Tuning

Koenigsegg Jesko by Mansory

If you thought Koenigsegg’s Jesko Attack was already pushing the outer limits of what a road-legal hypercar should be, Mansory would like a word. The German tuner—best known for its unapologetically extravagant takes on ultra-luxury machinery—has decided that even a 1,600-horsepower Swedish missile deserves more carbon fiber, more aero, and more attitude.

The Jesko, after all, is no ordinary hypercar. With production capped at just 125 units split between the track-focused Attack and the slippery, high-speed Absolut, it’s already rarer than most seven-figure exotics. But one owner apparently looked at their Attack and thought, Nice… but not insane enough. Enter Mansory with a full-carbon aerodynamic package that transforms Koenigsegg’s engineering masterpiece into something that looks like it escaped straight from a GT racing paddock.

Seventeen Ways to Say “More Downforce”

Mansory’s overhaul is comprehensive—almost obsessive. The tuner replaces or adds no fewer than 17 separate carbon-fiber aero components, all designed to increase downforce, airflow management, and visual drama.

Up front, the Jesko gets a reworked hood with carbon vents, flanked by new side flaps and a pair of race-inspired front wings that give the nose a far more aggressive stance. Two new “boomerang” elements and vertical aero blades add both turbulence control and the kind of visual chaos Mansory customers tend to love.

Around the back, the madness continues. Mansory fits new endplates and aero add-ons to the already gigantic rear wing, along with rear side flaps and an entirely new center diffuser section to better extract air from beneath the car. A full-carbon “racing” brake light—essentially a Formula 1-style rain light—adds a motorsport touch, while carbon “rear eyebrows” finish off the visual theatrics.

And because even the Jesko’s cooling system can always use more help, Mansory adds a roof-mounted air scoop to push extra airflow into Koenigsegg’s monstrous 5.1-liter twin-turbo V8, which already produces up to 1,600 horsepower on E85 fuel.

Peak Excess Meets Peak Engineering

The result is a Jesko that looks even more like a land-based fighter jet than the already outrageous original. Where Koenigsegg’s design philosophy leans toward purposeful minimalism, Mansory’s version turns every aerodynamic surface into a visual statement. It’s louder, sharper, and undeniably more aggressive—exactly what you’d expect when one hypercar perfectionist meets another.

Does the Jesko actually need this much extra aero? Probably not. But in the rarefied world of multimillion-dollar hypercars, “need” has never been the point. What Mansory offers here is individuality—an already ultra-exclusive machine made even more unrepeatable.

And if you’re the type of owner who felt the standard Jesko Attack wasn’t quite outrageous enough, congratulations: Mansory just built your dream car.

Source: Mansory

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McLaren Artura Spider MCL39 Championship Edition

McLaren doesn’t do subtle when it’s celebrating. After bagging its tenth Formula 1 constructors’ championship and handing Lando Norris a long-awaited drivers’ title, the company did what any proper supercar maker would do: it turned a race car into a road car in spirit, then made only ten of them so everyone else could feel left out.

Meet the Artura Spider MCL39 Championship Edition, a hyper-exclusive riff on McLaren’s entry-level hybrid roadster that exists for one reason—to remind the world who won last year. And, because this job was handed to McLaren Special Operations, the brand’s bespoke skunkworks, it’s done with the kind of obsessive attention to detail that makes regular special editions look like rental cars with decals.

The first thing you notice is the paint. This isn’t vinyl wrap or a sticker kit—it’s hand-painted in Myan Orange and Onyx Black, echoing the livery of the title-winning MCL39 Formula 1 car. It’s dramatic without being cartoonish, which is harder than it sounds. Look closer and you’ll find a star-filled “10” to mark McLaren’s tenth constructors’ crown, along with graphic outlines of McLaren’s past championship-winning F1 machines ghosted into the bodywork. It’s history, literally baked into the paint.

The wheels go full stealth mode: Super-Lightweight Dynamo forged aluminum ten-spokes, finished in gloss black with black detailing. Behind them sits a sports exhaust that makes absolutely no effort to hide. Given that modern F1 cars sound like angry vacuum cleaners, this is probably the closest thing you’ll get to a McLaren race-car soundtrack that still stirs your spine.

Inside, McLaren didn’t forget why this car exists. The cabin keeps the light-and-dark contrast going, with Jet Black Nappa leather and Performance Carbon Black Alcantara broken up by Myan Orange accents. A bold orange stripe marks the 12-o’clock position on the steering wheel, just in case you forget you’re in something special. The headrests wear an embroidered “10” in McLaren Orange, and the carbon-fiber door sills are signed by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri—a rare moment where autographs actually belong on a car.

