Jesko

Make
Koenigsegg
Segment
Coupe

0.175. That just sounds like a few numbers to most of us. To the folks a Lightyear, it's a very important, very small number. As of now, that figure represents the lowest drag coefficient a car has ever achieved. More specifically, it's a record that now belongs to Lightyear. For reference, the previous record was 0.200, held by the Mercedes EQS.

Lightyear is backed by Koenigsegg, who you may have heard of. While the Swedish firm spends most of its time producing the Jesko and other 7-figure hypercars, it has also bankrolled Lightyear, whose solar-powered car we've talked about before. Now, we can call it the world's slipperiest car, and for once, not be talking about the nonexistent Cybertruck.

We should note there's a slight asterisk. Lightyear's own team validated the figure, so take this with a grain of salt. The folks at Lightyear have done nothing to earn our skepticism, it's just something to keep in mind. Regardless, Lightyear says three factors were behind the Lightyear 0's efficiency: its aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and heating system.

Obviously, the first of those is key. It's also why this and Merc's Vision EQXX look pretty similar. The wind doesn't care about intellectual property. Lightyear says that at highway speed, aero accounts for 60% of the 0's energy consumption. Lightyear outlines much of the aero testing done in the video above, so we'll leave it with aerodynamics test lead, Federico García López.

"With the wind tunnel test, we validated all our aerodynamic requirements. We took our car and tested it against realistic road conditions using the certified WLTP procedure. That test served as our validating run, as it gives a perfect representation of the car's aerodynamic capabilities," said Lopez.

Unfortunately, beyond the testing conducted, Lightyear doesn't go into great detail. We imagine there's some IP to be protected here. All we've got for you is that the design and shape of the 0 was very much inspired by nature, from the shape of landscapes to the stereotypical bird's wing.

Despite that, Lightyear says the findings from Lightyear 0 will be applied to its second model, the Lightyear 2. On top of that, WLTP certification will be run on a test track to verify the staggeringly low figure. "With Lightyear 2, we'll build upon our key learnings and innovations to achieve a mass-market car that sets new standards in efficiency. And aerodynamics will form a large part of that," said Lopez.

Check the new list with the most aerodynamic cars.