Most Expensive Ferraris
Founded by Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari SpA has been making high performance automobiles since 1947. In the years that follow, the Ferrari name has become almost synonymous with Formula One racing. Now owned by the Fiat group, Ferrari still produces sports cars for both the road and competitions.
Here are some of the most expensive Ferraris in the world.
Jim Glickenhaus’ Ferrari P4/5 – $5 million
It may look classic, but this expensive Ferrari is all modern. From the Pininfarina redesigned body to the 20” tires, this car was rebuilt using state-of-the-art automotive technology. Of course, a car like this couldn’t have anything less than a luxurious interior and this car delivers that with a custom-made layered fabric. Furthermore, lest you think this car is any less a Ferrari after such an extensive overhaul, the car has been given Ferrari’s official seal of approval and is allowed to proudly wear the Ferrari badge.
James Coburn’s 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder – $10,894,900
Sold in May 2008 at the RM Auctions/Sotheby’s Ferrari Legend and Passion auction, the Ferrari 250 GT owned by the former Magnificent Seven star was, like Glickenhaus’ P4/5, designed by Pininfarina. In fact, the latest line of Ferraris, also designed by Pininfarina, has been named “California” in honor of Coburn’s car.
Ferrari 250 GTO – ?????
Thirty-six of these cars were produced from 1962 to 1964 and each was sold for $18,000 to a customer hand-picked by North American Ferrari dealer Luigi Chinetti or Ferrari himself. Since then, the 250 GTO has attained legendary status. A glut of replicas gave rise to the saying that, “Of the 36 which have been built, all 3000+ of them are still running.” In 1991, a Ferrari 250 GTO was sold for $5.5 million—the highest sale GTO sale on record. Rumor has it, though, that a 250 GTO was sold to a Japanese collector for $15 million. If this is true, it’d make the GTO the world’s most expensive Ferrari.
World’s Most Expensive Lamborghini
Italian carmaker Lamborghini is known for their sleek and swanky performance cars, rivaling fellow Italian company Ferrari S.p.A. since their founding in 1963. It’s only natural to ask “What is the most expensive Lamborghini in the world?”
The Lamborghini Reventón 2008 is true to the company’s enduring legacy of exclusive automobiles. It sports a body straight out of science fiction and a 6.5 L V-12, 640 hp engine. It can accelerate to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and is capable of up to 210 mph.
Like other Lamborghinis, Reventón is named after a fighting bull. This may have been a poor choice as the name, meaning “explosion,” is also an automotive term—for a blowout.
Only twenty of these expensive Lamborghinis were ever built and they were originally priced at a jaw-dropping $1.45 million.
Most Expensive Classic Cars in the World
Every once in awhile, a car enters the spotlight and becomes an instant classic. Years down the road, these cars demand hefty prices when sold at auction. These are the most expensive classic cars in the world.
1937 Bugatti Type 57S – $4.4 million
When relatives of the recently deceased and “eccentric” Dr. Harold Carr opened the garage he’d left to them in his will, they had no idea what to expect. Sure they’d heard that there might be a Bugatti in there, but that was just a bit of local legend. As it happened, there really was a Bugatti in there—and, when it went to auction at Bonham’s Retromobile car show in February of 2009, it sold for €3,417,500—around $4.4 million at the time.
This 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante was originally purchased by Earl Howe a month after it left the Bugatti works. Over the 8 years that he owned the car, Howe added new bumpers, a luggage rack and rearview mirrors. It was later brought up to SC specification with the addition of a Marshall K200 supercharger by its next owner, J P Tingay. Eventually, the car found its way into the hands of Lord Ridley, who held it for a year before selling it to Dr. Carr. Combine this pedigree with the fact that only seventeen Type 57S’s—a version of the Type 57 modified specifically for competitions—were produced and you have quite an expensive car.
1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder – $10.8 million
Sold in May 2008 at the RM Auctions/Sotheby’s Ferrari Legend and Passion auction, this Ferrari 250 GT was owned by former Magnificent Seven star James Coburn for twenty-five years. During that time, Coburn would test his skills against fellow enthusiasts Steve McQueen and James Garner. In fact, one of the latest lines of Ferraris, also designed by Pininfarina, has been named “California” in honor of Coburn’s car.
1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa – $12.4 million
One of only twenty-two of its kind, chassis no. 0714TR features a distinctive pontoon-like design by Carrozzeria Scaglietti. The Ferrari 250 TR is famous for having won ten of the nineteen races in which they were driven between 1958 and 1961.
