KOENIGSEGG VERSUS THE WORLD The idea of building one’s own supercar to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren would generally be considered ludicrous.

How could one man’s vision compete with such established sporting pedigree and record-setting engineering? From time to time, however, someone does indeed attempt such a feat and, on even rarer occasions, succeeds brilliantly.

Christian von Koenigsegg created his eponymous supercar company in 1994, at age 22; his aspiration was to build nothing short of the greatest supercar in history.

Over the next three years, his small team created a prototype constructed using a radical carbon fiber tub and a litany of automotive engineering firsts.

This car, named the Koenigsegg CC (Competition Coupé), was first publicly displayed at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997, and the reaction from public and press alike was overwhelming.

Confident his cars would find buyers, Christian left Cannes with nothing other than production ...