Leno Goes One on One with the Koenigsegg One:1

Christian von Koenigsegg packed plenty of significance into the name of his latest otherworldly automotive creation, the Koenigsegg One:1. First, the name refers to the car’s 1:1 weight to horsepower ratio, with 1360 horsepower in a 1360 kilogram automobile. The 1360 horsepower also equates to one megawatt of power, making it the first production car with one megawatt of power.

As Jay Leno notes in this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage featuring the One:1, every part of the One:1 is made in the Koenigsegg factory in Sweden, with the exception of the Michelin tires. Koenigsegg is particularly proud of the Dihedral Synchrohelix Door Actuation System, developed on the first protoypes, which opens the doors with minimal outward swing, allowing you to parallel park your $3 million car with ease, if you’re stupid enough to park anywhere near another vehicle, that is. Koenigsegg built the engine as part of the chassis, creating “fantastic agility…it really feels like a big go-kart,” he says. “With this kind of power level and rear wheel drive, you really need to feel like you have the car in your hands, that it’s not a wild beast, all over the place.”

Lucky Leno gets to drive the One:1, though he gets nowhere near the car’s top speed of 273 miles per hour. He treats the insanely expensive supercar with kid gloves, and you only get to see some of what the One:1 really can do when Christian Koenigsegg gets behind the wheel of his car. Veteran car guy Leno’s expression goes from the grin he had while driving to someone who looks like he’s about to get a root canal as Koenigsegg accelerates and brakes wickedly fast. Perhaps Leno won’t be plunking down $3 million to own one of the six that will be available.