10 Cars We'd Like To See Koenigsegg's 600-HP 3-Cylinder In (2024)

In case you missed it, one of the coolest engines ever conceived is dead in the water because millionaires think bigger is better. The Koenigsegg Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG) engine was a dream of Christian von Koenigsegg's for over 10 years and was first announced when the Gemera debuted to the world a few years ago. An engineering triumph, the company was able to create a 2.0-liter twin-turbo three-cylinder engine that produces 592 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque. Married to an adjoining electric motor, the vehicle made well over 1,000 horsepower, and we couldn't wait to see it on the road.

Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, at least not in the Gemera. Last year, to everyone's surprise, the company announced it was adding a V8 engine option to the Gemera lineup. This $400,000 option brought combined power up to 2,269 horses, sounded incredible, and was a feat in its own right, but little did we know it was a harbinger of death for the three-cylinder. Earlier this month, Christian announced the engine would be dropped from the lineup because so many buyers had opted for the V8 instead. It seems the $400,000 price tag did little to ward off adopters.

2025 Koenigsegg Gemera HV8

Year

2025

Engine

5.0L Twin-Turbo V8 Plug-in Hybrid

Drivetrain

Four-Wheel Drive

Horsepower

2,269 hp

Torque

2,028 lb-ft

See Also

9 Most Expensive Koenigsegg Cars Ever Produced - Rarest.org2020 Koenigsegg Regera Review, Pricing, and SpecsAlle informatie over het automerk Koenigsegg bij AutoScout24.How Christian von Koenigsegg Built the World’s Most Interesting Hypercar Company at the Age of 22

So now the engine is living in limbo. Christian said he hopes the company can find a place for the engine in an upcoming vehicle, but nothing concrete has been announced. Instead of lamenting the death of the engine (which we've already done in bulk), we wanted to look to the future, put our creative hats on, and see if we could come up with a new home for the engine.

The company has never sold one of its engine designs before, but given the work that went into this one, if the right buyer came along, perhaps a deal could be struck. We've come up with 10 different vehicles, some in production and some not, which we feel could be good homes for a nearly 600-hp three-cylinder engine. We're just dreaming, but if Koenigsegg is out there listening, we hope the company considers some of what we have to say.

10 Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86

The thing with a three-cylinder powertrain is buyers are already going to have their prejudices against it. It doesn't matter if the engine makes 1,000 horsepower; it's still a three-cylinder, and we all have our ideas of the types of cars an engine like that should fit. To us, it's something small, fun, with tons of potential. This perfectly fits the nature of the BRZ/GR86 twins. Yes, these are cheap, entry-level sports cars, but imagine if they had access to the ultimate, high-revving, small-displacement engine on the market. They're young enough that we don't feel anyone would be too upset about them being offered without a boxer engine, and they don't need access to all 592 horses, either. 450 or 500 would be more than plenty enough to get you into trouble. Add a bunch more performance upgrades, give them the STI and GRMN badges, and you'd have something really special.

9 Lotus Emira

When coming up with options for this list, the Lotus Emira was one of the first that came to mind for a few reasons. One, it's a small, nimble sports car produced by a storied automaker that prides itself on the capabilities of its products. Two, the vehicle's current powertrains come from Toyota and Mercedes, showing its willingness to partner with engine suppliers, and three, the company is planning on this being its last combustion model (though, as we've seen in the industry, that could change), meaning it deserves a powerful sendoff. The TFG would fit right in with the vehicle's image and would do wonders for getting buyers interested. Call it the "Emira John Player Special," give it a cool historic livery, add $100,000 to the price, and we'd be shocked if it didn't sell out in days.

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8 Audi RS3

The Audi RS3 is already one of the wildest compact sport sedans on the market, pushing 401 horsepower out of an extremely rare five-cylinder engine. It's a riot, one that will thrill you with its aggressive performance but will also coddle you in typical Audi fashion with luxury and comfort when just driving around town. It's an odd duck, but we think its quattro AWD setup and unconventional nature make it a solid landing place for an engine as equally odd as the TFG.

The company already wants a more powerful version, and the next version has already shattered a new Nurburgring lap time, so what's just 200 horses more? Would it be a handful, yes, but it would also make it a prized model in the Audi lineup. Give it the Performance or GT name, more performance and luxury features, and you'll have something more than worthy of the Audi badge.

7 Mercedes-AMG SL

We're fans of this option simply because a collaboration between Mercedes and Koenigsegg works in our eyes. Mercedes is a storied brand that isn't afraid to think outside the box about its models, even if it is partial to its V8s. The new SL has returned to a four-cylinder engine for the first time since the first-gen 190 SL, but the motor has been derided for lacking the character and outright performance warranted by the first-ever pure-AMG SL.

