Dreaming of Plush Cars and Posh Interiors

I’m doing a rundown of the cars featured in the Forbe’s article, World’s Most Expensive Cars 2006. The cars on the list are certainly the plushiest of the plush, the most lavish cars the hands of man ever created.. in 2006 that is. These cars will certainly evolve, and new one will enter the list, pushing the limits of automotive technology, and pocketbooks for those who can afford them.

Yesterday, we shone the limelight to the King of Plush, the Bugatti Veyron. Today, the Bugatti bows out so that another Italian-made supercar can come in, the Pagani Zonda Roadster F c12s 7.3. Don’t ask me to decipher all those numbers after the car’s name, I won’t do it. This leads me to as why Pagani put all those numbers in the first place? Couldn’t they come up with a less clumsy naming convention?

Back to the Zonda Roadster. The Zonda Roadster looks literally like a toy car but do not be deceived by its fantastic looks: the Zonda Roadster hides some punches under the hood. And at $667,000 it better be.

Preview   Specs   Wikipedia entry

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4, my friends, is the world’s most expensive car, priced at a mouth-gaping, seizure-inducing $1,190,000. If I have a car like this, I wouldn’t dare driving it. What if I scratched the fenders? What if I smashed the headlights? I’ll just mount it in a glass case and display it inside my house. Of course the uber rich are different from the merely rich, and of course, from people like you and me. So instead of worrying, they will just shrug their toned shoulders and blithely say: "So what? I’ll just buy a new one!" Argh! Cruel!

We protest about the price but consider that the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful and fastest street-legal production car ever built. Thanks to its Quad-Turbocharged W16 engine, it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in a whopping 2.5 seconds, eventually attaining a top speed of 253 mph. Compare it to a hurtling asteroid, threatening to suck everything in its path. But don’t expect the Bugatti Veyron to disintegrate from all the torque and roar because it is a street-legal production car. That means the Veyron has passed all the requirements to make it acceptable for driving on any street, like complying with vehicle safety standards.

But I don’t think the Veyron is ever meant for the road; this car goes straight to the race track.

The record-breaking qualities of this car royalty are simply too long to cover here in this blog, so I have included a list below if you want to know more:

Preview   Specs   Wikipedia entry

I have been blogging about plush cars for weeks now and I’m wondering: Why are the most expensive ones coupes? Is there some automaker conspiracy here I don’t know about? I pondered on this for a minute and thought that maybe it is because coupes represent the apex of exclusivity: Hey this car’s got only two doors - this is not family transport, this is me. I’m sure in the future, coupe’s will morph into one-seaters - the ultimate in automotive snobbery. Maybe there are already concept cars like this - tell me if you know one.

Take for example Porsche’s 911 Turbo, one of Porsche’s pricier models at $130,000. The price alone tells you you are not buying a car, you are buying status. It is practically a race car, going 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds. If you’re still wondering where the dollars have gone into, consider only the Porsche Communication Management with a color display controlling the Bose® Surround Sound System, satellite navigation system, onboard computer, six-disc CD autochanger, and telephone module.

And of course, the interior is nothing but classy: ergonomic and hand-stitched leather seats which can be upgraded to Adaptive Sport Seats that offers full electric adjustment of fore/aft position, seat height, backrest angle, lumbar support, etc.

This blog is about plush cars and nothing can be plushier than the Lexus SC 07. Look, drool, drive.. I mean dream haha! Here you can get a 360 view of the Lexus; savor the sexy angles, exclaim astonishment at the ingenious design of its ratractable hardtop, get a momentary if virtual high of owning one. With a base price of $65,455, this is the closest we can get to this beauty, if you’re not near any Lexus dealerships that is.

As you’d expect from Lexus, the SC 07 is rich in its details. The cabin is sumptious with its heated hand-stitched leather-trimmed seats, walnut trim accents, and climate control. Its 18-inches G-Spider alloy wheels ensures all-weather driving preformance and its more aggressive styling will definitely boost your ego as you cruise along people with mouths agape. The Lexus SC’s 4.3 liter engine delivers 288 horsepower and accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds tops: simply a perfect car to have when you’re miles away from work with highways to conquer.

My previous post was about the Maserati GranSport Spyder. Well this post is about another Spyder specie, the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder that is. I feel like I’m sinning everytime I lay my eyes on this baby - people shouldn’t make something this.. this beautiful (sob). Mitsubishi’s come on line "Sensible takes a holiday" - it’s true. You’d go crazy thinking about this car, you’d go crazy thinking you can’t afford this car. And I’m scared: Do you suppose I’d go crazy when I lay down tonight and dream of this car? Unlike my previous choices though, the Eclipse Spyder is comparatively "cheaper" or should I say less expensive haha! It’s got a $40k price tag so again I… dream on.

The Eclipse Spyder may be less expensive than other top of the line coupes but sissy it ain’t. Its got a 260-horsepower, 3.8-liter V6 engine. and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in seven seconds. I can choose (in my dream) between a standard six-speed manual transmission or an optional five-speed automatic transmission.

Forgot to write Santa about it..