These are the five most expensive new cars ever

It was entirely fitting that the most expensive new car in history, was announced at the Geneva auto show.

Switzerland is famed as a home and trading centre for some of the world’s greatest wealth and Bugatti chose well, to reveal its La Voiture Noire in Geneva. 

But what has built the pricing runway that allowed the world to list a near R160-million new car in 2019?

Bugatti Chiron R42-million

No list of expensive automobiles can be without a Bugatti. German owned, but French domiciled,  Bugatti has always been in the news for its extreme pricing, and its current production car, the Chiron, is where it starts. Being a successor to the Veyron was never going to be easy, but Chiron has proved it can handle the burden of that legacy. It helps having a quad-turbocharged W16 engine, boosting 1100kW. 

Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita R68-million

Even by the standards of Koenigsegg, those Swedish hypercar disruptors, this is a very special car. Powered by a 4.8-litre twin-supercharged V8, the CCXR Trevita was good for 750kW and a top speed of 410km/h when it was launched in 2010. 

Koenigsegg had originally planned to produce three Trevitas, but eventually settled on assembling only two, each priced at R68-million. The reason for such a limited production run was the Trevita’s unique diamond weave carbon-fibre bodywork, which proved excruciatingly complex and labour intensive to produce. 

Lamborghini Veneno R64-million

Another Geneva auto show debutant, this time of the class of 2013, the Veneno was a radically restyled Lamborghini Aventador. Although powered by the Aventador’s legendary 6.5-litre V12 engine, good for 552kW, the Veneno’s entire exterior structure was different.

It served as a proof of concept for what Lamborghini’s carbon-fibre R&D laboratory could do, and the result was something which truly looked like a four-wheeled fighter jet. Only five were built, with production finishing in 2014.

Interestingly, the Veneno was signed off as a production project by Lamborghini CEO at the time, who was Stephan Winkelmann – the same chap who is responsible for Bugatti’s La Voiture Noire and Chiron. 

Rolls-Royce Sweptail R168-million

A one-off custom build, representing the bespoke nature of British aristocratic automotive engineering at its very best. Riding on a Phantom platform and powered by a standard BMW sourced twin-turbocharged 6.6-litre V12, the specification would not appear to justify its price. But one must only take one look at the Sweptail’s astonishing lines and proportions, to appreciate the craft that was invested into constructing it. A car of inarguable presence. 

Bugatti La Voiture Noire R270-million

The brand which started our list also tops it. And as we mentioned, it’s all the work of a man who appears to have a gift for producing incredibly expensive cars: Stephan Winkelmann. The tall German auto industry executive is responsible for three of the five cars on our list. Some argue that Bugatti’s La Voiture Noire is merely a rebodied Chiron, and therefore unjustifiably expensive. But for the one extremely privileged owner who is willing to part with R270m, the exclusivity of its handbuilt carbon-fibre exterior is seemingly worth it.