Luxury cars are the dream for pretty much every driver. After all, who wouldn’t want to cruise behind the wheel of one of the world’s most expensive vehicles? Their aesthetic is iconic, comfort unmatched, and performance unrivaled.

But while we all know the big brands like Ferrari, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls-Royce, plenty of lesser-known competitors are arguably just as impressive. Want to know more? You’re in the right place.

Let’s dive into the world of exclusive automakers, compare the household names with the ones less spoken about, and determine whether you should rethink your ultimate vehicle wish list.

The Most Expensive Cars

You’re probably aware that some ridiculously expensive cars are out there, but you might be surprised at how expensive they can get. Here are some of the priciest on the market:

Rolls-Royce – Boat Tail

Price: $26.2 million

With an eye-watering price tag of over $26 million, the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is by far the most expensive car of all time. Combining vintage and modern design, this 18.7-foot-long convertible is powered by a twin-turbo V12 (6.75 liters for 563 horsepower) and 8-speed automatic transmission. Referred to as a “rolling yacht,” it’s only been produced three times and is unsurprisingly reserved for billionaires.

Bugatti – La Voiture Noire

Price: $18.1 million

This one-off from the iconic French luxury automaker was inspired by the Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic. Assembled by hand with an 8-liter, 16-cylinder engine with 1,500 horsepower, it was acquired by a Swiss buyer with plenty of cash to spare.

Rolls-Royce – Sweptail

Price: $13.2 million

Another Rolls-Royce entry, the Sweptail, is a concept car that calls itself the “automotive equivalent of haute couture.” As you’d expect from Rolls-Royce, it isn’t just aesthetically pleasing: under the hood, you’ll find a V12 engine with 453 horsepower.

Bugatti – Centodieci

Price: $9.1 million

A little more affordable at less than $10 million, the Bugatti Centodieci is inspired by a tribute to the Bugatti EB110 and built on a Bugatti Chiron base. If speed is your thing, it doesn’t disappoint, with an 8-liter W16 offering 1,600 horsepower and a top speed of 236 miles per hour.

Lamborghini – Veneno

Price: $8.3 million

With an undeniably futuristic design, this otherworldly automobile is inspired by aeronautics. Produced only nine times, the impressive Lamborghini hypercar can reach 221 miles per hour with its 6.5-liter V12. And it’ll only cost you just over $8m.

Maybach – Exelero

Price: $8 million

The Maybach Exelero is a unique model commissioned by tire brand Fulda to test and promote a new series of tires. The test was a resounding success, and thanks to its 5.9-liter engine and 700 horsepower, the car performed incredibly well on track.

Bugatti – Divo

Price: $5.7 million

Costing almost $6m, there are only 40 Bugatti Divo owners worldwide. While it might have the same 8-liter W16 engine with 1,500 hp as the Bugatti Chiron, the Divo’s design truly sets it apart.

Aspark – Owl

Price: $3.3 million

This Japanese supercar is the fastest and most expensive electric vehicle around. Only 50 have been made, and its four super-powerful electric motors give it the boost it needs to go from 0 to 60mph in a record-breaking 1.69 seconds. With a height of just 39 inches, it’s also one of the lowest electric cars.

Lesser-Known Luxury Competitors

There are a number of high-end car brands that you might not have heard of but definitely deserve your attention. The best cars and their brands include:

Lynk & Co

Founded in 2016 in Sweden, Lynk & Co has hit the ground running. The Lynk & Co 01 compact plug-in hybrid SUV is sleek inside and out and shares the same platform as the premium entry-level Volvo XC40. The brand has ambitious plans for a subscription-based ownership format and clever ride-sharing, which has sparked many online conversations.

Venucia

Launched in 2010, the name Venucia translates as “morning star” in Chinese. In the 13 years since their inception, they’ve become one of the biggest names in Chinese luxury vehicles, with the recent Venucia V-online marking a new dawn for the automaker. Other notable Venucia models include the Chenfeng E30 and T90 crossover.

Luxgen

A subsidiary of Yulon Motors, Luxgen combines “luxury” and “genius.” While it’s still a relatively unknown brand, it’s delivered some impressive luxury vehicles since its inception, including the Luxgen 5 sedan, U5 crossover, and its latest release — the Luxgen U6 and URX crossover. They also recently launched their first fully electric luxury sedan in the form of the Luxgen Neora Concept.

W Motors

Founded in Lebanon in 2012, W Motors specializes in high-performance sports cars. So far, they’ve produced the Fenyr Supersport and the $3.4 million Lykan Hypersport, the latter of which got its moment in the spotlight as the most expensive car to ever feature and be destroyed in a Fast & Furious movie (F7, to be precise). It also lives up to the movie franchise’s name, with a mid-rear mounted 3.7-liter twin-turbo flat-six, which can take it to 60 mph in only 2.8 seconds and a max speed of 245 mph.

