. The Swedish firm currently sells the Gemera, a four-seat hybrid with an eye-popping 2,300 horsepower, and the CC850, with 1,385 horsepower and a gearbox that can be a 9-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual with the touch of a button. These two models join a long line of crazy-powerful, hyper-exclusivepacked with never-before-seen technology. The company, and the cars that it builds, all stem from the magnificent mind of one man: Christian von Koenigsegg.
Starting a car company from scratch isn’t easy. As von Koenigsegg told Forbes, the fledgling automaker quickly ate up all of the $200,000 he had to his name. His father, an executive at an industrial heating-tech company, loaned him another $300,000. “My father didn’t know it then, but he would over the next few years invest his life savings, or about $2 million,” von Koenigsegg told Forbes. “Naturally my mother freaked out.
2004 saw the debut of the next Koenigsegg supercar, the CCR. Building on lessons learned from the design and production of the CC8S, this CCR featured upgraded aerodynamics for additional downforce, plus bigger brakes, wheels, and tires. The engine was upgraded with twin superchargers, now churning out 806 horsepower. In February of 2005, von Koenigsegg took a CCR to the high-speed test track in Nardo, Italy, where it clocked a top speed of 387.
In 2013, Christian von Koenigsegg bought his first Tesla Model S. He was so enthralled by the instant torque and uninterrupted acceleration of his electric super-sedan, that he immediately began working on his own design for electric motors. The result: The Koenigsegg Regera, with a twin-turbo V8 engine, three electric motors, and no gearbox. At low speeds, the Regera moved under electric power; above 30 mph, the engine drove the wheels directly.