There’s also a nameplate listing McLaren’s wins, poles, and fastest laps from last season, which feels less like bragging and more like a trophy case bolted to the dashboard.

Underneath all the championship theater, the MCL39 Edition is still very much an Artura Spider, and that’s a good thing. Its electrically assisted 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 makes 700 horsepower, launching the car to 100 km/h in 3.0 seconds. It’s fast, yes—but more importantly, it’s the kind of fast that reminds you McLaren knows how to build road cars that feel like racing machines rather than tech demos.

Only ten people on the planet will get one. They’ll get a hybrid supercar, a Formula 1 trophy, and a rolling piece of McLaren history all in the same garage bay.

Everyone else just gets to stare—and maybe dream a little louder.

Source: McLaren

News

Why HVO100 Might Be the Cleanest Trick in the Diesel Playbook

By the time the auto industry finishes arguing about whether electrons or hydrogen will save the planet, the planet will have politely asked us to hurry up. That’s the inconvenient truth behind transport’s CO₂ problem: there are already about 250 million vehicles rolling around Europe, most of them burning fossil fuel, and they’re not going anywhere soon. So while the long-term shift to new powertrains grinds on, the fastest lever we can pull is a simpler one—change what goes into the tank.

That idea isn’t new. Bio-blended fuels have been around for years, but in the UK they’re still just that: blends. Regular petrol and diesel remain overwhelmingly fossil-based, with a splash of renewables mixed in for good behaviour. What is new is the growing push toward fuels that are 100 percent fossil-free and don’t require you to buy a new car—or even lift the bonnet.

They’re called “drop-in” fuels, and the name says it all. These are chemically engineered to behave just like the petrol or diesel they replace, meaning they won’t upset injectors, seals, or engine management systems. Increasingly, major carmakers are giving them the nod—sometimes across entire engine families, sometimes for vehicles built after a certain date.

Right now, the poster child of this movement is HVO100.

What Is HVO100, and Why Should You Care?

HVO stands for hydrogenated vegetable oil, though that undersells what it really is: a synthetic hydrocarbon diesel made from renewable raw materials. You’ll also hear it called renewable diesel, and unlike conventional biodiesel (the FAME-based stuff blended into UK pumps at around seven percent), HVO is chemically much closer to fossil diesel.

That matters. FAME biodiesel can cause compatibility issues in some engines, which is why it’s only used in small percentages. HVO100, by contrast, behaves so much like traditional diesel that, once approved by the manufacturer, it can be used neat—100 percent renewable, no blending required.

In other words, you fill up, drive away, and your car has no idea anything changed. The planet, however, very much does.

Carmakers Are Quietly Getting on Board

The momentum behind HVO100 is no longer theoretical. Stellantis last year fully validated its diesel engine range for HVO use, noting that many of its Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines were already compatible. BMW has gone even further, using HVO100 as a live demonstration of how quickly fleet emissions can be cut without waiting for everyone to switch to EVs.

The logic BMW put in front of fleet operators was refreshingly blunt: yes, electrification matters—but so does the fuel burned by the hundreds of millions of existing vehicles. Increase the proportion of renewable fuel in those tanks, and Europe’s CO₂ footprint drops almost immediately.

Since January, BMW has been putting its money where its filler cap is. Every diesel BMW built in Germany now leaves the factory with five to eight litres of HVO100 already in the tank, depending on model. The fuel comes from Neste MY, a Finnish producer whose HVO delivers up to a 90 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions on a well-to-wheel basis compared with fossil diesel.

“Well-to-wheel” is the key phrase there. It doesn’t just count what comes out of the tailpipe, but also the emissions created while sourcing, processing, refining, and transporting the fuel. In other words, it’s the full life-cycle carbon bill—and HVO100 still wipes the floor with conventional diesel.

BMW has approved all of its diesel passenger cars built from March 2020 onward for HVO100 use, with other manufacturers taking a similar date-based approach.

Not a Silver Bullet—but a Very Sharp One

Let’s be clear: HVO100 isn’t a magic wand that makes diesel guilt-free forever. But it is a remarkably effective stopgap—and maybe more than that. Unlike waiting for a full EV rollout, this is a solution that can be deployed right now, into the cars people already own, with almost no behavioural change.

No new charging infrastructure. No new engines. Just a cleaner liquid in the same old tank.

In a world obsessed with what’s coming next, HVO100 is a reminder that sometimes the fastest way forward is to fix what we already have. And for an industry desperate to cut carbon without hitting the brakes, that’s not just convenient—it might be essential.

Source: Autocar

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