As with all apparently simple questions, there is not necessarily one simple answer regarding the most expensive car in the world.
It all comes down to a question of definition. Does the question refer to production cars which are freely available to those with enough money to buy them? Is it about a limited number of handmade models allocated to a selected few? Or does it refer to the highest price ever paid for a car in, say, an auction? There have been occasional examples of concept cars, or something similar, being sold for a price that reflects their rarity, but not much else. One such vehicle was a Maybach Exelero.
While not actually a production car, it is the most expensive road-going car in the world. Only one was ever made and was bought by rapper Bryan Williams (better known by his stage name of “Birdman”). He purchased this rather expensive set of wheels for $8.0 million!
But coming slightly closer to reality, this week Lamborghini unveiled the world’s most expensive car – a super-aggressive model costing a staggering $5.43 million.
Named the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, the car is a limited edition sports car; and for that money, you don’t even get a roof! This Roadster has a 750 bhp V12 engine, which takes the car from 0-62 mph in just 2.9 seconds; its top speed is 220 mph (352 km). Only nine of these awesome machines are scheduled to be built for delivery in 2014. Just to give some perspective to the price, it is ten times the price of their Aventador model. Perhaps a more understandable comparison is that for this sum you could buy 335 Ford Fiestas! Lamborghini call the Veneno Roadster
One of the most exceptional super sports cars of all time … (it) guarantees an intense driving experience – because open means truly open. There is no roof, just a strong rollover bar for optimum safety. The design is focused on optimum aerodynamics and stability through fast corners -with handling akin to that of a racing prototype
The car was launched as part of Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary program.
For those of you for whom the price tag is just a touch too high, the Life Daily auto-team have put together a “Top Ten” list of other high performance vehicles that are slightly more affordable. In ascending order, these are:
1. Porsche 918 Spyder – $845,000
2. McLaren P1 – $1.1 million
3. Hennessey Venom GT – $1.1 million
4. Maybach Landaulet – $1.3 million
5. Ferrari La Ferrari – $1.3 million
6. Pagani Huayra – $1.3 million
7. Koenigsegg Agera R – $1.6 million
8. Lamborghini Reventon – $1.61million
9. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento – $2.2 million
10. W Motors Lykan Hypersport – $3.4 million
In spite of the eye-watering prices in our list, they do not even approach the record for the highest price ever paid for a car.
This goes to a 1963 model Ferrari 250 GTO.
This is an extremely rare vehicle and there are only 39 in existence. Because they were handcrafted, each one is slightly different. They were the brainchild of Enzo Ferrari, and were created in response to the success of the Jaguar E-type. At the time Ferrari did not manage to outsell Jaguar – but perhaps now they have the last laugh, since the amount paid for this one car is probably enough to buy all the E-types left in the world.
How much did it go for? At auction it was sold for a “modest” $52 million – which surely makes it the most expensive car in the world!
If money were no object, which of the cars on our list would you pick? Or can you suggest a car that we didn’t select? You can tell us and our readers by using the comments feed below.
