They are the ultimate engines for the road.
Supercars built not only for speed, but as an ultimate symbol of scandalous
luxury. We run through this year’s top ten most expensive supercars, and just
for fun, we wonder how the average Joe on the street can get their hands behind
the wheel of one of these engineering marvels.
So hang tight and
let’s burn rubber with ten silly ways on how to own one of the top ten most
expensive supercars of 2013.
10. Porsche 918 Spyder – $845,000
The guys from Germany have made it into the
list of the most expensive supercars this year featuring a neat machine powered
by a 3.4L V8 engine that can send this Spyder clocking in at 200 mph tops. But
it’s not only speed that makes this supercar remarkable; Porsche has plugged in
a hybrid propulsion system into this car, featuring three electric motors that
deliver an additional 218 horsepower.
How to get it : Break the piggy
bank
Let’s say one regular size piggy bank can save
you $500. If you’re going this silly route, you’ll need 1,690 piggies to meet
the Spyder’s price tag. But if you want all those coins in one place, a simple
math will do: one average piggy bank is about 8 inches wide by 6 inches tall.
To accommodate all those coins, you need a piggy bank that’s about 1,126 feet
wide by 845 feet or roughly six times the size of the supercar you’re dreaming
to buy, that is, if after decades of filing up the piggy the company is still
around.
9. SSC Tuatara – $970,000
The Americans got a shot this year with the
SSC Tuatara nearly breaching the $1M mark. Shelby SuperCars took inspiration
from a Kiwi lizard called Tuatara, but there’s nothing slimy about this
supercar. It’s a luxury machine powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine producing
1350 horsepower. The lizard has a top speed of 276 mph and features carbon
ceramic disc brakes because driving is not all speeding, but breaking
effectively, too.
How to get it : Sell the house
You’ll be the richest homeless person. But at
nearly a million, you’ll probably need two more neighbors to pitch in with
their houses and you’ll be the richest three homeless persons in America.
Sometimes it can drive you crazy knowing how some people can just plop in an
amount that equals all your assets’ worth in one car. Who said life’s fair?
8. Hennessey Venom GT – $1 Million
Only ten units per year are being churned out
by Texas-based Hennessey Performance Engineering for this supercar. It’s
powered by Chevrolet LS2 V8 engine that delivers 1,200 horsepower. It has a top
speed of 272 mph, but occasionally it is meant for slow driving for everyone to
gawk at it and the guy (you!) behind the wheels. Venom GT welcomes buyers to
the class of million-dollar supercars.
How to get it : Car pool with friends
If you’re living a comfy lower middle class
life you can still have the Hennessey. If you and 140 of your friends can set
aside seven grand for a small car each, then getting a supercar is a simple as
pooling together your car budget and settling for just one car for the whole
group. Of course, you need to car pool and schedule who’s driving when. Not bad
when you consider that you can drive this supercar twice a year. Just take the
bus or cab it for the rest of the year.
7. Pagani Huayra – $1.3 Million
It’s a sleek machine designed with one thing
in mind: tease onlookers. This sexy Italian car was launched last spring
highlighting its cutting edge carbon-titanium monocoque that supports the
supercar’s weight via its external shell, much like an eggshell. The
application of composite materials and newer technologies makes the Huayra—it
means a South American wind god—one of the sleekest and fastest machines on the
road today. Powered by a Mercedes M158 AMG V12 engine with a 738 horsepower,
the supercar can reach 233 mph.
How to get it : salary advance
If this is a parallel universe where you can
ask your boss to take out a salary advance to buy the Huayra, how long will you
be working to make up for the cash advance? Let’s say you’re earning a
middle-class income of $45,000. You can spend half of that income for your
daily costs (forget retirement) and half for the supercar. That means you need
to stick it with the boss for 58 years to pay up for the Huayra, which, by the
time you’re done with payment, is probably just a piece of clunking metal.
6. Maybach Landaulet – $1.4 Million
It’s the car of the super millionaires, the
symbol of opulent driving if not being driven. It’s luxury combined with power
featuring a Mercedes-AMG engine that delivers 612 horsepower with five
automatic transmission. It can reach 0-60 mph in a little over five seconds,
but this supercar is really built for a luxury ride, rather than speed. Daimler
even plopped in a private jet-like reclining rear passenger seats to make sure
you get a comfy ride while listening to the music courtesy of the Bose Dolby
surround system.
