The most expensive cars on sale today

Here we have the 20 priciest standard production models currently on sale in the UK. The prices are correct at the time of writing, and the list is arranged in ascending order of cost.

Lotus’ first electric car is the Eletre SUV, and the R model is the most expensive in the range with a sticker price of £120,000. For that, the R comes with a 675kW dual motor drivetrain rather than the other versions’ 450kW set-up. This means 0-62mph in 2.95 seconds and a 165mph top speed, though you do lose a little battery range, too.

There are plenty of ways to bump up the price of an Eletre R further, such as the £11,999 carbon ceramic brake option, or £4450 for the gold leather upholstery pack. Or you could spend £3599 for the interior carbon fibre trim package.

Never mind being as close as you can get to a race car for the road, the Radical RXC GT is a race car for the road. Your £145,000 gets you a road-legal version of the full race RXC GT3, which means the GT comes with treaded tyres, a full set of lights, and carbon fibre body that generates up to 900kg of over- and underbody downforce.

Choose this Radical with the 650bhp 3.5-litre V6 engine and you will have a car capable of 0-60mph in 2.7 seconds and 180mph. Even more impressive for your cash is the bragging rights to a car able to produce 2.1 G of lateral force in corners, or double that of most sports cars.

The first electrified car from BMW’s M Division had to be special and the XM is, and not just because it’s the most expensive car in the firm’s line-up at £148,060 before options. That money gets you a combined petrol-electric power of 653bhp, which propels the XM from rest to 62mph in 4.3 seconds.

Spend a bit of time on BMW’s configurator and you could be lured into increasing the final price with £3025 for 23-inch gold accent wheels, or a Bowers and Wilkins sound system for £4400. However, you can add the Comfort Pack with heated and massage front seats for free.

Simplicity in car design often comes with a bafflingly high price, which is largely due to the complexity of making pure-bred cars legal for road use. The BAC Mono is a prime example of this as the single-seater looks like it should be lining up for a race rather than popping to the shops. But that’s part of the reason it costs from £165,125.

Another part the explanation of the Mono’s price are the materials used in its construction, such as the carbon composite bodywork that helps keep weight down to 555kg. There’s also a bespoke 342bhp 2.5-litre engine based on a Ford unit that powers the Mono from 0-60 in 2.7 seconds and on to 170mph.

One of the finest open-top sports cars money can buy will require a spend of at least £167,520 to own an Audi R8 V10 Spyder Performance. That bags you the delightful 5.2-litre naturally-aspirated V10 engine with 572bhp, which is sufficient for 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and 204mph.

Quattro four-wheel drive is all part of the price of this R8, but you can splurge on options such as a bespoke paint colour for £4800, £9000 for the Carbon Pack, or £2875 for the Magnetic Ride suspension.

At the pinnacle of the Range Rover line-up sits the SV P530 LWB. This long wheelbase model has an opening price of £191,860, but you can quickly bump that up with options like satin finish paint for £7140 or 23-inch wheels costing £3600.

Inside, the Signature Suite with Executive Class Comfort Plus rear seats adds a whopping £15,400 to the final bill if you choose this. Luckily, Land Rover includes the 530bhp 4.4-litre V8 engine and four-wheel drive in the price.

Niche Porsche 911 models rarely come in at the modest end of the price scale and the Sport Classic is no exception. Instead, it’s the most expensive current 911 you can order from Porsche before adding any extras to the specification. Its £214,200 price makes even the GT3 RS look almost cheap by comparison.

For that money, you don’t get the most powerful 911 model, but you do get one with a ducktail spoiler and 542bhp. There are also unique wheels that nod to the original Fuchs alloys of early 911s, while each Sport Classic comes with an indoor car cover that possibly says a lot about how much these cars will be used.

The Maybach name has indicated the ultimate in Mercedes saloons for a long time now and the S 680 4Matic First Class rightly lays claim to being just that. Never mind its £217,200 list price without any options added in, this luxury saloon is one of the most relaxing ways to insulate yourself from the world outside.

Should you want to add to the base price, Mercedes will happily charge you £13,650 for a different shade of paint, but almost everything else is either standard or a no-cost option.

Maserati is back on brilliant form with the MC20 and the Cielo broadens the range by offering open-top thrills, which means spending from £235,000 to enjoy the extra fresh air. Still, it does come with a 621bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds, and a 199mph top speed.

Compared to some supercars, the MC20 Cielo almost, and we use the word advisedly, seems reasonable value. However, if you want the lovely carbon fibre wheels on this model that reduce unsprung weight by 30kg, you’ll need to fork out almost 10% more on the price as they cost £19,250.

Bentleys have always been reassuringly expensive cars, letting the world know subtly or otherwise that you have arrived. And there’s no better statement of that than the Continental GTC, which is presently the priciest car in the firm’s catalogue.

To lighten your wallet to the extent of £233,320 means shunning the mere V8 model and ticking the box for the W12 engine. That gets you a 626bhp motor, along with a top speed of 207mph, though you might want to pop the roof up if you intend trying this out on a nearby autobahn

Given the huge prices that 1960s original AC Cobras now routinely achieve when sold, the new car could be a canny choice for those who want the looks without the spend. However, you could still be parted from a considerable £237,000 if you want the ultimate in the latest Cobra.

