Photo: Rolls-Royce
Every year, carmakers like Rolls-Royce and Bugatti try to outdo themselves with models that claim the crown of most expensive new car. So-called coachbuilders and hypercar makers vie for the honor with limited editions of their popular cars, or with bespoke models that owners can claim are unique and inimitable.
Rolls holds the crown now thanks to the Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail, unveiled at Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week. But let’s take a look at the machines that have held the title in the past, starting with the current record holder, on down the line in order of cost. The price and announcement year are at the top of each slide for those who want to adjust for inflation.
Photo: Rolls-Royce
The Rolls-Royce Droptail is expected to sell for over $30 million, making it the most expensive new car. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but its price is shock-inducing to all except the wealthiest Jalops. Really, how many NA Miatas does $30 million buy? The worst of it is that La Rose Noire is so costly despite lacking performance to justify its price. Underneath its fancy woodwork and bespoke design, the Droptail has the same drivetrain as any run-of-the-mill Rolls-Royce Ghost.
Photo: Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce finds itself in the enviable position of occupying first and second place on this list. Prior to the new Droptail, the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail stunned the world with its $28 million price. The Boat Tail is another of Rolls-Royce’s custom cars, built to the specifications of some emir or contemporary power couple like Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
Photo: Bugatti
Unlike the Rolls above, the Bugatti La Voiture Noire does have performance befitting its cost, which was reportedly $18.9 million. Well, more or less. The one-off Bugatti takes after the Chiron, meaning it’s powered by a quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine making 1,500 hp and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. The car’s name simply means “the black car,” which proves buyers should always be wary of any car with a French name.
Photo: Pagani
The Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta is similar to the bespoke vehicles that top this list in terms of rarity. Only three Barchettas were ever made, which explains the $17.5 million price. And one of them was infamously crashed! It’s possible the Pagani’s 760 hp courtesy of its 7.3-liter naturally aspirated V12 were just too much to handle for the owner, which means only two Barchettas remain intact.
Photo: Rolls-Royce
The Rolls-Royce Sweptail rounds out the Rolls-Royce vehicles here with a third entry. The Sweptail may seem like a bargain compared to the others, coming in at a price of $12.8 million, but it’s just as unique. The Sweptail is a coachbuilt Rolls, inspired by prewar machines, but it’s powered by a modern 6.75-liter V12 making 453 hp and 392 lb-ft of torque. The combined price of the Rolls-Royces we’ve looked at exceeds $70 million — for just three cars.
Photo: Bugatti
The $8.8 million Bugatti Centodieci is a tribute to the iconic Bugattic EB110. The Centodieci’s name is a nod to its predecessor, meaning “110″ in Italian. That breaks our rule about cars with French names being the most expensive, but we’ll let it slide since Italian and French are both romance languages, anyway. The Centodieci also borrowed the Chiron’s 8.0-liter W16 engine, making 1,578 hp and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. Similar output numbers to La Voiture Noire, but ten Centodiece models were made in total, as opposed to just one.
Photo: Mercedes-Maybach
I would make fun of the Exelero for its name, but a Goodyear subsidiary is to blame — the one-off Maybach being named after a set of new tires it was meant to test. Back in the aughts, the Maybach Exelero sold for $8 million, which seems excessive for such a plain car based on the Maybach 57 limousine. But in retrospect, the Exelero is charming and about as close as real cars get to something Bruce Wayne would have driven in Batman: The Animated Series.
Photo: Pagani
The Pagani Huayra Codalunga is slightly less special than the Zonda HP Barchetta since five models were produced. But the $7.4 million Codalunga can easily exchange blows with the Barchetta when it comes to styling. The Huayra trades the overwrought lines of today’s supercars for the simpler look of ‘60s designs. Underneath its clean lines, however, there’s a modern 6.0-liter twin turbo V12 making 840 hp and 811 lb-ft of torque.
Photo: Bugatti
The Bugatti Divo’s production came to a close just a couple of years ago after a run that yielded 40 models, each costing $5.9 million. The Divo was to Chiron owners what the Chiron is to most of us mere mortals, and though I’ve never been a fan of the most famous “most expensive new car” in the world, I like the Divo quite a lot. The Divo was meant to be a return to Bugatti’s coachbuilder roots, each one an expression of its buyer. Even so, the powertrain was Bugatti’s standard 8.0-liter W16 engine.
Photo: Pagani
The Pagani Huayra Imola famously shaved 11 pounds from its curb weight thanks to a special paint process, which begs the question, why not skip the paint altogether? Silly questions aside, the track-focused Imola managed to tip the scales at 2,747 pounds (dry), which is impressive considering its Mercedes-AMG 6.0-liter V12 makes 827 hp and 811 lb-ft of torque. Only five Pagani Huarya Imola models were made, each selling for $5.4 million.
Photo: Bugatti
The $5 million Bugatti Mistral is the last of the W16-powered Bugattis, making it a bookend to the era of the mighty 16-cylinder engine. It’s fitting that this end would require a significant redesign to see the Chiron off, which is why the Mistral is a convertible. Bugatti saved the best for last, combining the styling of the rare Voiture Noire with the performance of the fastest Chiron variants.
Photo: Koenigsegg
Not to diminish the contributions to this list by the French (Bugatti) nor the Italians (Pagani, Lamborghini) but, for some reason, the Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg strikes me as a true believer when it comes to performance as religion. That’s why I find the CCXR’s $4.8 million price harder to understand than others on this list. Only two of these machines were ever made due to the difficulty of producing their unique carbon fiber bodywork. The CCXR Trevita is powered by a 4.7-liter supercharged V8 making 1004 hp and 740 lb-ft of torque.
Photo: Bugatti
The Bugatti Bolide is what happens when the ghost of Ettore Bugatti encourages the carmaker’s engineers to revisit the marque’s motorsport roots. Thus, the Bolide was born. The hypercar is powered by a 8.0-liter W16 making 1,578 hp, but the concept model made a mind-boggling 1,825 horses. Bugatti produced 40 models of the track-only Bolide, each selling for $4.8 million.
Photo: Lamborghini
I refuse to say anything about this ugly $4.5 million car other than its name means “poison.”
Photo: Bugatti
This is the cheapest car on this list coming in at a bargain of $3.9 million. The Chiron is more or less the basis of many Bugattis, and it happens to be one of the most recognizable “most expensive” cars ever. But the Super Sport 300+ goes beyond by squeezing 1,600 hp out of that 8.0-liter W16 engine. It’s named after its ability to go faster than 300 mph. Just no one tell the poor sap who bought the Rolls-Royce Droptail they could have bought seven and a half Super Sport 300s for the same price as their one Rolls.
Keyword: The Rolls-Royce Droptail Is The Most Expensive New Car Ever, But These Others Weren't Far Behind