Part 1: the top 10 most expensive cars
What are the the top 10 most expensive cars in the modern world of today? Well, I’ve seen this particular question pop up numerous times before. In fact, I’ve even decided to make a website for the sole purpose of this question. Welcome to top10mostexpensivecars.org!
Alright, I’ll stop rambling about my website. Let’s talk cars, the top 10 most expensive cars. Some might even call them luxury cars. I don’t know about you but I would drive any of the cars bellow in a heartbeat (if someone offered to, not that I can afford them).
I’ve tried to compile a list of 10 (well, actually 11, you’ll see why) super expensive automobiles you can buy today. We won’t be talking about any cars that have been sold at auctions or are no longer available. Also, I’ll start from the most expensive car first. Read on!
#1 Bugatti Veyron Super Sports
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $2,400,000
At our number 1 spot is the height of automotive engineering and cutting edge technology. It’s not just the most expensive car in the world. It’s also the fastest road car you can buy. Now you know where the hefty price tag comes from. The Bugatti is truly the definition of a supercar.
Let’s look at some of the numbers. The Bugatti Veyron goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 2.5 seconds. It packs an 8.0 liter W16 engine that has 4 turbochargers. As well as a DSG computer controlled manual transmission and a double clutch. This car has got a max speed of 253 miles per hours or 407 km/h! Absolutely insane. It can achieve this due to the incredible engineering and low weight. Added up the Veyron produces a mind-blowing 529 break horsepower per ton.
The Bugatti Veyron Super Sports is able to go from 0 to 124 and 186 miles per hour in just 7.3 and 16.7 seconds respectively. These specs make it the fastest accelerating car in the world. Now you know why it takes the top of our list of top 10 most expensive cars.
RECENT UPDATE:
The “top 10 most expensive cars” pole position has been hijacked by Aston Martin One-77 which costs a mere US$4.4 million dollars. Double wow. The masterpiece was fully revealed at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. It’s got a 7.3 litre V12 engine with 750 hp (560 kW) that enables the car to go from 0 to 60 in approximately 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 220.007 mph (354.067 km/h). It’s also got an absolutely gorgeous design.
#2 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $1,850,000
This is an Italian supercar relies on an extremely powerful Mercedes Benz engine. The Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster was released in 2009. What makes this car so expensive is it’s availability, there were only 5 cars ever produced.
The car is made from carbo-titanium using cutting-edge technology. Inside the hood you’ll find a 678 horsepower engine which enables the car go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 3.4 seconds. The top speed is 217 miles per hour. Impressive. The Pagani only weights 1.2 tons and that’s one of the reasons why it can go so incredibly fast. When we add up the price and the quantity produced it sits comfortably in the second place on our top 10 most expensive cars list.
#3 Lamborghini Reventon
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $1,600,000
If there was a car beauty contest this one would take the #1 spot without a doubt. (In my opinion!) it’s a beautiful display of power and elegance, a true head-turner. The Lamborghini Reventon is the latest car from the famous company. It took the base characteristics from the Murcielago LP640 which was probably my favourite car for a really long time. Similarly to the Pagani Zonda R, Lamborghini made only 20 of these models available hence it’s extremely hard to buy one. This seems to be a popular tactic for luxury cars, make few of them that way increasing their prices sky-high.
This Lamborghini model was designed at Santa’Agata in Italy, the birthplace of all Lamborghini cars. The newest Lambo has numerous improvements over its previous models with major improvements being the design of air intake. The front of the car is shaped to funnel the incoming air to the 12 cylinder calipers and carbon disk brakes at extreme conditions. Under the hood you’ll find a 6.5 liter V12 engine which is able to produce a hefty 650 horsepower. Reventon is able to go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds with a maximum speed of 211 mph. (that’s 339 km/h)
(sharing the #3 spot)
#3 Koenigsegg Agera R
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $1,600,000
Sharing the third place its car by a Swedish car maker called Koenigsegg. Safe to say I cannot pronounce it. Koenigsegg makes one of the fastest cars on the planet and their latest invention – the new 2011 model Koenigsegg Agera R. “Just how fast can it go?” you might wonder. Let me just say it’s about as fast as the Bugatti Veyron. The car goes from 0 to 168 mph in mere 14.53 seconds. One day it may very well grab the title of the world’s fastest car.
This beast packs a 5.0 liter v8 twin turbo engine and is able to produce a staggering 1,115 horsepower. With these kinds of specifications the Agera R goes from 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds. The top speed is still not tested. One cool feature about this car is its ability to run on multiple types of fuel. Pretty neat.
