What's this then?

This is the craziest, possibly most high-tech car at the whole Geneva Motor Show - and definitely the most powerful. It's the Koenigsegg Regera, the latest nut-job hypercar from Sweden's answer to Elon Musk, Christian Von Koenigsegg.

The Regera has a full power output of 1,700hp. Yes, you read that right - roughly as much as a turbocharged F1 car from the mid-eighties. That's the combined power output because the Regera is actually a hybrid. The turbocharged 6.0-litre V8 engine develops a 'mere' 1,100hp, but more than 600hp extra comes from three electric motors (one for each wheel and one on the crankshaft) that make up the Regera's hybrid system.

That sounds rather clever...

Want to hear the really clever bit? There is no gearbox - the Regera drives its wheels directly from the electric motors, which means the petrol engine is connected to a direct-drive system and doesn't need any cogs - the electric motors do all the reduction gearing etc.

You can even plug it into the mains, charge up the battery stack (which is safely tucked away deep inside the carbon fibre chassis) and cruise around on electric-only power. To do that would be to miss out on the Regera's staggering performance though. How about 0-250mph in 20 seconds? The traction-limited 0-62mph run comes up in just 2.8 seconds but the Regera is only just getting into its stride then. It'll go from 95- to 155mph in just over three seconds. Woof.

Wow. Just wow.

Want more? There is more. Koenigsegg claims that all the extra electric motor and battery stuff actually only adds 88kg to the weight of the Regera, compared to what it would weigh if it had a conventional gearbox. There's a little extra weight too thanks to the hydraulically actuated boot lid, engine cover and rotating doors. All of which can be actuated remotely from the key fob or from a smartphone app. Yup, you can pretend your car is a Transformer...

There's a retracting Le-Mans-style top-mount wing that helps the Regera to generate 450kg of downforce at high speed and the exhaust has a fishtail design, which is meant to make the engine note even louder.

And the price for all this?

£1.23 million, before taxes.

Neil Briscoe - 4 Mar 2015