The average American car goes for just over $33,500, but you’re not average, are you? No, you don’t earn the average $57,600 the average American earns in a year, so why would you buy an average car? Tack on a few zeros to the average income or count your net worth in the millions, and you’re more likely to consider a car with significantly more… more power, more comfort, more technology, more luxury and, of course, more coin. If you’ve got a few million burning a hole in your pocket, you could buy every Lexus model this year, or maybe a couple of Ferraris, his and hers. Still, you can only occupy one seat, so why not blow it all on one of the world’s most-expensive cars?
Custom Rolls-Royce Sweptail - $13 Million
Bespoke cars were all the rage in the early days of the automobile, particularly before mass production made the automobile ubiquitous. Today, most people are satisfied to pick their favorite colors, powertrain, and technology packages, but if you’ve got the cash, you can specify pretty much anything you want, and someone will build it for you. This one-off commissioned car was designed using cues from 1920s
Rolls-Royce swept-tail designs and classic yacht designs. The car took four years to build, between design, engineering, and construction.
Custom Maybach Exelero - $10 Million
Another one-off car, built over a decade ago, gets its place on the list because, adjusted for inflation, it’s worth over $10 million.
Maybach is another well-known custom builder, functioning today out Mercedes-Benz’ luxury garage, and another who’ll build anything for anyone with deep enough pockets. The Maybach Exelero looks like something Darth Vader might drive, powered by a 690-hp 752-lb•ft twin-turbo V12 and The Dark Side. Dark leather sport seats cradle the driver and passenger in a cabin of carbon fiber and aluminum.
Limited Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita - $4.8 Million
Automotive enthusiast Christian von Koenigsegg’s automotive company is on the verge of its Silver Anniversary, a relative newcomer to the automotive marketplace. He’s been accused of building the world’s most-beautiful cars, and his penchant for performance has produces some of the most-powerful and most-expensive cars in the world. Just two Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita were built, owing to the difficulty of producing its body. Developed entirely in-house, the diamond-weave carbon fiber doesn’t refer to pattern, but carbon fibers coated in diamonds, perhaps one of the most-expensive car bodies in the world – there are no replacement parts.
Frugal financial experts recommend not spending more than 10% your annual income or 5% your net worth on transportation, which means most of us could only
dream of buying one of the world’s most expensive cars. On the other hand, there’s plenty of fun to be had up to $50,000 or even $30,000. If you
really want to drive an expensive car, uberluxury and supersport rental cars, generally worth up to a million dollars, can be found in some big cities. Otherwise, you’re left with Gran Turismo, Need For Speed, or Forza, far cheaper and more portable than even your daily driver.