Surprisingly for some, the most expensive of the current Cobra pit is an electric model, the 460kW EV+ version. That equates to 617bhp and 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds, while range is up to 200 miles, so you should have plenty of range to satisfy your desire to relive this sports car great while not using a drop of petrol.

Anyone choosing a new Aston Martin is already starting from a high base, and the DBS Superleggera is the headline act in the company’s line-up. At the very peak of this lies the open-top DBS Volante, with a list price from £277,500, which is some £20,500 more than the coupe model.

For that kind of cash, you get a remarkably subtle drop-top car for one with a 715bhp V12 engine under its sleek bonnet. Then again, there’s nothing quiet about the performance of the DBS Volante as it can hit 211mph and deal with 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds.

Hand-assembled is a term bandied about but it’s rarely more apt than for Noble’s’ M600. In Speedster form, the British-built supercar has a peak price of £287,600. For that, you get a car that has the same aerodynamics as the coupe when the roof is in place, and a top speed of 225mph.

While the M600’s price is high by any standards, it also has to be remembered this is a car with a better power-to-weight ratio than a Bugatti Veyron. This is thanks to the twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 making 662bhp in a car weighing only 1198kg. On a performance for cost basis, the M600 is hard to beat

At the very top of McLaren’s impressive road car line-up sits the £312,920 765LT Spider, which is almost twice the price of the company’s least expensive model, the GT. The 765 justifies the cost with its 755bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, which thrusts the Spider from rest to 60mph in 2.8 seconds. Keep your foot in and it will max out at 205mph.

That substantial list price is only a starting block for most customers, most of whom will add to the cost with a McLaren Special Operations colour choice. There are also different wheels, interior finishes, and the Clubsport Pack that adds £28,730 on top of the basic cost.

The Ferrari SF Spider is undoubtedly a big ticket item when it comes to price, ringing the till at £418,230 if you forego any options or personalization of the car. When you look at what you get, though, the price is put a little more into context as you will own a 986bhp plug-in hybrid hypercar from the most revered of all sports car manufacturers.

You could save a few quid and choose the SF Stradale model with its fixed roof, which begins at £379,000. However, you might as well have the open-top Spider all the better to listen to the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8’s bark, and you’ll also want to spend an extra £39,360 on the Assetto Fiorano that reduces weight, improves aerodynamics, and adds stickier tyres.

The name says it all about this final fling for Lamborghini’s naturally-aspirated V12 flag bearer. Decode the name and what you have is the ultimate version of the Aventador with a 780hp, or 769bhp, 6.5-litre V12 engine. It comes with four-wheel drive and, in this case, is the open-top model to add to the final price tally.

You can push the price even further with some personalised touches to make this Aventador model unique to you. However, as standard, it’s good for 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 222mph, so you’ll be in no doubt where the money has been spent.

The person shelling out at least £450,820 for the Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Series II will almost certainly be the same as the one enjoying this car from the sumptuous rear seat. This is every inch the definition of luxury motoring, as you would expect with a price tag nudging towards half a million quid before options are factored in.

Rolls-Royce doesn’t really do a standard specification for this model as customers will choose finishes, colours and materials from a vast array of options. If what they want isn’t on offer, it can be sourced and fitted to the Extended Series II if humanly possible – at a price.

One of the most expensive cars on sale in the UK right now is also one that very few people will have heard of. This is the David Brown Automotive Speedback GT, which owes more than a little of its looks and style to the Aston Martin DB5 made so famous with its James Bond connections.

Under the skin, the Speedback GT has more in common with Jaguar thanks to its supercharged 5.0-litre engine with 503bhp and the automatic gearbox. However, almost everything else is bespoke and it takes 8000 hours to hand craft this coupe, which goes a long way to explaining its high cost.

The entire production run of 100 Gordon Murray Automotive T50 cars has already been spoken for by those with the wherewithal to afford the car’s £2.8 million price. For that, they get a car with a pedigree like no other as Murray is also the force behind the McLaren F1.

The T50 is very much the spiritual successor to the F1, which is why the new car comes with a naturally-aspirated V12 developed by Cosworth to produce 650bhp. If that doesn’t sound like a lot for your money, remember this car is very light, uses fan technology to suck it to the road for improved downforce and grip, and is the highest revving production car on the market, with a max of 12,100rpm – by which point it’s howling like nothing else on sale.

If you want to enjoy the final iteration of Bugatti’s W16 engine, the Mistral is the car for you, assuming you have £4.2 million to spare. As the Chiron was only every intended to be a coupe, Bugatti decided to create the Mistral as an open-top and final hurrah for its defining engine. In the Mistral, it comes in full bore Chiron SuperSport trim with 1578bhp.

Bugatti is set to build only 99 Mistrals and they comes with a claimed top speed of 261mph, which should ensure this is a car where the original buyers is almost guaranteed not to suffer from any depreciation should they decide to sell the car on.