Top Gear may be off the air, but the infamous test track at Dunsfold still exists. Moreover, there’s still a Stig that appears from time to time, sending cars around the 1.75-mile loop. The Koenigsegg Jesko stopped by recently, and set a new lap record.
In the Stig’s hands, the 1,600-horsepower hypercar made a complete lap in 1 minute, 10.9 seconds. That’s nearly as quick as the track-only Ferrari FXX, and it’s officially the fastest road-legal car to ever run at Dunsfold.
Dedicated Top Gear fans might notice something, however. 1:10.9 is supremely quick, but not quicker than the Caparo T1. To refresh your memory, that was essentially a roofless race car made barely road-legal for Europe. The passenger sat behind the driver, and in the Stig’s hands during Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear era, it did a 1:10.6 lap. However, Clarkson declared the car ineligible because it was too low to clear a speed bump, something Caparo later said was rectified in production cars with an adjustable ride height. Only 15 Caparo T1s would be built before the company went under.
By comparison, the Jesko was just three-tenths of a second slower while having an actual roof and a full interior for two people to sit comfortably. It is decidedly road-legal, and production is underway with a planned run of 125 cars. The Jesko Attack featured here is the version designed to carve race tracks with an emphasis on downforce and handling. The Jesko Absolut is all about speed, and though we’ve yet to see an official top-speed run, its nine-speed transmission is theoretically capable of 311 mph.
As for the Top Gear test track, it soldiers on for the time being. The Dunsfold Park project ultimately calls for 1,800 homes and a new park to be established on the grounds of the Dunsfold Aerodrome, the development of which is still ongoing.
Source:
Top Gear / YouTube
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