#4 McLaren F1
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $970,000
The McLaren F1 is not just a supercar, oh no, it’s a statement of power. This car made a tremendous impact on the whole automotive industry. The birth of this masterpiece is quite interesting. It all started a while ago when a famous car designer named Gordon Murray decided to create something never seen before. He had one goal – to create a very light car packed with the most cutting-edge engineering available and the time. When the car was born it literally took decades to produce something that can stand a chance with the mighty McLaren F1.
I bet the first thing you’ve noticed about this car is its uncommon design. The car has only 3 seats with the driver sitting at the center. The other 2 passenger seats are placed on the sides. Such layout allows the driver to have maximum visibility.
The McLaren F1 has a powerful BMW 6.0 liter V12 engine that is able to produce a 627 horsepower. Due to the cars design the McLaren F1 has an incredible 550 horsepower per ton ratio, safe to say Mr. Murray achieved his goal of making a light supercar. the car goes from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and from 0 to 100 mph in 6.3 seconds. The top speed is 248 miles per hour which equals to about 386 km/h.
#5 Ferrari Enzo
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $670,000
At #5 another extremely beautiful car. The famous Ferrari Enzo. The Ferrari is probably the most well-known supercar there is. I personally do not know anyone who hasn’t heard the word “Ferrari”. This name has always been associated with the life of luxury.
This 650 horsepower beauty was developed in 2002 and named after its founder. The Enzo uses many Formula 1 technologies which automatically increases its price tag by a lot. The car’s whole body is made out of carbon fiber which is very rare for road cars. It also has an electrohydraulic transmission, the one used in Formula 1 races. Some other technologies include the active traction control and finely tuned aerodynamics. The Enzo gave birth to a whole new range of Ferrari models because of its revolutionary V12 engine that has four valves per cylinder. Motor Trend Classics’ Ten Greatest Ferraris ranked the Enzo 4th and Sports Car International ranked it third on their list of top supercars of 2000.
Ken Okuyama was the design mastermind behind the Enzo, he’s the head of Japapanse Pinifarina. Again, the car was produced in limited numbers so it’s very hard to get a hold of. 399 of these cars were produced. Enzo’s top speed is 217 mph, its able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.65 seconds.
#6 Pagani Zonda C12 F
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $667,321
The Pagani Zonda C12 F made its first appearance in the Geneva Auto Show back in 2005. Today it’s still one of the fastest road cars available. Just like the McLaren f1 it’s built from carbon fiber and is also a brilliant piece of craftsmanship and engineering. When the company behind Pagani Zonda F (“Pagani Automobili) launched the Pagani C12 they challenged the “big” supercar names such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche. It’s also important to note that Pagani Zonda C12 F was inspired by a Formula 1 champion Juan Miguel Fangio.
This car packs a top of the line V12 Mercedes Benz engine which produces a competitive 620 horsepower. Pagani weighs only 1.2 and is able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds with a top speed 214 mph (that’s 345 km/h).
#7 SSC Ultimate Aero
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $654,400
The flashy “Ultimate Aero” title is there for a good reason. There used to be a time when SSC Ultimate Aero was the ultimate car on the whole planet, bar none. It held the title of “world’s fastest car” for 3 years – from 2007 till 2010. The SSC Ultimate dates back to 2004 when a prototype was built based on the famous “Lamborghini Diablo” chassis. A Corvette C5R engine with a Dodge Viper 6 speed manual gearbox was put on top of the chassis and that’s how SSC Aero was born. In 2006, the first model in 2006 had an amazing 1062 horsepower. But there was room for improvement.
In 2009 the car makers decided to implement some further improvements allowing the SSC Aero to produce an eye-watering 1287 horsepower! Now that’s what I call a powerhouse. It goes from 0 to 60 in just 2.78 seconds and has a maximum speed of 257.4 mph. (that’s 414 km/h)
#8 Ascari A10
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $650,000
The car in our 6th spot comes from a British car manufacturer Ascari. their Ascari A10 model was made in celebration of their 10th company anniversary. The A10 is actually a road-car version of the KZ1-R model that used to race car used in the Spanish GT Championship. Paul Brown is the designer behind the Ascari A10.
The car holds a powerful 625 horsepower BMW 5.0 V8 engine. It’s able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds flat with a top speed of 220 mph (354 km/h).
