The world’s 10 most expensive luxury cars (and two honorable mentions)

SP Automotive Chaos SP Automotive / SP Automotive

It’s fun to dream, especially when it comes to high-end cars. The following is a list of the ten most expensive cars that were up for sale at one point or another (and two honorable mentions). The list does not include high-dollar auction starlets or inflated resale-valued cars. The prices listed were the amount paid when each car was (or will be) sold new. While you may be able to guess there is a Bugatti or two floating around, some others might surprise you.

Contents

10. Pagani Huarya Imola – $5.4 million
9. Bugatti Divo – $5.8 million
8. Pagani Codalunga – $7.4 million
7. 777 Hypercar – $7.5 million
6. Mercedes-Maybach Exelero – $8 million
5. Bugatti Centodieci – $9 million
4. Bugatti Chiron Profilée – $10.8 million
3. Rolls-Royce Sweptail – $12.8 million
2. Bugatti La Voiture Noire – $13.4 million
1. SP Automotive Chaos – $14.4 million
Honorable mentions: Rolls-Royce Tail Collection – Unknown

So, without further ado, here is the list, counting down from ten to one, of the most expensive supercars, hypercars, and ultracars ever made. And if you don’t know what an ultracar is, that’s a good reason to keep reading…

10. Pagani Huarya Imola – $5.4 million

Named for the Imola racing circuit in Bologna, Italy, the Pagani Huarya Imola uses a massive Mercedes-AMG 6.0-liter V12 engine augmented by twin-turbochargers to make a whopping 827 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque.

This low-slung track star uses race-ready Pirelli Trofeo R tires to support its svelte 2,747 pounds. The cost for this racy racer? A cool $5.4 million makes it the second most expensive car from Pagani in history. Keep reading to find out which model comes in first.

9. Bugatti Divo – $5.8 million

For those who feel the Chiron is just a bit too… commonplace, Bugatti brings us the even more exclusive (and expensive) Divo. This exotic hypercar pays homage to Albert Divo, an exceptionally accomplished racecar driver of the 1920s. Power comes from the same quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W-16 engine that makes the same 1479 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque as the Chiron.

So what do you get for $5.8 million, which is almost $2 million beyond that top-of-the-line Chiron Super Sport 300+? A curb weight that is 77 pounds lighter thanks to a carbon fiber intercooler (seriously), specific wheels, and reduced sound-deadening material. Revised aerodynamics help the Divo whip around Italy’s Nardo handling race circuit a full eight seconds faster than the Chiron. The less-is-more theme continues with the build count of the Divo as well. Just 40 of these beauties will be built.

8. Pagani Codalunga – $7.4 million

Sitting at the top of the Pagani pricing list (for now) is the Codalunga at an awe-inspiring $7.4 million. With a profile that resembles the legendary McLaren F1, this windswept beauty takes the rest of its styling cues from 1960s Italian coachbuilding.

With a chassis comprised of carbon-titanium alloy and carbon-triaxial weave and an interior that combines aged suede, aluminum, and carbon fiber, the Codalunga combines stunning looks with a powerful 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12 that makes 829 hp and 809 lb-ft of torque to make for one unstoppably exotic hypercar. Just five of these machines exist, and don’t bother searching; they are all spoken for.

7. 777 Hypercar – $7.5 million

Sitting at the most appropriate place on this list comes the 777 Hypercar. If you don’t know anything about this jackpot of a ride, know that the 777 Hypercar will satisfy even the purest of racing purists. This track-only car was born with weight being the primary goal and power second. Thanks partly to a carbon monocoque chassis, the 777 Hypercar checks in at a lean-and-mean 1,984 pounds. That sub-2K weight is motivated by an old-school naturally aspirated 4.5-liter V-8. No turbos, no superchargers, and no hybrid powertrain needed.

The company’s website tells us that the 777 makes 800 hp at a spine-tingling 9,000 rpm and can generate 4,600 pounds of downforce at 230 mph. And in a chicken-or-the-egg problem, one wonders if the car was named because just seven of these wonders will be made, costing seven million euros (roughly $7.5 million), or the other way around.

6. Mercedes-Maybach Exelero – $8 million

Despite being almost two decades old, the Mercedes-Maybach Exelero was commissioned to be built by a German subsidiary of Goodyear to test and show off their high-performance tire range. In what looks like the perfect compromise if Bruce Wayne and Batman tried to combine personalities and downsize to one car, owning the Excelero would still more than likely get a call from Bruce’s Amex Black Card concierge confirming that he wanted to spend $8 million on this 5.9-liter twin-turbo V-12 hot rod.

With 690 hp and 752 lb-ft of torque on tap, the Exelero could haul its hefty 5,864 lb frame from 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds to its top speed of 218 mph. Interestingly enough, adjusting for inflation, this exquisite one-off in today’s money would come at about $13.5 million.

5. Bugatti Centodieci – $9 million

Harking back to one of the cars that put them on the supercar map, Bugatti created the Centodieci as a way to pay homage to the late, great EB110 Super Sport of the 1990s (Centodieci translates to “110”).

