We’re no strangers to fast and expensive cars in India, not since the days of economic liberalisation. So what do you get when every top-shelf automotive manufacturer is keen on pushing the boundary of what qualifies as astonishingly fast and luxurious, with each passing year? Astonishingly large price tags. With deep pockets and even deeper oil reserves, here are the six most expensive cars you can currently buy in India.
Bentley Mulsanne
The Mulsanne is pretty much Bentley’s pièce de résistance – and if something is fancy by Bentley’s standards, you can be damned certain it’ll pack all the bells and whistles it can carry. The Mulsanne blends top-notch performance with ultimate luxury in ways not many cars can. Its cabin is made of the finest materials, with 8-way adjustable seats that offer more legroom than an S-Class or an A8. As far as superlimos go, this one packs some serious firepower, with a 6.5-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine producing 503 bhp. Despite weighing over two and a half tonnes, the Mulsanne can hit 100 kph in under 6 seconds. You can be assured that the Mulsanne remains perfectly composed and refined, even when accelerating urgently, and it ranks higher in terms of cabin insulation than most of its competition.
Price: Rs 5.55 crore (Ex-showroom, Delhi)
Rolls-Royce Phantom
There’s no way the Spirit of Ecstacy wasn’t going to be on this list. The Phantom sub-brand has, for the better part of a century, served as the flagship model for what is arguably the greatest luxury car-maker in history. The current generation Phantom is the first product of the now BMWowned Rolls-Royce, and it manages to be palatial without being pompous in a way only Rolls-Royce can manage. It still retains the essence of bespoke, coach-built, oligarchic luxury while possessing a laundry list of ultra-modern luxury features, including a roof illuminated by 800 individual fibre optic lights, to give you a magical, star-lit ambience. Magic is essentially the underlying theme of the car, given that its famed ride quality has been likened to a ‘magic carpet ride’— a magic carpet with a 6.75-litre V12 engine.
Price: Rs 7.55 crore (Ex-showroom, Delhi)
Ferrari 488 GTB
It’s been three decades since Ferrari gave us a turbocharged supercar, and given that that car was the legendary F40 — considered by many to be the quintessential road-going Ferrari – the unveiling of the 488 GTB had us holding our breath. A successor to the 458 Italia, Ferrari’s latest mid-engined supercar gets two turbochargers to augment the power levels on its 3.9-litre V8 engine. The result is nearly a hundred more bhp over the 458, 22 extra kgm of torque and practically no turbo-lag. This makes it the fastest, standard, mid-engined Ferrari yet – and that makes it more irresistible than ever.
Price: Rs 3.88 crore ( Ex-showroom, Delhi)
Lamborghini Aventador
The Aventador might be the last of the truly great, naturally aspirated supercars, and this means that it would depreciate better than a lot of other supercars. With the threat of regulations and emission norms forcing Lamborghini to discontinue their trademark V12 engines, the Aventador could mark the end of an era — a loud, fast and glorious era where its flagship supercar still reigns supreme on the road and on teenage bedroom walls. Its 690 bhp, 6.5-litre V12 engine makes it a worthy successor to the fearsome Murcielago, and it’s one of the alltime great looking supercar designs.
Price: Rs 5.05 crore (Ex-showroom, Delhi)
Range Rover
Autobiography LWB Black The Range Rover Autobiography can arguably be called the world’s greatest luxury SUV. So sophisticated is its off-road system that it essentially becomes the capitalist pig’s passport to any spot on earth’s land mass — all the while being surrounded by the trappings you would usually find in a Victorian villa. It offers more legroom than the standard Range Rover, with reclining captain seats at the back that are accompanied by folding leather tables. Along with that, you get ambient lighting, exclusive paint schemes — the works. A commanding driving position, a great view and the trusted Terrain Response System makes the Autobiography all the crazily expensive car you’ll ever need.
Price: Rs 3.83 crore (Ex-showroom, Mumbai)
Mercedes-Benz S600-Guard
Question. How many S-Class owners do not have bazooka wielding enemies? Answer — not many. Which is why Mercedes-Benz has developed the S600 Guard — the last word in factory built, armoured mobility. Offering top-of-the-line VR9 grade protection (the highest level of security certification for civilians), the S600 Guard is, according to Mercedes-Benz, the safest luxury car in the world. Although it looks like a standard S600, the Guard’s cabin is essentially a complex matrix of reinforced steel and fibre, with almost inch-thick laminated glass with a poly carbonate coating that can withstand repeated blows. Since Merc wasn’t about to compromise on world-class luxury, the kerb weight of this vehicle adds up to a whale-like 4.5 tonnes. Thankfully, you get a 530 bhp, V12 engine to make sure you don’t get bogged down during a quick getaway.
Price: Rs 8.6 crore (Ex-showroom, Delhi)
