Ten most expensive cars in the world
Money is like integrity — hard to earn, easy to lose. And with big money comes enormous responsibility, especially when it comes to acquiring the correct automobile: Pick the wrong jewel for the driveway and the choice could cement a reputation that money can’t buy class. We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?
The cars in this list, however, are all a class above. Indeed, this collection of the most expensive cars in the world focuses on vehicles that someone with money and connections might actually purchase and drive in 2017, not just diamond-crusted unicorns limited to five or six samples. That’s another, most-expensive list altogether.
While still exceedingly rare and terribly expensive, these production cars could be bought new or are now in the marketplace with just a few miles on them. All prices in US dollars.
FERRARI LAFERRARI $1.4 MILLION
A man or woman with serious means could purchase a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO for $50 million and achieve the satisfaction of owning the world’s most expensive automobile, or they could spend just three per cent of that and settle for a LaFerrari. With a 6.3-litre V12 producing 789 horsepower, and an electric motor adding another 161 hp for a total output of 950, this Ferrari is as fast as it is for the financially serious.
ZENVO TS1 GT $1.9 MILLION
Boasting extreme looks, the Zenvo TS1 GT is a new hypercar to mark the Denmark manufacturer’s 10th anniversary, evolving from the $1.8 million ST1 that saw a limited run of 15 units. Unveiled in Geneva earlier this month, the new car will also be limited to 15 units. More importantly, it makes the run from rest to 100 km/h in under 2.8 seconds thanks to a 5.8L V8 with two superchargers that produce 1,163 net hp. Talk about achieving Zen.
KOENIGSEGG REGERA $2 MILLION
Arguably the most beautiful car ever designed and built, the Koenigsegg Regera is being hand-assembled as an alternative to Koenigsegg’s other hypercars, including the Agera RS and the One:1. Eighty units, each costing about $2 million, will go to customers who will experience the insanity of 1,500 h.p. after a multi-year wait for their car to be built. A 5.0-L twin-turbo V8 engine with three electric motors allows the Regera to achieve 400 km/h in under 20 seconds.
FERRARI LAFERRARI APERTA $2.2 MILLION
The open-top version of the LaFerrari, the Aperta is limited to 209 units, 200 of which were sold to customers via invitation and the other nine for company use. The Aperta gets a removable carbon-fibre hardtop and a removable softtop and uses the same engine as its hardtop sibling, so zero-to-100 km/h sprints can be heard in even more chilling detail.
PAGANI HUAYRA ROADSTER $2.4 MILLION
With all 100 units of the original Pagani Huayra sold, the Italian supercar company now turns to its Roadster, the first convertible to be lighter (1,280 kilograms) than its coupe counterpart. Only 100 Huayra Roadsters will be built, all of which are already sold. Each gets a 6.0-L twin-turbo V12 from Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division that produces 754 h.p. and 740 pound-feet of torque. That’s delivered to the rear wheels via an all-new seven-speed automated manual transmission.
BUGATTI CHIRON $2.7 MILLION
The successor to the insane Veyron, the Bugatti Chiron relies on an updated W16 engine (essentially the spooning of two V8s) producing 1,479 h.p. to become one of the fastest cars on Earth. It’s able to reach 200 km/h in under 6.5 seconds and touch 300 km/h in under 13.6 seconds, on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 420 km/h — although it’s expected to be able to reach 463 km/h. Production is limited to 500 cars, 200 of which were sold before the first was built.
PAGANI HUAYRA BC $2.8 MILLION
A special edition of the Pagani Huayra limited to just 20 units, the Huayra BC — initialled after Benny Caiola, Pagani’s first customer and the founder’s friend — gets a more powerful version of the twin-turbo AMG V12 in the standard car, producing 790 h.p. and 810 lb·ft of torque. Weight is also down, thanks to a new type of carbon fibre that Pagani says is stronger, yet 50 per cent lighter. A Pagani BC Roadster also appears to be in the works.
ASTON MARTIN VULCAN $3.4 MILLION
Limited to 24 units, the Aston Martin Vulcan is a track-only weapon carrying the company’s most powerful, naturally aspirated 7.0-L V12 engine. Mounted on an aluminum chassis, the 800-h.p. engine is surrounded by a carbon-fibre body. The very first unit to arrive in the U.S. was recently listed on Dupont Registry for $3.4 million, although the car originally sold for $2.3 million.
MCLAREN P1 GTR $3.6 MILLION
Only McLaren might know for certain how many street-legal P1 GTRs exist, since the car was originally a track-only endeavour limited to 58 units. But more than a few owners had the P1 GTR, with its twin-turbo V8 and electric powertrain generating 986 hp, converted for street use. Those that can be driven on public roads command serious money when they occasionally come up for sale. How high the price will go depends on how many get converted, but it’s estimated 25 have made the switch. One recent example carried an asking price of more than $4 million.
LAMBORGHINI VENENO ROADSTER — $4.5 MILLION
The Veneno Roadster cuts it close in making the list because of its small production run of nine units, but it lands here nevertheless because the car’s design outrageousness. It is a cross between a modern stealth fighter jet and a nuclear-reacted Lamborghini that can melt anyone’s eyes. The Countach (only about $400,000 today) was the gold standard of so many boyhood dreams. The Veneno Roadster, with a 740-hp 6.5-L V12 engine, does not even come with any sort of roof, even though it costs $500,000 more than the $4 million Veneno coupe. Yet it’s undeniably the most expensive way to part with those hard-won freighters of cash, earnings or winnings should you ever come across one.