Powered by the Chiron’s 8.0-liter quad-turbo W-16 engine, the Centodieci makes 99 more ponies than the Chiron, for a total of 1577, while reducing weight by 44 pounds. Bugatti claims the Centodieci can scramble from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in a blazingly quick 2.4 seconds, 0-124 mph (200 km/h) in 6just 6.1 seconds, and 0-186 mph (300 km/h) in 13.1 seconds.

These times are much faster than the original EB 110 (which will tend to happen with three times the power) and noticeably faster than the mighty Chiron itself. However, adding the CD’s giant rear wing and subsequent added downforce does handicap the car’s top speed to a mere (!) 236 mph, down from the Chiron’s 261 terminal velocity.

As with many of these ultra-lavish-level cars, it is meant to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Bugatti and remind people of one of the craziest cars of the ’90s. So, as you might expect, just ten of these cars were ever made, and, somewhat surprisingly, they came in at a price just shy of $9 (not ten) million. Perhaps they were offering a ten percent discount on the original price of $10 million.

Rolls-Royce Sweptail Rolls-Royce / Rolls-Royce

4. Bugatti Chiron Profilée – $10.8 million

While it may look similar to the regular Chiron (if there is such a thing), the Profilee is actually a perfect middle ground between the Chiron and the Chiron Pur Sport. In place of the Pur Sport’s massive rear wing, the Profilée uses a much less ostentatious ducktail spoiler, along with an upgraded chassis, shorter gear ratios, and specific wheels.

The Profilée is a single one-off that uses the ubiquitous 8.0-liter W-16 quad-turbo, making 1,476 horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. And while we have seen this insanely powerful powertrain in many Bugatti models, the Profilee represents the very last model it will be placed in from the factory. Being the last of its kind makes the Profilee’s $10.8 million price tag seem almost reasonable.

3. Rolls-Royce Sweptail – $12.8 million

As you might expect, Rolls-Royce found its way high on a list of pricey cars. This Sweptail is an almost entirely bespoke machine created for one anonymous and ridiculously wealthy buyer. This well-off fellow asked Rolls to build him a two-seat coupe with a panoramic roof that paid homage to the coachbuilt Rolls-Royces of the 1920s and 1930s.

When the Swepttail debuted in 2017, its $12.8 million price tag made it the most expensive new car in history. Powered by a big 6.75-liter twin-turbo V-12 that makes 453 hp and 530 lb-ft of torque, the Sweptail isn’t the fastest car on our list, but at $12.8 million, it is one of the most expensive.

2. Bugatti La Voiture Noire – $13.4 million

Take one look at the Bugatti badge sitting inside the huge front grill, and then step back and allow the windswept ethereal drama of the La Voiture Noire lock in your attention and refuse to let go of it without a fight and you’ll begin to understand what makes this car so special.

Sure, it uses the same 8.0-liter quad-turbo W-16 that we’ve come to think of as Bugatti’s ‘corporate motor’ at this point. Still, when packaged in a front fascia aggressive enough to make a McLaren F1 look tame, with impressive model-specific wheels and six (yes, six) exhaust tips, there are no complaints from anyone anywhere about the powertrain.

Made to be a modern version of Jean Bugatti’s Type 57 SC Atlantic, The Black Car, as the translation goes, sits with a price tag of $13.4 million and, unsurprisingly, is already spoken for.

1. SP Automotive Chaos – $14.4 million

To answer your first question, “SP” stands for Spyros Panopoulos. The Chaos is being marketed as the first Ultracar and is available in two iterations: the Earth Version and the Zero Gravity variant. The latter of the two is the most extreme of an already fantastically extravagant vehicle.

The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-10 makes 3,000 hp. Yes, three thousand. Using a 3D-printed magnesium alloy engine block that can rev to an IndyCar-level 12,200 rpm. Moving just 2,804 pounds, the Chaos has an estimated 0-60 mph run of “less than 1.55 seconds.” The quarter-mile takes less than 7.5 seconds and traps just shy of 200 mph. What is the cost of the most insane car you can buy today? $14.4 million.

Honorable mentions: Rolls-Royce Tail Collection – Unknown

The Rolls-Royce Amethst Droptail, Boat Tail, and La Rose Noire Droptail round out the other three models in the RR Tail collection and represent the most stratospheric examples of the obscenely rich. They are coachbuilt land yachts that are tailored to each of the owner’s personal tastes, like a pair of Bovet 1822 custom watches, which purportedly took a total of 3,000 hours to complete. Or there is a Mont Blanc pen housed in a handmade case inside the glove compartment. The Boat Tail is rumored to cost around $28 million, and the La Rose Noire Droptail is said to cost up to $35 million, with the Amethyst Droptail falling somewhere in between.

The reason these Rolls don’t make the official list is that, unlike the Sweptail, we don’t actually know how much any of these cars actually cost their respective owners. Since the buyers of these cars and their prices are kept secret, we are left to wonder what inconceivable sums of money may have traded hands.

However, like many business deals that occur outside of normal tax brackets, there is no proof that any of these cars could have ended up like the automotive version of Steve Jobs’ $1 annual salary. Who knows if any of these cars were paid for in stock options, private islands, or any number of other creative financing terms? So, technically speaking, any of these cars could potentially be one of the cheapest cars made, in terms of actual money trading hands, and thus would fall faster than Enron stock around 2001 or Lehman Brothers about seven years later.