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What is the most expensive car in the world?

Highlighting one single vehicle as the most expensive car in the world isn't as straightforward as you might think. To get a solid answer, we're going to have to break the question into a couple of parts. First, we'll discuss the most expensive new car in the world, and second, the most expensive collector car in the world. And by the end of the article, you'll be armed with the information you're looking for: What is the most expensive car in the world? Before we get into the stratospheric numbers, let's take a step back and put things in perspective. For the last year or so, the average transaction price for a new car has hovered right around $48,000. That's almost 10 grand more than new cars cost in 2019, before the pandemic. What will that buy you today? Well, you can get a midrange Ford F-150, a Kia Telluride, or a Ford Mustang GT with a few options. Not bad when you consider that these choices are among the best in their respective classes. At the very bottom of the spectrum is the Nissan Versa, which is available brand new for well under $20,000. Sure, there are a few anomalies such as the Changli Nemica (it's kinda a car, though not exactly street legal here in America) that can be ordered from Alibaba for about $1,000 to start, but there are a bunch of hidden costs, including shipping. Most expensive car in 2024: Rolls-Royce Droptail Price: $30 million Outside of the classic car market, the most expensive new vehicle in the world is the Rolls-Royce Droptail. So far, three Droptail models have been built, one called the Arcadia Droptail, one in ruby tones called La Rose Noire Droptail and one called the Amethyst Droptail. The latest example, the Arcadia, is painted in a white shade that is infused with aluminum and glass particles for a pearl-like effect that adds depth. Past that, the overall design of all three Droptails remains largely unchanged with an upright grille, thin rear lights, and a rounded back end. Like other extremely luxurious and expensive nautical-themed cars from Rolls-Royce — see the 2017 Sweptail and the 2021 Boat Tail — the Droptail is a very rare machine. There's a solid chance the lone remaining version will cost even more than the $30 million-plus cost of the La Rose Noire. For those keeping track, the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, which was previously the most expensive car in the world at $28 million, was the first model to emerge from the company's Coachbuild department that caters to the profanely wealthy.

Mercedes-Maybach Pullman is the luxury car for the discerning dictator

For decades, Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Maybach cars have been the ride of choice for leaders across the globe, presidents, ambassadors, dictators and despots alike. The Pullman model — a long-wheelbase six-seat variant — has been particularly popular with this select clientele. This week, the German automaker announced the latest version of the car, the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman S650. Essentially, this is a stretched version of the V12-powered Maybach with two rear-facing seats just behind the front row. Mercedes is calling this vis-a-vis seating. There's also a partitioning glass between the front seats and the rear cabin. This is of course to help prevent the chauffeur from learning and spilling any state secrets or plans for plans for secret moon bases. New for this model is a front-facing camera for rear-seat passengers. This allows occupants to watch for any oncoming obstacles, barricades or road blocks. Visually, there's no mistaking the Pullman for another Maybach or really anything else on the road. The car is 21.3-feet long, 4.5-feet longer than the standard Maybach or roughly the size of two and a half Smart Fortwo placed bumper-to-bumper. The requisite 20-inch 10-hole wheels are present and the standard pinstripe Maybach grille has been updated with a slightly new design. The car only comes in S650 trim, meaning it's powered by a 630 horsepower 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12. As expected, the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman isn't cheap. Orders have started, but be prepared to shell out at least $615,000 before adding any custom touches. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Mercedes-Maybach Pullman View 10 Photos Image Credit: Daimler Design/Style Maybach Mercedes-Benz Luxury Special and Limited Editions Sedan mercedes-maybach mercedes-maybach pullman

McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari call for unfreezing F1 engines

Formula One is a hugely expensive sport. Not only do you have enormous salaries and logistical expenses, as you would in any other sport, but each team also spends huge sums developing their own chassis from the ground up – and so too do the participating automakers in developing the engines. One of the ways the series organizers mitigate those costs is by freezing development. So once the new crop of V6 turbo hybrid powertrains were developed, that was it. But now three of the of the sport's leading teams are calling on the FIA to unfreeze engine development. Their reason? Unfair advantage. There's little question that Mercedes did the best job of developing its "power unit" to meet the new regulations that took effect at the beginning of this past season. That's how the Mercedes team won all but three of the grands prix this season and finished with at least one car on the podium at every single race. It's also a big part of how the teams that bought their engines from Mercedes this season managed to consistently outperform the other non-works-supported teams. That clear advantage is why Red Bull, Ferrari and now McLaren are calling for engine development to be unfrozen. Their argument is that, under the current locked-down status quo, their engine suppliers (Renault, Ferrari and Honda, respectively) cannot possibly catch up. So unless the FIA and Formula One Management want the next few seasons to be the kind of absolute blow-outs that this past season was, these leading teams argue, the powers that be are going to have to make some changes. For its part, Mercedes naturally counters that unfreezing engine development would send costs spiraling out of control. But then of course it stands to lose the most by re-opening engine development. If those three teams, however, closely intertwined as they are with the three other engine suppliers participating in next year's championship, manage to solicit enough support from the other customer teams and bring the matter to a vote, Mercedes may very well find itself out-numbered. News Source: ESPNImage Credit: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Motorsports Ferrari McLaren Mercedes-Benz F1 engine