This particular TR won 4th place when driven by Piero Drogo in the 1000 km Buenos Aires in January of 1958. Drogo drove it one more time, in the Grand Prix of Cuba, before he sold it to American Alan Connell who drove it in nine races and spent most of that time in 1st or 2nd place in class. It featured in twelve more races between 1960 and 1963, making it one of the most raced Ferraris of all time.
It was sold at auction in Maranello, home of Carrozzeria Scaglietti and birthplace of the TR, for an impressive sum of €9,020,000.
1934 “Star of India” Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental – ???
Hans-Gunther Zach, owner of the Rolls-Royce museum in Germany, is selling off his entire collection–including the museum’s premiere acquisition, the Star of India.
This bespoke Rolls was one of 281 Continental Phantom II’s ever produced. Built for the Maharajah of Rajkot, one of its custom features is, among its 14 headlights, a pair that turns with the steering wheel. Also particular to the Star of India is its unique orange-over-aluminum color combination.
The Star of India is being auctioned alongside twenty-four other rare Rolls-Royces and another three Bentleys. If it sells as expected, it will become the world’s most expensive classic car.
Green Cars Can Be Great Cars
It's the color of money. It's the color of freshness. It's the color of aphrodisiac M&M's. But in the car world, green represents anything but allure, the inverse of interesting, the exact opposite of envy. No, when it comes to cars, "green" has always represented pragmatism, conservation, environmentalism. The color of life deserves better, we think.
Then again, green is also symbolic of virility and growth, so it is fitting that we now witness the green-car market exploding like a tomato garden on a Miracle-Gro drip. Among this bumper crop are finally some green cars that promise to be-can you believe it?-fun. Indeed, some are using green-tech know-how to make good things even better. And so we bring you eight such examples of green cars that do the color justice.
Ferrari 599GTB HY-KERS Hybrid Concept
On the color wheel, green is directly opposite red, the unofficial official color of Ferrari. That's fitting, since, on the rare occasions that they're fired up, the Italian supercar maker's big engines aren't the most fuel efficient. But among Ferrari's latest creations is the stunning 599GTB HY-KERS hybrid concept, introduced at this year's Geneva auto show. Yes, a Ferrari hybrid, displayed at the show in a brash satin-green hue that even a tree frog might have a tough time pulling off.
However patronizing the color choice, the 599GTB hybrid's greenness is more than skin-deep. A 100-hp electric motor mounted to the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission helps reduce CO2 emissions and increase fuel efficiency (although it's unclear by how much). Ferrari says the motor will drop the car's 0-to-124-mph time from 7.9 to 7.5 seconds, but considering we tested a 599GTB to 120 mph in 9.5 seconds, we're not sure where those figures come from. Whatever the true numbers, it should be quicker.
Furthermore, Ferrari is using the extra juice to smooth out the engine's torque curve and the brake-regeneration system to shorten stopping distances. This is the kind of hybrid we'd like to see more of, and thanks to emissions standards worldwide, we will.
Porsche 918 Spyder Concept
Promising to be as quick as the Ferrari but with even stronger green credentials is Porsche’s sultry and spectacularly fast 918 spyder concept, a plug-in hybrid that also debuted at the Geneva auto show. Wrapped within the scrumptious, exotic styling are a race-bred 500-hp, 3.4-liter V-8 and a pair of electric motors, which team up for an extra 218 hp. Weight—a problem for hybrids, especially those with heavy plug-in battery packs—has been kept to a miraculously low 3285 pounds, allowing the swoopy two-seater to hit 62 mph in a scant 3.2 seconds, according to Porsche, and lap the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 30 seconds (two seconds faster than the Carrera GT). Any guilt felt after such a blast can be erased by driving away from the track (following a battery charge, of course) in pure electric mode for up to 16 miles.
Best of all, the 918 spyder might not remain simply a concept, as Porsche repeatedly reminds us it has never shown a concept it hasn’t produced. Whether a production version would include the hybrid tech remains to be seen, but there’s a good chance Porsche’s next flagship supercar will be literally electrifying.
Fiat 500 BEV
Existing small, lightweight conventional cars are an enticing shortcut for companies looking to develop an electric solution. Remove the internal-combustion powertrain, slide an electric motor and a bundle of batteries in its place, and—voilà—you have yourself an electric car. (Of course, that’s oversimplifying a touch.) It’s a strategy that worked great for the Lotus-based Tesla roadster and just okay for the Mini E.