#9 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $555,000
Let me start off by saying that this is one of the fastest American cars to date. A guy named Steve Saleen came up with the concept of a purely American supercar sometime in the 1990s. Thus a new supercar was born and not just some supercar. It used to be one of the most technically advanced supercars on the market and even today it packs a decent punch. I really like the American design of this car.
Few years passed after its release and the car’s technology became outdated due to fast development of the time. Saleen S7 craved for an upgrade. Saleen S7 Twin Turbo was born. This version of the car is way more powerful than its predecessor. It’s engine is able to produce a whopping 750 horsepower which enables the car go from 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds. The maximum speed is 248 mph or about 400 km/h.
#10 Koenigsegg CCX
“Top 10 most expensive cars” price: $545,568
At our #10 spot is the second Koenigsegg on our list. it’s an updated version of the previously successful CC/CCR models. The Swedish car maker made a goal to penetrate the American market with this model, hence in 2006 it appeared in Geneva Motor Show. The letters CCX translate to “Competition Coupe X”. In my opinion X could also stand for Extreme because that’s what this car is.
The CCX can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds with a top speed of about 245 mph. Not too shabby. Few years ago in 2007 it managed to score the fastest lap time on the TV show Top Gear (love that show), clocking a 1:17:6 lap time.
Part2: the most expensive car sold in an auction
Ever wondered what’s the most expensive car? Most consumers consider an “expensive” car to cost tens of thousands of dollars or, for some models, maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars. But, in the world of true vehicle enthusiasts, car prices in the thousands are mere pocket change. The most expensive cars ever sold have been able to demand prices well into the tens of millions of dollars, based on their intriguing form factor and design, their rarity, and their age. These cars, with price tags high enough to qualify for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, are the most expensive cars ever sold.
1936 Bugatti Type 57SC
Developed in 1935 and sold at the height of the Great Depression, a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC recent sold for between $31 million and a staggering $41 million in the United States. That’s a staggering amount of money, especially considering the year was 2010: the height of the global economic downturn and a time when most budgets were tight.
The car was designed in 1935 by Jean Bugatti, and is widely known for its unique shape. The car employs a daring teardrop shape that is unique among vehicles even to this day. The car made its global debut at the 1935 Paris Motor Show and was the first one to feature so-called “fins.” It’s a feature which was considered avant-garde at the time, but which would become a standard feature some two decades later.
Despite its cutting edge style and unique design, the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC received only three orders from visitors to the Paris Motor Show in 1935. This rarity no doubt contributed to its high price in 2010.
1963 Ferrari 250 GTO
Coming in at a close second place in the race for the most expensive car ever sold is the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO. The car sold in February 2012 for an amazing $31,856,726. This puts the car squarely in the big leagues, at roughly the same price as the first-place Bugatti Type 57SC when it comes to the world’s most expensive car.
The 250 GOT was produced only between 1962 and 1964. In the United States, the car cost $18,000 for new buyers at the time, and was nowhere near accessible to the average consumer. Its price tag alone set it apart from more common sports cars, but so did one of the requirements when making a purchase: potential buyers had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari himself, as well as his North American partner.
To say it was difficult to score one of these impressive early muscle cars would be an understatement. And they may be even more hard to secure now that they’re apparently worth an impressive $31.8 million in the United States.
Third Place Belongs to Another Ferrari 250 GTO
There’s just no getting around it: some of the rarest and most desirable cars in the world are — and have always been — Ferrari sports cars. And that is probably why another Ferrari 250 GTO model sold in 2008 for an estimated $24.7 million. That might not sound as impressive as the same model which sold for $7 million more but, when adjusted for inflation, the cars are both impressively expensive.
Of course, part of this has to do with the fact that a mere 39 Ferrari 250 GTO sports cars were produced for the entire life of the 250 GTO product line. This is largely because these cars were reserved for the best of the best, and the richest of the rich. As mentioned earlier, anyone who wished to get their hands on these elusive muscle cars could kiss their dream of ownership goodbye if Enzo Ferrari himself deemed them unworthy of owning such a well-regarded automobile.
Looking Toward the Future of Super-Expensive Automobiles
Cars will never stop being collectible, and certain brands are certainly destined to be more desirable. Because of the way Ferrari markets and manufactures its sports cars, catering to the rich, famous, and highly qualified, it’s quite likely that future sales will make the Italian automaker the king of super-expensive car auction sales and record-setting prices.
The keys to an expensive car auction are age, limited availability, and desirability. All three of these cars have a strong profile in each category, and will likely continue to pull multimillion dollar price tags far into the future.
