Representative image of a Koenigsegg Gemera, not the car in the Dubai video. Photo: Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
A reel from the spotter account cf.cars1, tagged at Dubai Autodrome, shows a Koenigsegg Gemera on track. The caption reads “Koenigsegg Gemera hot weather testing at Dubai Autodrome today.” Which Gemera, though, is anyone’s guess, and Koenigsegg’s own website isn’t helping.
That is the whole post. It gives no date beyond “today,” no chassis number, no driver, and no indication of whether the car is a prototype, a pre-series build or a customer car. It does not say which powertrain is in it. The account is not Koenigsegg’s, and Koenigsegg has not commented on the reel. When we viewed it on October 5, it showed 6,809 likes, 282 shares and 40 comments.
Two spec sheets, one car
The powertrain question matters because Koenigsegg’s own site describes the Gemera two ways. The Gemera page lists 1,700 bhp and 3,500 Nm from the Tiny Friendly Giant engine paired with Koenigsegg Direct Drive, a single-gear layout with no conventional gearbox, like the one in the Regera Mecum is selling in Nashville. That page also lists an 800V battery and up to 50 km of electric-only range. The model page lists “2300 HP” from the new Hot-Vee V8 plus an e-motor, a nine-speed Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission, and a production run of 300.
The technical specifications sheet describes the V8 car:
- V8: 5.0-litre twin-turbo, 1,500 hp at 7,800 rpm (8,500 rpm redline), 1,500 Nm at 5,000 rpm
- E-motor: Koenigsegg Dark Matter, 800 hp, 1,250 Nm maximum
- Combined: 2,300 hp, 2,750 Nm
- Battery: 850V, 14 kWh
- Transmission: Light Speed Tourbillon, nine-speed, all-wheel drive with four-wheel torque vectoring
- Curb weight: 2,022 kg (90 litres of fuel, 100 percent other fluids)
- Dimensions: 4,975 mm long, 1,995 mm wide, 1,295 mm tall
Neither the Gemera page nor the technical sheet gives a 0-100 km/h time or a top speed. Neither gives a production start or a delivery date. The Gemera page says 800V and the sheet says 850V for the battery.
Why heat testing
The sheet pairs a 14 kWh pack with an 800 hp motor. At that rating, about 597 kW, a full pack would empty in roughly 85 seconds of flat-out use, and the sheet does not give a usable capacity. Cells and inverters limit sustained output as they heat up, which makes a car with that ratio an obvious candidate for desert running. The caption does not say what was being measured.
The 1,700 hp page is still live on Koenigsegg’s site next to the 2,300 hp one. If you had a build slot, which would you take: the direct-drive car with no gearbox, or the V8 hybrid with nine speeds?
Sources: Instagram reel by cf.cars1 (Dubai Autodrome); Koenigsegg Gemera page, model page and technical specifications at koenigsegg.com.
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