Fiat has announced its plan to follow the same path with the 500—Cinquecento in Italian—and our hopes are high. With its wheels stretched way out to the corners, the gas-powered 500 is a Mini-sized riot, which is to say it’s small but packs big fun. Here’s hoping the 500 EV will be a little more engaging than the Mini E, which lost its spunk along with its gas engine. Even if it isn’t, the Fiat will add a much-needed injection of chicness to the green-car genre, especially when said car is rendered in the moody gray color it wore at the Detroit auto show.
2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI
Good old-fashioned internal-combustion engines are all but forgotten among the hybrids and electrics that dominate the green-car garden like high-tech super-weeds. However simplistic it might seem to have only one petrochemical-swilling engine, the diesel-powered 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI gets the green thing right. Its rating of 42 mpg on the highway and compatibility with California’s tough emissions standards (sans the aid of a urea-injection system) put it right up there with many a hybrid in terms of fuel economy and sheer eco-friendliness.
Even better, the Golf TDI is a slick, oddity-free German hatchback that looks as good as its gas-powered counterpart and handles nearly as well as the vaunted GTI—while sucking down far less fuel than either. Between the fuel savings and its reasonable price, which starts just north of $23,000, the Golf TDI allows you to keep your pocketbook relatively green as well.
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Only great cars make the Car and Driver 10Best Cars list, and the 10Best-winning 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid earned its place by being surprisingly good as a real car while maintaining strong green credentials. The Fusion hybrid achieves greatness on account of its masterful implementation of high-tech gasoline-electric wizardry to achieve impressive EPA ratings of 41 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway, all while accommodating up to five people in far greater comfort than can other equally accomplished hybrid pods.
Not only is it fun to drive, but Ford's clever in-dash efficiency monitors actually make it fun to drive frugally. The engine turns on and off so smoothly the driver won't notice, and it'll stay off up to 47 mph if you're gentle enough on the throttle. A normal family car that happens to be remarkably green, the Fusion hybrid is a great car.
Audi e-tron Detroit Concept
Audi has shown us three possibilities for its upcoming e-tron line: the gorgeous R8-like e-tron, the punchy A1 e-tron, and our favorite, the Detroit e-tron. Far smaller but somewhat more robust-looking than the leggy first e-tron, the Detroit e-tron shows us how sexy a small car (its about 10 inches shorter than an Audi TT) can be. It also promises to be a blast to drive, its 204 hp and 300-to-400 lb-ft of torque fed to the rear wheels for a claimed 5.9-second run to 62 mph that seems respectable if a bit conservative. (Blame the 880-pound lithium-ion battery pack for bloating weight to a heady-for-the-size 2976 pounds.)
Still, the more we drive electric cars, the more we like their instant-on power and nearly silent speed. If Audi can pull this hot little shocker out of its hat in the next few years, we speculate that even the most stubborn, tree-slaughtering, hippie-hatin' internal-combustion die-hards will get on board, too.
2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid
Hybrid luxury vehicles are by no means new, but hybrid luxury sedans that actually boast real fuel-economy gains-not just power, weight, and price increases-are. This Mercedes-Benz S400 is the first full-boat luxo-hybrid with markedly better fuel economy (by about 20 percent, to a Camry V-6-like 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway) and a lower price ($88,825 versus $92,475 for an S550) than its conventionally powered brethren, making it the S-class model that is cheapest to buy and to operate.
The S400 is a mild hybrid, meaning the additional electrical components are not configured in a way that allows them to drive the wheels by themselves. The 20-hp electric motor instead assists the 275-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 in accelerative duties and supports ancillary systems such as the climate control and power accessories. These hybrid components aren't so heavy as to excessively weigh down the S-class. Oh, yeah, and who is going to complain about an extra bit of torque-118 lb-ft at 0 rpm from the electric motor-ready to boost low-end response? Certainly not us.
Mini Coupe / Roadster
Compared with many of the mighty sports cars that grace our pages, tiny four-cylinder coupes and roadsters definitely count as green, but we still like them to deliver as many smiles per mile as their more hedonistic counterparts. Soon, there will be two more such greenies on the market: the Mini coupe and the Mini roadster.
To create the coupe and roadster, Mini basically swapped fresh roofs onto its existing Cooper hatchback bodywork. Mechanically, everything will remain the same, meaning the coupe and the roadster should achieve similar fuel economy to that of the Cooper and Cooper S. With a highway rating as high as 37 mpg, they're about as green as gas-powered cars get. Gangsta-chopping the roof or lopping it off altogether won't make either of these two-seaters more fun to drive, per se, but the knockout styling just adds to the fuel efficiency inherent in the Mini package.