The Most Beautiful Luxury Cars: From Ferrari to Lotus

When it comes to luxury cars, there are few that can compare to the precision feel and perfect weight of the car's large-rim steering wheel, the ease with which it can place such a large car on the road, the supreme refinement and flexibility of its V12 engine, and progressivity of your accelerator pedal in step. From the 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 business card of Bentley to the 603 bhp twin-turbocharged petrol V12 of the flagship model S650 of Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, these cars offer an exceptional driving experience. The BMW-derived four-wheel drive of the Cullinan gives it all the off-road capacity that many owners are likely to need, while the 600 bhp and 590 lb ft figures of the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 of Alpina B7 suggest that it works as a total alternative to the M7 that BMW will not build. And then there is the iconic Ferrari Monza SP1, inspired by the Barchettas of the 1950s, and the 1974 Lotus Elite, which was produced to eject the 2+2 draft brake from the sports car market.

All these cars have something unique to offer. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is a modern standard-bearer of Daimler's Maybach super-luxury brand. With 18 cm longer than even the long wheelbase version of the standard S-Class, you can ensure that even passengers with the longest legs will have enough space. It is not as comfortable to drive or isolate as the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, but rather it offers a slightly sportier driving experience that comes at the expense of that ultimate shadow of driving comfort. The ultra-rare 57 and 62 limousines, with Simon Cowell specifications, Maybach alone, were consigned to history at the same time. The iX xDrive50 has more than 500 horsepower, four-wheel drive and an announced range of more than 300 miles.

The high-end, long-wheelbase Range Rover has come a long way as a luxury car since the genesis days of the famous SUV on which it is based. The modern SVAutobiography, hand-finished like Land Rover does at its special operations base near Coventry, is a car that now measures 5.2 meters in length and 2.6 tons in weight at its heaviest point. It was conceived to take full advantage of the embryonic market for superexpensive SUVs and the high esteem that some hold for the Range Rover brand, and it does so quite effectively. Even as a regular luxury car, there's a good chance you just don't know what you're missing. This car has environmentally friendly olive tanned leather, lightweight electrically excited motors that don't need heavy magnets, and the metals in its drive battery come responsibly from North Africa and Australia. Beauty is timeless in style, with avant-garde components and is one that performs best of the large number of beasts on this list.

The design of Ferrari Monza SP1 is inspired by Barchettas of 1950s and is also known as “icon”. Its iconic aesthetic can be traced back to a theme of most impactful cars in company's history and gives buyers and fans a taste of company's limited series cars. The 330 GTC Speciale is one of four sculpted and built by renowned Italian design firm Pininfarina and is among last great Ferraris with custom body. The four Speciales manufactured were nothing more than standard production cars improved with distinctive features. But 330 GTC Speciale's design had unique silhouette produced by small roof panel and elegant windshields. Its rear glass was designed to curve towards tail resulting in striking and avant-garde design that captured essence motorsport in late 1960s.

Everyone knows that Lotus is one of those elegant but rare car brands. Seen as heresy by Lotus team 1974 Elite was quite advanced modestly priced for its time and prioritized simpler lifestyle for buyers. Initially 1974 Lotus Elite was produced to eject 2+2 draft brake (which is type old car body) from sports car market. Company wanted to usher in era high performance with 4-seat comfort. And today Elite presents...

Shari Venturelli
Shari Venturelli

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