How to get it : Take care of rich relative
Now is the time to be the nice distant
relative. Check your genealogy for a chance to spot that super millionaire
uncle twice or thrice removed needing some care giving. It’s a long shot to be
included in the last will or testament, but for the meantime, you can chauffer
for him or her driving the supercar. It’s the next best thing in case your
charm fails you to inherit Laundalet.
5. Aston Martin One-77 – $1.4 Million
This elegant supercar created a media blitz of
late for being entirely handcrafted using a liberal amount of carbon fiber for
superior aerodynamics. Combined with its 7.3L V12 engine, the One-77 can reach
a top speed of 220 mph and 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. If you thought you’ve seen
this car somewhere, perhaps in you’ve played it in the popular video games,
“Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Forza Motorsport 4.
How to get it : Apply as a crash
test dummy
It’s a once in a lifetime chance to drive the
One-77 with the highlight on ‘once’ if you decide to be a crash test dummy.
But, hey, you can bet you’re the only one in your social circle to have driven
an Aston Martin. It’s a selfie waiting to be taken; just make sure to share the
photo right away before the crash test starts in a few minutes.
4. Koenigsegg Agera R – $1.7 Million
The price is staggering but the engine is even
more impressive: a Koenigsegg Biofuel V8 that delivers a whopping 1115
horsepower with a dual clutch 7-speed transmission. It has a top speed of 240
mph and can sprint 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds. The Swedish luxury car is also
available in carbon fiber material, but you need to shell out an additional
$250,000.
How to get it : Be a really good
mechanical engineer
And hope to get on
board the Koenigsegg team. You’re not only driving this supercar, but designing
its future versions. We bet this piece of engineering marvel can only improve
over time, after racking up experience and technological evolutions through the
years. The Swedish supercar has the kick to square it off with a Bugatti
Veyron, even winning a race in a viral video. Of course, racing is
also a drivers’ skills game than what’s under the hood.
3. Zenvo ST1 – $1.8 Million
The Vikings are at it again, this time the
Danish Zenvo has built one supercar that glides smoothly on the race track as
it does on city streets. Using steel space frame to make it lighter and faster,
the ST1 is powered by a 7.0L V8 engine that churns out 1104 horsepower. It has
a six-speed manual transmission that can speed as much as 233 mph. Only 15
models are in production, making this supercar one of the rarest and most
exclusive designed for a lucky few.
How to get it : Apply as a sheik personal driver
With only 15 units available, we’re guessing
half of them, if not all, are bound to get hoarded by oil sheiks. What better
way to run after one of these rare units than drive for the rich Arab. Yes, you
don’t own the ST1, but you’re driving it.
2. Ferrari 599XX – $2 Million
Breaching the two million-dollar mark is the
name synonymous to supercars. Ferrari launched this year its latest serving,
the 599XX powered by a 6.0 L Tipo F140C V12 engine for a 750 horsepower. If
you’re dreaming to drive this around your city, forget it; the 599XX is
designed for the race tracks only. It can reach up to 196 mph and accelerate
0-60 mph just under three seconds.
How to get one : Dip into your
retirement fund
Forget about the future. Just think of the
present: you, the Ferrari, race tracks. But at $2 million, your retirement savings
may not even be enough so give your friend a call and discuss about the folly
of living for the future when you two can live for the now.
1. Bugatti Veyron – $2.6 Million
The cream of the crop, this year’s most
expensive supercar clocks over at an eye-popping two and a half million
dollars. Its 16-cylinder engine delivers 1200 horsepower with a 7-speed DSG
sequential transmission. Its maximum speed is believed to be 267 mph, but is
limited to “just” 258 mph to protect the tires.
How to get it : win the lottery
It’s the only way we can think of for you to
own this Bugatti. We know it’s a long shot, specifically, a 1 in 13,983,816 for
a 6/49 type of lottery, which is so to speak, you have six times more likely to
get hit by lightning. If the lighting doesn’t kill you six times over, we’ll
take it as an omen that you’re meant for a Bugatti.
The supercars are expensive because they’re
not meant for you and me. We hope you’re not taking our tips seriously; only
the silly idea that supercars can make us feel, at times, well,
inconsequential. But in most of the times, who cares. You’ll take a Honda
Accord any time, right?
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SUPERCAR IN OUR LIST?
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