Built-in sat nav, heated leather seats and dual cup holders may be all the added extras the average driver needs, but others take it a step further, shelling out thousands to drive around in the lap of luxury.
Carmakers like Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz have long been known for their plush interiors, but now other manufacturers like Land Rover are following suit, building cars whose interiors are pricey enough to make your eyes water.
The question is: what are the most expensive car interiors in the world, and just how much might they cost you? We’re here to find out.
1. Pagani Huayra
While it’s easy to excuse a supercar for being a tad over the top, the Pagani Huayra really does take the biscuit when it comes to all out extravagance. Looking more like a Bellagio roulette table than a normal cabin, the Huayra’s interior is clad in soft cowhide leather and complemented by flashes of carbon fibre. The gearstick, a thing of beauty in itself, is exposed just so the driver can hear the mechanical click of a gear being selected, and the entire centre console has been milled from a single piece of aluminium, much like all four of the car’s alloys.
The price of all this luxury? You better take a seat — the Huayra will set you back a cool £1.3 million.
2. BMW 3-Series E46 by Vilner
BMW may be one of the world’s oldest luxury car brands, but they aren’t afraid to experiment with bold new designs and materials for their interiors. Recently, the car firm commissioned Bulgarian firm Vilner to put their own stamp on the much-loved 3-series, and the result is quite extraordinary. Vilner have gone for an “aristocratic coziness” (their words, not ours) when redesigning BMW’s popular saloon, adding fabrics, wood and leather to the usually black and grey interior. It’s a bold move away from BMW’s usual black and grey, and it’ll set you back a pretty penny too, with the Vilner addition starting at £43,000 — £20,000 more than the standard car.
3. Aston Martin DB9 Volante Equestrian
Aston Martins are designed to be ogled at by the average Joe, and the DB9 Volante Equestrian is no exception. Commissioned for a charity horse show in the US, the Volante Equestrian found favour with diehard Aston fans, and has since become one of the brand’s most desired models. With Saddle Tan Luxmill leather and diamond-quilted ivory Alcantara, this is the fanciest DB9 ever built, and is perfect for those who quite literally want to drive around in an advert for their vast wealth. While it’s difficult to put a price on such luxury, Aston settled for £400,000.
4. Range Rover SVAutobiography
Range Rovers have got steadily more posh since their days herding sheep on the farm, and have even been embraced as an acceptable urban runabout. While the standard car is now brimming with top spec features, Land Rover has raised the bar further with the SVAutobiography. Easily the fanciest Range Rover ever built, the SVAutobiography features 29 speakers, folding walnut tables for rear passengers and a Champagne cooler. The model starts at £90,000, but with a whole host of tempting optional extras to choose from, that’s likely to rise to well over £100k by the time you’ve driven out of the showroom.
5. Bentley Flying Spur
Starting at £200,000 for the “basic” model, the Bentley Flying Spur certainly is a nice place to be — and that’s before you’ve added a near-limitless array of customisation options. To keep their customers sweet, Bentley allows complete personalisation, so you can tailor your Flying Spur to your exact specification, provided you’ve got deep enough pockets, that is. Different coloured leather? Absolutely. Wine cooler in the armrest? No problem. With so many customisation options at your fingertips, the £200K price will start to sound cheap.
6. Rolls-Royce Phantom
For over a century, Rolls-Royce have set the benchmark in luxury, comfort and refinement. And this legacy continues in the form of the Rolls-Royce Phantom which, like the Flying Spur, is now available with a range of customisation options to make each car distinct to its owner. The bespoke design options on the new Phantom include silk seat covers and hand-stitched embroidery, which Rolls-Royce say are the product of over 600 painstaking man hours. For such flourishes, you can expect to add 30% to the price you pay for the overall car, which is a cool quarter of a million pounds.
7. Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Pullman
Popular with rappers, stockbrokers and oil barons alike, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Pullman is perfect for those with a chauffeur to do the hard work for them. With plush carpets, in-built Champagne cooler and some of the most comfortable reclining seats money can buy, this stately limousine is more accustomed to red carpet events than trips to the local supermarket. This is reflected in the price, too, with the S-Class Pullman costing a rather massive £567,000.
8. Fisker Force 1
Brainchild of Danish automotive designer, Henrik Fisker (the man responsible for the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage), the Fisker Force 1 is a triumph of raw power and absolute luxury. On the outside, the Force 1 looks like any other supercar, with aggressive lines lending the car a fierce look. Get behind the wheel, however, and it’s a different story. The interior of the Force 1 is almost completely covered in soft, brushed leather, and there are clever cubbyholes for sunglasses, pens and your favourite vintage wine. At half the size and half the price (£230,000) of the Mercedes-Maybach, we know which driving machine we’d choose.
Even if you can’t afford bull’s leather and diamonds on your car seats, at least you can take care of its interior with Simoniz. Our high-quality car valeting products are time tested, so you can rely on them to keep your car looking its just-bought best. Check out our product listing page for more info.
Image credits: Wikimedia CC, Force 1 Supercar, Daimler, Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Vilner
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