16:15 31-05-2026

Kimera K39: this almost-Lancia got a Koenigsegg engine, and tyres might regret being alive

Kimera unveils its K39 — a 1,000 hp, 1,100 kg hypercar with a Koenigsegg-developed twin-turbo V8, carbon monocoque, manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive.

Kimera no longer looks like just a workshop for high-end restomods. The new K39 packs a bespoke Koenigsegg V8, a carbon-fibre monocoque and a body that looks like a Lancia 037 sent to endurance racing instead of the rally stage.

The headline act is a 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8. In K39 spec it delivers around 1,000 hp and 1,200 Nm, while the car itself weighs roughly 1,100 kg. For a rear-wheel-drive machine with a 7-speed manual, that’s no longer just Group B nostalgia — it’s a serious claim to hypercar territory.

Koenigsegg didn’t just hand over an engine off the shelf. For Kimera, the V8 was retuned with a different character in mind: bespoke calibration, a reworked intake and smaller, more responsive turbos. The result isn’t a record-chasing Jesko on paper, but a livelier, more characterful unit that’s as concerned with how it sounds as how fast it accelerates.

The bodywork isn’t just decoration either. The K39 is built around a carbon-fibre monocoque, Dallara is helping fine-tune the aerodynamics, and the huge ducts, fender slots and massive rear wing all work for cooling and downforce. The Lancia spirit of the earlier EVO37 and EVO38 is still there, but the old underpinnings are gone.

The real teaser is the K39 Pikes Peak version. Only 10 will be built, and it’ll be a road-legal car with an even more aggressive aero kit and racing livery. The standard K39 won’t be much more common either: production is expected to stay under 100 units, and the price will almost certainly run into millions of dollars.

Kimera has built a car for people who aren’t satisfied with a perfect launch control number on screen. Everything here is old-school dangerous: a light body, a thousand horsepower, a manual gearbox and an engine that has no interest in being polite.