Unless you’re extremely wealthy, it’s the petrolhead’s curse to be enamoured with cars that you’ll probably never be able to afford.
Supercars tend to be pretty rare anyway, but some are made in such tiny numbers that you’ll probably never even see one in the metal, nevermind own one.
Here are eight of the world’s rarest and most expensive cars that we can guarantee you’ll want, but that you’ll never be able to own.
Porsche 911 GT1
How many were made: 27
How much: £550,000
Some of the best cars ever made have come as a result of homologation rules, which state that if you create a racing car you must also produce a certain number of road-legal customer cars.
Porsche created the insane 911 GT1 for GT championships and made 27 customer versions, each of which made 530bhp from a turbocharged 3.6-litre flat-six engine and cost £550,000.
Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR
How many made: 26
How much: £1 million
Like Porsche, Mercedes built the CLK-GTR primarily for GT racing and as a by-product unleashed what’s probably the most extreme Mercedes road car ever made.
Powered by a 6.9-litre V12 engine which made an estimated 600bhp, each one cost £1 million and broke records at the time for being the most expensive new car in the world. Mercedes made 20 coupe versions, while only six were built as convertible roadsters.
Maserati MC12
How many made: 55
How much: £560,000
Developed as Maserati’s first racing car for nearly 40 years, the MC12 was actually built using the same chassis and 6.0-litre V12 as the Ferrari Enzo.
Due to homologation rules, Maserati was required to built at least 25 road-going versions to make it legal to race. In total, 55 were made and although the car received mixed reviews upon its release, each one was sold to wealthy customers for around £560,000 apiece.
Ferrari FXX
How many made: 30
How much: £2 million
The Ferrari FXX is one of those slightly strange cars that Ferrari builds for millionaires, that aren’t road legal but that can’t be used for racing either. Instead, they’re made exclusively for use on special Ferrari-organised track day events.
Essentially a stripped-out, juiced-up version of the Enzo, the FXX produces a monstrous 800bhp courtesy of a bored-out V12 engine and runs on full racing slick tyres. Only 30 were made and each demanded a price of a cool £2 million.
Lamborghini Sesto Elemento
How many made: 20
How much: £1.5 million
Much like the Ferrari FXX, the Sesto Elemento was cooked up by Lamborghini as a track-only special, with motorsport-inspired components like a carbon fibre chassis and suspension components.
As a result, it weighed only 999kg, produced 562bhp from a 5.2-litre V10 engine and remains probably the most capable Lamborghini on a track anywhere. Only 20 were made, with each priced from an eye-watering £1.5 million.
Lamborghini Veneno
How many made: 6
How much: £2.9 million
The Veneno is the direct successor to the Sesto Elemento, a brutal track-only car based on the Aventador and named after a fighting bull notorious for goring matadors to death, which says it all really.
It looks like a giant razor blade and packs 740bhp courtesy of a 6.5-litre V12, but you won’t get your hands on one anytime soon given that only three coupes and three roadster versions were ever built.
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
How many made: 18
How much: £7.9 million (estimated)
Based on the Tipo 33 racing car, the 33 Stradale was another amazing homologation special, and at the time set the record for the most expensive car ever sold with a list price of around £13,000 at a time when the average car cost £2,200.
Due to its drop-dead gorgeous looks, potent performance and the fact that only 18 were made, its value has skyrocketed. These days, the estimated value of a 33 Stradale is an insane £7.9 million – nearly 608 times its original price.
McLaren F1 LM
How many made: 5
How much: £9 million
In its heyday, the McLaren F1 was unlike anything seen before and achieved near mythical status among car lovers, even hanging on to the record for the world’s fastest production car for nearly two decades.
The F1 LM was a stripped-out, track special version that also featured a significant aerodynamic kit with a front splitter, rear diffuser and a giant rear wing. Only five were made, and the last one that sold went for £9 million.
