabbles of equal quality, but all have been edited to be good for reading.
Some drabbles also push the T rating: read with discretion.
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