Gemera

Make
Koenigsegg
Segment
Coupe

One of the star cars that debuted last week during a spate of online press conferences substituting the canceled 2020 Geneva Motor Show was the Koenigsegg Gemera. Revealed alongside the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut at the abandoned Geneva show floor, the Gemera is Koenigsegg's first-ever four-seater, combining hypercar performance with the practicality of a four-seater coupe. Koenigsegg even claims the Gemera marks the start of a new "Mega-GT" segment.

Power is provided by a 2.0-liter, three-cylinder dry-sumped twin-turbo Freevalve engine and three electric motors producing a combined 1,727 horsepower and 2,581 lb-ft of torque, enabling the Gemera to accelerate from 0-62 mph in 1.9 seconds and top out at 248 mph. Those are some impressive figures, but there's one feature that could be compromised in the US.

Instead of traditional side mirrors, the Koenigsegg Gemera is equipped with aerodynamic side-view cameras. This presents a problem in the US, as federal motor vehicle safety standards require all passenger cars to be fitted with a "driver's side outside rearview mirror."

Speaking with Motor Trend, company founder Christian von Koenigsegg is hopeful the US Department of Transportation will allow side-mounted cameras by the time the Gemera enters production in 2022. If not, Koenigsegg will alter the design to make the Gemera comply with US safety regulations.

"Our strategy for the US is if [side-mounted rearview cameras are] not legal by the time of delivery, then we will clip-on mirrors on top of the cameras," Koenigsegg said. This means the US-spec Gemeras could offer the best of both worlds to satisfy regulators by having sideview cameras and mirrors. Not only will this affect the design of the Gemera, but it could also affect the car's aerodynamics.

It would be a shame if Koenigsegg is forced to add tacky clip-on mirrors to a hypercar as technologically advanced and expensive as the Gemera, but this won't the first time US regulators have prevented manufacturers adding sideview cameras. The Audi e-tron SUV and Lexus ES sedan are offered with sideview cameras, but not in the US.