Red Bull Motorsports
Motoring
What’s the best way to spend US$110m on cars?
If you had US$110m to splurge, what would you buy for your ultimate car collection?
At a recent auction in New York, Japanese billionaire and art aficionado Yusaku Maezawa bought Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting of a skull for US$110.5m, the costliest painting ever sold by an American artist.
You know what else US$110m can buy you? Forty-four full-spec Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesses, or the entire Goodwood factory of Rolls Royce.
You think the comparision's unfair? We think not, so we set off with US$110m in our pockets to find out how many iconic cars we could buy. This is what we came back with.
1. Aston Martin Valkyrie
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The Aston Martin Valkyrie: AM-RB 001
Introducing the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar, designed in collaboration with Red Bull Racing.
2. Bugatti Chiron
Bugatti have created yet another mind bender known as the Bugatti Chiron. Its top speed has been 'electronically limited' to 420kph for safety reasons. Because, you know, 420kph is safe(r). If you can hack away the e-limiter, this 1500bhp beast will accelerate all the way to 463kph. Yours only for US$3m.
Of course, if you’re running short of cash, you can always go for its younger sibling – the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport Vitesse – for 'just' US$2.45m.
3. McLaren P1
McLaren P1
© McLaren Automotive Limited
McLaren might be struggling to get up to speed in Formula One, but their street-car division has been churning out some real gems. Their flagbearer – the 900+bhp McLaren P1 will set you back a cool US$1.6m. Also, given its hybrid capabilities and 28mpg fuel economy, the enviromentalists might be a little less mad at you.
4. Ferrari Enzo
Ferrari Enzo
© Ferrari S.p.A.
You can't go wrong with a car that’s named after the founder of one the most iconic car companies in the world. Only 400 examples of this near-legendary 12-cylinder sports car are in existence today, but you can still find one at an exotic car dealership for about US$2.4m.
Tip: A one-of-a-kind piano-black Ferrari Enzo was recently been put on the market by a German dealer. Grab it before it’s gone.
5. Audi Quattro S1
Audi Quattro S1
© Audi
The Audi Quattro was a beast of a machine in the notorious Group B era of rallying. It won successive drivers' titles in 1983 and ’84 in the hands of rally legends Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist, respectively. While the original might not be up for sale, you can get an exact replica of the rally car for US$150,000-200,000.
6. Lancia Stratos
Lancia Stratos
© Lancia
Lancia Stratos set the rallying universe on fire in the mid-'70s scoring a hattrick of wins between 1974 and 1976; altogether, it notched up 18 rally wins. Fewer than 500 road-going versions were ever produced; the car's popularity and prices have skyrocketed since the turn of the century. You can get a fine example of a 1970s Lancia Stratos HF Stradale for about US$500,000 on the resale market.
7. Nissan GT-R
Nissan GTR
© Larry Chen / Red Bull Content Pool
No petrolhead's collection is complete without a Nissan GT-R. The Godzilla is the face of street racing and drag strips the world over. While a brand-new, off-the-shelf GT-R tops out at US$150,000; how much more money you can put in is only restricted by the depth of your pockets. Dubai, California and Tokyo are littered with 1,500-2,000+bhp examples with US$250,000 pumped in to aftermarket accessories. We’d say, a US$300,000 budget should be good enough for a 1,500bhp starter kit, for now.
8. BMW E30
BMW E30 with roll bar and Kei's bodykit
© Graeme Murray
The BMW E30 is one of the fastest and most beautiful Beemers ever. While most people like to keep their E30s in pristine condition, guys like `Mad' Mike Whiddett and his buddy Kei Muira prefer to mod them into drift machines. This example of a BMW E30 M3 has been fitted with Kei Miura’s pandem body kit costing US$3,200. Take into account the cost of the roll bars and beefed-up suspension and you’re looking at about US$100,000-120,000 in total. A small price to pay for fun!
9. Arrows two-seater Formula One car
In Lotus black and gold livery, this two-seater Formula One car is the closest you and your better half can get to sharing a Formula One experience. After all, nothing spells love like taking Eau Rouge flat out at 300kph together, right? This romantic ride can be all yours for a measly sum of US$400,000, give or take.
10. Nordschleife – Nürburgring
What’s the point of having the hottest date in town if you don't have a place to party? You’re not going to buy the above mentioned cars to just frame them and put them up for display, right?
If you have the right toys, we have the perfect playground for you: it’s called the Green Hell. Nürburgring's 20.8km of unforgiving tarmac is every gearhead’s ultimate fantasy. The track was recently sold to a buyer for a reported US$90m. The initial buyer was apparently finding it difficult to make the monthly installments, so that’s when a Russian billionaire stepped in. Which could mean, if you ask nicely, they might just let you in on their deal. Kindly tender exact change please.
So, for a cool US$110m, you can buy one of the world's most legendary race tracks, as well as nine of the fastest and most iconic cars out there.
