Attacked By A Ghost – 1600bhp Of Swedish Glory

Cars and Coffee, a concept many of us petrolheads know and love; pairing a love for automobiles with our favourite caffeinated beverage, to then spend the next few hours nerding out over whatever turns up on the day.

Of course, you’ll see the usual attendees in their Porsches and BMWs. Now and again, you might get surprised by something rare, maybe an old Japanese icon like a Nissan Silvia, or something weird and wonderful that requires a sneaky Google search to identify. That’s why I love small, intimate car meets, because you never really know what you’ll see next.

On a cold January morning, the wildest outcome of Cars and Coffee roulette played out before me. A multimillion pound convoy of hypercars rolled along the promenade and parked up on the street where I was standing.

The lead car? A Koenigsegg Jesko Attack, driven by James Walker. The rest of the convoy was made up of an Aston Martin Valkyrie, a Pagani Huayra and two Koenigsegg Regeras. As the convoy came to a halt, James – a well-known automotive content creator, lifted himself from the driver’s seat of the Jesko to be immediately surrounded by a frantic crowd.

I politely approached him to introduce myself, then after a firm handshake and a quick selfie together, I left him alone. That is, until myself and a few other photographers all had the same idea of shooting the Jesko down on the local boat ramp, underneath the iconic Forth Rail Bridge. Ten minutes later, the bright red Jesko Attack was in position, surrounded by a firing squad of camera lenses.

Where to begin with the car? Firstly, it’s smaller than you expect. It’s obviously wide, like all modern hypercars, but its low overall height shrinks it massively. It has an aggressive look about it, starting with the monster carbon fibre splitter, then you peer further back and see that magnificent sweeping windscreen with a motorsport-esque central wiper, and then of course the outrageous rear wing.

The full aero setup creates 1400kg of downforce. For perspective, that’s one Skoda Octavia, or roughly 21,538 large eggs. All that downforce is required to keep the Jesko firmly planted on the ground. After all, give it a taste of E85 and you’ll have 1600bhp available at your disposal. Altogether, the Jesko Attack is deserving of its name – a true Swedish rocket ship. 

Shooting the Jesko was an incredible experience. It was even worth the numb finger tips and a  parking ticket. The Jesko Attack is the stuff of dreams, although its eye watering £3,000,000 price tag is less attractive. Time to get the lottery numbers on the go…