There is nothing more tempting—or more challenging—for the idle industrialist than attempting to create one’s own supercar.

For every Ferruccio Lamborghini there are a dozen John DeLoreans, the path to greatness paved with good intentions and littered with overbudget and inherently flawed projects.

Christian von Koenigsegg is one of the rare breed from the first camp, and after founding his company in 1994 had, three years later, unveiled the Koenigsegg CC at the Cannes Film Festival.

Buoyed by the response, his eponymous firm went on to pioneer a raft of automotive firsts, from creating hollow carbon-fibre wheels capable of speeds in excess of 450 km/h, 3D-printed turbochargers, a single-state torque converter able to handle over 1,400 pound-feet of torque, and a hybrid-drive engine producing more than 1,500 horsepower.

Nowhere was that cutting-edge technology best applied than the Koenigsegg Regera.

Unveiled in concept form at the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show and debutin...