I have never heard this expression. Like xara, I have heard of strides ahead. However, what is mostly used here is "miles ahead" to mean something/someone who is in advance of everything/everybody else. Odd since we are now using the metric system but I guess this is a leftover from our years using imperial measures. You NEVER hear kilometers ahead (unless you are talking about distance of course )

"Years ahead of its time" is used to describe anything innovative. (usually by marketers/usually really days or weeks ahead of competition)