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Who really buys those crazy 200mph, £1million hypercars?
Demand for ‘hypercars’ such as this £2.5 million Lamborghini is accelerating, says Jeremy Taylor
They say lightning never strikes twice, but Lamborghini has proved it does with its new Sian hypercar. The futuristic V12 hybrid has also inspired a 4,000bhp speedboat that can be bought with it – the matching pair will burn a £5.5million hole in your chic Prada pantaloni.
The name Sian isn’t a nod by Lamborghini to a distant Welsh cousin, however. The moniker actually means “lightning” in the dialect of Sant’Agata Bolognese, in Italy’s “supercar valley” between Bologna and Modena, where the 217mph car is built. The roofless version of the two-seater combines with the topless Tecnonar powerboat to offer the ultimate in super-wealthy, impractical extravagance.
In truth, a luxury car manufacturer is more likely to cosy up with a watch atelier than a premium boatbuilder these days. But if you thought that ultra-exclusive hypercars such as the Lamborghini had been pummelled by the pandemic, then think again.
The Italian marque sold all 19 opencockpit Sian models last year to extrovert hypercar aficionados for around £2.5million each. Now it’s announced the similarly priced coupé version, which runs to 63 examples (Lamborghini was created in 1963 as a rival to its more famous neighbour Ferrari), and this has also gone in a flash, or as fast as 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds.
On an exclusive drive around Bedfordshire, it’s obvious why any wellheeled petrolhead would want a Sian in their humidity-controlled storage facility (not for them a mere garage). Powered by a ferocious and uprated (to 774bhp) 6.5-litre V12 engine from the Aventador, the new model has the added benefit of a 48-volt electric motor, together delivering 808bhp.
The motor is mounted in the gearbox and energy is produced via a supercapacitor – which sounds like it was originally fitted in the Batmobile – which dispenses with the need for a heavy lithium-ion battery but can discharge and recharge energy at the same rate.
The Sian isn’t a plug-in hybrid either and can only use electric power for lowspeed parking – which is a shame because it would be a real talking point at my local Lidl charging station. The mildest of mild hybrids, the flamboyant Lambo really wasn’t created to win over environmentalists.
And while the innovative powertrain and titanium intake valves are talking points, the Sian is mostly about performance and those astonishing styling cues. Forget practicalities like a boot, this is quite simply the most bonkers car I’ve been confronted with in years.
Check out the crazy rear lights, aerodynamic winglets on the rear haunches and more than a hint of iconic Countach (Lamborghini’s seminal 1970s supercar), too. Hexagon shapes are sprinkled everywhere, from the twin exhaust pipes and door mirrors, to the rear lights and instrument binnacle. The Sian really is madness from every angle – and insanely fast, naturally.
According to automotive industry analyst Jato Dynamics, demand for “everyday” supercars in 2020 across the major UK and European markets fell by 0.8 per cent. However, in the rarefied stratosphere of a six-figure hypercar like the Sian, the crazier the offering the better.
Edward Lovett founded online auction house Collecting Cars. In the past 18 months the site has sold more than 1,800 vehicles with a combined value of £59 million.
He says: “The price point for some hypercars is quite ridiculous. Customers are paying six-figure sums for a piece of automotive exotica they can’t use on a daily basis because the car is too valuable – or simply isn’t equipped for the vagaries of the British climate.”
Lovett says the new breed of luxury buyer instead wants exclusivity at any price and is prepared to pay. “They aren’t old money but part of a wealthy, modern generation that has created a lot of capital very quickly, often in hitech industries.
“Many hypercar owners were too embarrassed to be seen driving at the start of the pandemic because it ‘didn’t seem appropriate’. Now they are showing off again. These people are not buying supercars for investment but to shout about their wealth.
“They regard a £1.4million McLaren Elva as the automotive equivalent of Instagram. It expresses everything they want to say about themselves. By comparison, the wealthiest people I know don’t drive flash cars – they prefer to stay under the radar.”
The Lamborghini isn’t the only outrageous and impractical hypercar to promote exclusive form over function. The limited edition, open-top Elva costs £1.4million and also has no roof, or windscreen.
At £1.8million, the Bacalar is the most expensive Bentley ever, with a cockpit permanently open to the elements. Only 12 have been built at the company’s Crewe headquarters – all have been sold.
And bring an umbrella, Mr Bond, because the windscreen- and roof-free Aston Martin V12 Speedster is priced at a more “modest” £765,000. The production run is restricted to only 88 high-performance examples.
So precisely who is buying these insane, impractical machines that are almost too powerful to drive on a public highway?
Oddly, or perhaps tellingly, none of the brands I approached was prepared to put me in touch with a collector. Aston Martin, Bentley and others politely declined.
James Banks is the former head of bespoke cars at McLaren – now he runs one of the most exclusive showrooms in the world. UK-based LaSource is a global brokerage for rare hypercars, including build slots for the exclusive Brabham BT62 and Gordon Murray T.50 models. Many of his clients are billionaires who hoard limited edition models from McLaren and Aston Martin as regularly as the rest of us collect penalty points – anyone for an Aston Martin Valkyrie or McLaren Speedtail?
“Prices are firming up in the hypercar market,” he says. “The pandemic has had little impact on the super-rich and limited edition models like the Sian are all the rage right now.
“When you are incredibly wealthy, the whole buying process, or ‘customer journey’, is very much a part of the experience.
“These buyers love scouring the internet for something unique and adding their own personal touches to the build, regardless of how impractical that might be. Practicality doesn’t come into it at that level, especially the ludicrous performance of hypercars.”
Tom Jaconelli is a director at Romans International in Banstead, one of the country’s leading supercar showrooms. The dealership currently stocks everything from a McLaren Senna to a Ferrari LaFerrari.
“At the start of the first lockdown we were affected but that has changed,” he says. “The wealthiest people don’t have anything to spend on at the moment, no exotic holidays or expensive nights out.
“Now they’re back shopping again – and it’s ‘money no object’.”