The 20 Most Expensive Cars Of All Time

Anyone who has ever purchased a car knows how costly they can be. Even the best and most affordable budget cars will cost thousands of dollars when brand new. What many people may not realize, though, is that car prices can go incredibly high in the right circumstances. In fact, the most expensive cars in the world could set you back millions of dollars rather than thousands.

Fortunately, you don't have to worry about shelling out that kind of money. These unique and costly vehicles are usually limited runs sold to loyal customers before they are even finished. These are generally high-end performance sports cars or luxurious vehicles that the average person does not need.

The Mercedes-AMG One takes its name from the fact that it has been developed using technology from Formula 1 cars. Most notably, the vehicle uses a hybrid engine that combines an internal combustion engine with four electric motors that can harvest and deploy electrical energy. However, the vehicle is also built using carbon fiber like modern F1 cars. In total, the drivetrain can produce up to 1,063 horsepower and propel the car to a top speed of 219 mph.

Production of the limited edition car only began in 2022, and less than 300 will be created, so it is unlikely to see the streets anytime soon. Many famous figures have already picked up a model, such as Formula One (F1) drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. According to reports, the basic price of a Mercedes-AMG One is between $2.7 million and $3 million. That is for the most basic version of the vehicle, though, and adding optional extras can significantly increase the price.

[Featured image by Andrew Basterfield via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.0]

The Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 is the first car from Gordon Murray Automotive, a company created by former F1 designer Ian Gordon Murray. He previously worked for both the Brabham and McLaren F1 teams during his tenure in the sport and subsequently worked on the McLaren F1 Road Car. This expensive car was the first project he was in charge of at his own company and is essentially a successor to the McLaren F1 car.

The Gordon Murray T.50 comes with a naturally aspirated V12 4.0-liter engine capable of outputting up to 654 horsepower. Combined with its ultra-lightweight body, it is one of the lightest sports cars in its class and can reach 62 mph from a standing start in less than three seconds and a top speed of 226 mph. It has a pre-tax price tag of $3 million and comes with no optional extras.

The Bugatti Chiron is effectively the successor to the iconic Bugatti Veyron, which was first launched in 2016. This particular model, known as the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, is a 2020 variant that was produced in small quantities to handle better than the base model. To achieve this, Bugatti made it lighter by incorporating new construction techniques and materials, as well as making the airflow around the car more efficient.

The standard price without any fancy extras is $3.9 million. For that, customers get a car up to 50 kilograms lighter than the standard Bugatti Chiron, grippier tires developed in collaboration with Michelin, and a fixed-place rear wing. All of that is powered by a 1,479-horsepower W16 engine with an increased red line of 6,900 RPM — 200 more than its predecessors.

Aston Martin is another manufacturer known for producing expensive but high-quality performance vehicles. The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro is a limited edition variant of the original sports car that started production in 2016. Originally, the vehicle was a collaborative effort between Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin, with noted designer and aerodynamic genius Adrian Newey playing a key role in its development.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro is a track-only $4 million model of the car that is illegal to drive on roads. First shown in 2018, this version is limited to 25 units and combines the same 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine from the basic Aston Martin Valkyrie. However, it lacks the energy recovery system known as KERS, although it does make up for it with a higher horsepower output and carbon fiber brakes.

Based on Pagani's Huayra model that began production in 2011, the Pagani Huayra Imola is a 2020 revision of the car that was produced in small numbers. In fact, just five units have been created since it was launched. Taking its name from the infamous Imola racetrack that Ferrari owns, the Imola variant uses the same Mercedes-AMG V12 engine as its predecessor but can extract up to 827 horsepower.

Costing $5.4 million, the Pagani Huayra Imola features several aerodynamic upgrades. These range from a new diffuser and front splitter to the oversized rear wing, which is now fixed in place. There's also a large fin extending down the back length of the car. That all allows it to reach top speeds well above 200 mph.

Created as part of a collaboration with the Mercedes-Benz Group, the Maybach Exelero is a limited sports car developed primarily by the Italian manufacturer Stola. Production began on the one-of-a-kind vehicle and wrapped in time for its official reveal the following year. It wasn't initially produced to be sold and was instead to test Fulda high-performance tires.

The Maybach Exelero is powered by a V12 twin-turbo six-liter engine that produces 690 horsepower and can reach a top speed of 218.3 mph. This particular Maybach weighs more than two and a half tons and looks more like a luxury car than a high-performance sports car. Rapper Birdman claimed to have purchased the only version of the car in existence, but it isn't clear whether this sale ever went through.

The Bugatti Centodieci is one of the most recent vehicles produced by the French manufacturer. First announced in 2019, production began in 2022 on the 10 units that were intended to be created with a price of around $9 million. Like many of its most recent cars, the Bugatti Centodieci is heavily inspired by the Bugatti Chiron but does have some notable design differences, including a more angular shape and narrower headlights.

The mid-engine sports car features an 8-liter quad-turbocharged W16 powertrain and produces 1,578 horsepower. This allows it to reach a maximum speed of 240 mph, and reach 62 mph from a standing start in under two and a half seconds.

Described by SP Automotive as the world's first ultracar, the Spyros Panopoulos Chaos is a vehicle that blows every other sports car on the market out of the water. It comes in two distinct flavors, an Earth variant, and a Zero Gravity model, with the first costing $6.3 million and the second a staggering $14.1 million. SP Automotive plans to build between 10 and 20 of these cars every year depending on customer demand.

The most expensive version of the Chaos features a V10 4-liter engine capable of reaching 12,000 RPG and producing over 3,000 horsepower, with some help from a hybrid electric motor. According to the company, it can reach speeds of up to 310 mph and go from zero to 62 mph in under two seconds.

Like many of Bugatti's most expensive and fastest one-off vehicles, the Bugatti La Voiture Noire is designed around the same concept as the Bugatti Chiron. It was announced to the world at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show and was bought for just under $19 million. The most notable features that separate it from the Bugatti Chiron are its longer shape, mid-engine layout, and unique trim features.

The powertrain providing the power for the car is a W16 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged engine. This provides 1,500 horsepower, meaning it can go from zero to 62 mph in only 2.4 seconds. The Bugatti La Voiture Noire is so expensive because it focuses on luxury, with a Cognac leather interior.

Taking the crown as the most expensive car in the world is the Rolls-Royce Droptail. Just three have been built so far, with a fourth planned to be completed soon. Each of the Rolls-Royce Droptails has lavish features and is fully customized and is centered around a different theme, with different names for each variant including La Rose Noire, Amethyst, and Arcadia.

The exact prices have not been confirmed, although they are believed to cost more than $30 million each. Like the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, the Rolls-Royce Droptail is a coach-built grand tourer that incorporates thousands of hand-built panels and fixings. Based largely on the Rolls-Royce Ghost, the three cars have a 6.75-liter V-12 engine and a distinctive monocoque chassis unique among Rolls-Royce vehicles.