Famous luxury brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini or Aston Martin are normally associated with the most extravagant lifestyle of multimillionaires, but the truth is that none of the wheel artworks created by those builders appear in the finest gallery of the most expensive supercars in the world.
Here is the updated top 5 of the most expensive cars on the market, in a list that excludes competition cars, unique models without road approval, or classics sold at auction.
5 – SPP Automotive Chaos – €12.4 Million
The Greeks at SP Automotive launched the Chaos among the manufacturers of super sports cars. The small company based in Athens, Greece, dared to aim for the Olympus of the industry with a car whose price is equivalent to the GDP of the Bahamas, but which had only one confirmed order by Spyros Panopoulos, the founder of this ambitious company dedicated to extreme machines.
In the top version, the SPP Automotive Chaos costs over 12 million euros and can reach up to 3000 horsepower.
The propulsion system combines a 4-liter V10 engine, in a central position, with components made of titanium or carbon in a 3D printer and an aluminum block, and a dual supercharging system to deliver up to 3,000 horsepower (with the “cut-off” at 12,000 rpm).
The brand announces 0 to 100 km/h in 1.8 seconds and a maximum speed of 499 km/h, to threaten the records of the SSC Tuatara (455.3 km/h).
SP Automotive estimates to manufacture between 15 to 20 units per year, with a maximum of 100 units.
4 – Bugatti La Voiture Noire – €13.4 Million
Created at the request of a collector passionate about Bugatti, the La Voiture Noire captivated half the world five years ago at the Geneva Motor Show. The model is a journey through the rich history of the manufacturer and pays homage to the Type 57 SC Atlantic, considered, in its time, the fastest and most exquisite car ever.
Just like the Bugatti Divo, the La Voiture Noire is based on the Chiron, but visually it is a whole exercise in haute couture and engineering, with the iconic tear line and shape that flows from the hood to the rear, precisely reminiscent of the classics of the 1930s. All components were handcrafted, even the iconic 16-cylinder engine, unique in the automotive industry. The 8-liter quad-turbo W16 engine delivers 1,500 horsepower and 1,600 Nm. Rumors point to Ferdinand Piëch, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and former executive chairman of the Volkswagen Group, as the buyer of the most expensive Bugatti currently.
3 – Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta: €15 Million
Designed to honor Horacio Pagani’s 60th anniversary and the 18 years of the brand he founded in Italy, the Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta was born as a one-off that was supposed to end the production of the first car launched by the San Cesario sul Panaro brand. But the commemorative barchetta from Pagani generated so much interest that it became a special and limited series… with three units. All immediately sold, despite its prohibitive price.
The Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta is equipped with a 7.3-liter V12 engine from AMG, delivering 800 horsepower, paired with a six-speed manual gearbox.
One of its most iconic appearances was at the legendary Goodwood Hillclimb, with Horacio Pagani himself behind the wheel.
2 – Rolls-Royce Boat Tail – €23 Million
It’s called the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, it’s inspired by the world of luxury yachts, and it was the most expensive car in the world until the arrival of another Rolls-Royce. It was presented in 2021 with a price around 23 million euros, five times the cost of a Bugatti Chiron.
The base is the 2018 Sweptail, highly optimized over the four years it took to develop. The design process alone took 18 months, resulting in this 5.8-meter long sculpture equipped with a 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 engine, which in the base version delivers 571 hp and 900 Nm of torque.
The first rumors about possible owners pointed to the United States, to music stars Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who were married at the time. A series of clues led in this direction, from the special two-tone paint in the “customer’s favorite color: blue,” to the specially designed double refrigerator to store bottles of the exclusive Armand de Brignac champagne at the ideal temperature of 6 degrees (Jay-Z has been one of the owners of this brand since 2014), to the connection to the Côte d’Azur (a region in the south of France that also inspired the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail), which helps explain the peculiar design of the rear section of the car, with automatic sunshade, two retractable carbon fiber seats, tables, and a complete dining service for picnics in nature.
1 – Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail – €30 Million
At the top of the list is the British Rolls-Royce, with the exclusive La Rose Noire Droptail, a unique car that is also a beautiful love story. What makes it the most expensive production model in the world, valued at 30 million euros, belonging to a series of only four Droptail convertibles with a hardtop that the luxury British brand is building in its Coachbuild division, specializing in special projects, is the attention to detail.
The client is the head of “an important international family,” explained Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of the brand, who dedicates this creation to his wife. La Rose Noire in the name of the model is inspired by the Black Baccara rose, which is the favorite flower of the honored woman. Hence its unusual red hue, which takes on an almost black shade under certain lighting conditions.
Technically, the convertible with a removable hardtop, to uncover the imposing bodywork with almost 5.3 meters in length, relies on a new monocoque chassis built from scratch in steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber, but the engine is the same 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 from the British brand, with power stretched to 600 hp and 840 Nm.