Zarooq Motors

Zarooq Motors is a supercar company with a growing market share in the UAW region. Founded in 2014, they take their name from the fastest snake in Saudi Arabia and handcraft luxury vehicles designed for all terrains. The Limited Edition SandRacer 500GT is a prime example, offering a rich off-road driving experience powered by a 6.2-liter V8 for 525 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque.

Hongqi

Founded in 1958, Hongqi is actually China’s oldest automaker. Until 1981, they only made cars for top Chinese government executives, but since opening up to the masses, they’ve made a name for themselves as the country’s best luxury car brand. The Hongqi L5 luxury sedan is popularly known as the “Chinese Rolls Royce.” It’s China’s most expensive car, with a V12 engine, 408 horsepower, and 405 pounds of torque.

Morgan Motor Company

Hailing from the UK, Morgan Motor Company is a family-owned automaker that’s been in the business for over 100 years. While many luxury car brands focus on futuristic aesthetics and high-tech gadgetry, Morgan produces retro-styled roadsters handcrafted with wooden detailing. If you’d like one, you must be prepared to get in line: the waiting list can range from six months to ten years.

The Importance of Protecting Your Automotive Investment

Luxury cars might be the epitome of style and performance, but they have a terrible reputation for reliability. In fact, in the 2023  J.D. Power dependability study, four of the five least reliable brands are luxury. To make things even worse, luxury parts are some of the most expensive to replace, so you have to repair your vehicle more often and pay a significant amount more for the inconvenience. Some of the most severe repairs could even cost thousands of dollars.

To keep car ownership costs to a minimum, drivers all over America are investing in extended warranties. But what is one, and how can it protect you financially? To give you the full picture, we should return to the beginning.

Every brand-new vehicle rolls off the production line with what’s known as a factory warranty or a manufacturer warranty. This automatic coverage is effectively the automaker’s promise to repair or replace any components that fail due to fault within a predetermined number of years/miles traveled (whichever comes first). How long this lasts will depend on your manufacturer and model, but all factory warranties are the same in that once they expire, you, as the owner, are fully responsible for any future repair bills.

How an Extended Warranty Can Help

To continue enjoying the coverage that you’re used to, there are two potential routes you can go down. The first is a traditional extended warranty, which is usually purchased via your dealership or directly from your manufacturer. This does as the name implies and extends your factory warranty protection beyond its expiry date.

While it might sound good in practice, this product has a few major downsides. For example, all repairs must be carried out at an authorized dealership, which isn’t ideal if you break down hundreds of miles from one. On top of that, an extended warranty can only be purchased while your factory warranty is still active. Leave it just one day late, or purchase a used car with no factory warranty to speak of, and you’ll no longer qualify.

As a result, the almost universally preferred alternative is a vehicle service contract from a third-party provider. Third-party providers are incentivized to give almost as comprehensive coverage at an even better price point, often offering useful added benefits to sweeten the deal. Better yet, repairs can be carried out at the certified mechanic of your choice, and (as long as you meet the provider’s eligibility criteria) a vehicle service contract can be purchased regardless of factory warranty status.

To clarify, an extended warranty (more accurately called a vehicle service contract) and auto insurance are very different. Sure, they’re both designed to save you serious money, but an extended warranty protects you from repair bills in the event of unexpected component failure, and auto insurance protects you from repair bills in the event of an incident such as a collision. However, the two work great in tandem, so both types of coverage can protect you and your vehicle from all angles.

A Luxury Car Deserves Top-Tier Protection

If you want to safeguard yourself from potential repair bills, you need a vehicle service contract. And for drivers in the U.S., it doesn’t get better than Endurance. For luxury car owners, our Supreme for Highline vehicles plan is specifically designed to protect certain luxury vehicles under 80,000 miles on the clock and under eight years of age.

Since opening our doors way back in 2006, we’ve protected thousands of Americans from the cost of car ownership. We offer a wide range of plans for an even wider range of drivers, with something for casual commuters, rideshare drivers, frequent roadtrippers, and everyone in between. We pride ourselves on our unrivaled eligibility, flexibility, and affordability, so if our base plans aren’t quite right for your individual needs and budget, our award-winning customer service team will be more than happy to create a bespoke plan that is.

But that’s not all: as well as quality coverage, we also offer some of the best benefits in the business. Every Endurance plan comes with great standard perks, including 24/7 roadside assistance, trip interruption costs, and replacement travel reimbursement. If that wasn’t enough, all new Endurance customers receive a year of our all-inclusive Elite Benefits, adding on tire repair or replacement, key fob replacement, total loss protection, and more. (A small activation fee applies.)

Across the web, we’re rated by experts as the best auto protection money can buy, but don’t just take their word for it: we also have thousands of five-star reviews from happy customers on sites like Trustpilot and Google. Call our award-winning customer service team at (800) 253-8203 to request a FREE quote.

You can also shop online to see your price now, or if you’d like to do some more reading first, head over to our extended warranty blog.