While it's good the brand wants to make the sports car more accessible, we've found it to be a bit of a mixed bag and wonder if collaboration and a new, unique engine could be just what the brand needs to get more eyes on its roadster. The V8 option would still be safe in the SL 63 S E Performance model, and we wouldn't be surprised if the brand offered another above where the three-cylinder could sit. Make it the SL 55 and drop the SL 43; that would get the people talking.

6 Nissan Z

The new Nissan Z is the first time in a long time that a model with the Z name was truly competitive. The 370Z lasted well beyond its sell-by-date, and even though the new Z rides on a revised version of the same platform, it's a decidedly better vehicle inside and out. Its twin-turbo V6 currently makes 420 horsepower in its most powerful Nismo trim, but despite it being a more pointed-sports car than the regular Z, we can't help but have hoped for a little more. Enter the TFG. Nissan has the potential to completely revive its performance status with a move such as this, and it will help fill the hole left by the death of the GT-R. Pull a name out of the brand's history, or come up with a new one like "Nismo Spec R" or "Z432". Make it the ultimate Z, and put the rest of the world on notice like the R35 GT-R did in 2007.

5 Subaru WRX

Although the WRX is more refined than ever before, we feel Subaru still has room to introduce a more fun and, most importantly, more powerful model than it currently does. The WRX has as strong a following as any model, but even its faithful have shied away from the current generation thanks to polarizing looks and the lack of an STI variant. It still performs very well, especially thanks to the outgoing TR model and incoming tS trim that bring more performance goodies, but we think it's time for the brand to introduce something truly special to the WRX lineup once again. While a regular old STI would be nice, how about something even more intense? Something along the lines of a new halo model for the brand to really get customers' blood pumping? Throw the TFG in, call it the STI S210 or something else rally-inspired, and dominate the competition once again.

4 Toyota GR Corolla

You had to know this one was coming. As the only performance model on the market with a high-performance turbocharged three-cylinder under the hood, the GR Corolla is already perfectly suited for an even hotter variant with the same number of cylinders. The GR Corolla screamed onto the scene in the last couple of years, made all the better thanks to AWD and nothing but a six-speed manual (for now, at least). While we understand Toyota would be hard-pressed to turn its hot hatch into something that would rival and most likely beat any upcoming high-performance Supra variant, we say history never remembers the times when car companies held back. Go full bore and then put the Nürburgring production compact car record so far out of reach that no one touches it for years.

Plus, a rally-inspired hot hatch with more boost and power than it knows what to do with sounds kinda on-point, especially when you remember the '80s and '90s heydays of boosted rally monsters that made supercars look tame.

3 Mini John Cooper Works GP

The British company has already said it wants another GP, and we think it should be a model that elevates the image of the Mini brand. The last Mini John Cooper Works GP was a glorious handful of a vehicle that pushed the limits of what a FWD hatch could do. With 301 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque on tap, it wasn't as hard to get the power to the ground as one would think, but from there, the vehicle's ride was harsh and the steering fidgety. We can't help but feel the hatch would have done better with AWD. But if you're going to add AWD, why not nearly double the power and turn it into something capable of bating supercars? The TFG at full strength would probably be too much for it, but cut back power by about 20 percent and put all of the R&D into the chassis and handling of the vehicle, and you'll have the most impressive Mini Hardtop ever put to asphalt and a new halo for the Mini brand.

2 Hyundai Kona N

While we're still waiting on the introduction of the newest generation Kona N, we got to thinking that the Hyundai brand would make a great landing spot for the TFG. The N sub-brand is young enough in the performance realm to still have just about no expectations from the buying public, so there are no enthusiasts that would be upset if it strayed from its current norm. Not that it would really be trying too far either, as its models already run on small cylinder counts and turbocharging. The fact the Kona grew with its newest generation would work to its advantage, but the model would have to go AWD to control all of that power, something we feel Hyundai could handle. The company has already shown it has no problem unleashing 600-hp EVs onto the world, so why not offer a distinct combustion alternative?

1 Dodge Hornet GT GLH

The Dodge Hornet is an absolute riot for a very good price, but even though it offers the best standard power in its class, we don't feel it's truly up to Dodge's insane performance caliber. At its best, the PHEV R/T version makes 288 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque; respectable numbers, but not the bone-chilling numbers we expect from the company that created the Hellcat. The company has already unveiled a performance concept dubbed the "Goes Like Hell" (GLH) that shows off performance parts and is a throwback to the GLH models of the '80s. We think the company should take a step beyond this and seek collaboration with Konigesegg to unveil the hottest compact crossover on the market and resurrect the GLHS moniker. Maybe even get Shelby American involved to truly make it a legitimate legend, but we can't help but feel this would be right up the brand's alley.