Published 18 June 2026
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The most expensive car you can buy in the UK right now costs approximately £500,000. That's the Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended — the most expensive regular production car on sale in the country, before options. The Bugatti Divo costs considerably more. The Pagani Huayra Codalunga costs considerably more again. The Bugatti La Voiture Noire — black, W16, one example ever produced — was commissioned for approximately £10 million.
These numbers exist in a category that most lists treat as pure aspiration content. You read them, you imagine briefly what it would be like, and you close the tab.
What changes when the question becomes "how much does it cost to hire the most expensive cars in the UK?" is that the numbers, while still significant, become contextually different. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended is available for chauffeur-driven event hire from approximately £500–£900 for a three-to-four hour package. The Ferrari SF90 Stradale, with its list price north of £500,000 in the UK, can be hired from specialist providers at approximately £2,000–£3,500 per day.
This is not affordable by any universal measure. But it is accessible in a way that purchasing those cars simply isn't, to anyone, at any income level.
Here's what you can actually hire, and what it costs.
The Most Expensive Cars in the World: The Context
Before the hire market, it helps to understand the scale of what "expensive" means in the global automotive context.
The absolute pinnacle (not hireable):
- Bugatti La Voiture Noire — approximately £10 million, one car ever built
- Pagani Huayra Codalunga — approximately £9 million, five cars built
- Bugatti Centodieci — approximately £6.5 million, ten cars built
- Rolls-Royce Droptail — coachbuilt, each unique, estimated £25+ million
- Mercedes-Maybach Exelero — one-off concept, sold for approximately £6 million
None of these are hireable. They're in private collections, in climate-controlled storage, or on static display. They exist at a level of rarity that makes commercial hire essentially impossible.
The most expensive UK-market production cars:
- Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Series II — from approximately £500,000
- Lamborghini Revuelto — from approximately £400,000+
- Ferrari SF90 Spider — approximately £400,000–£500,000 with options
- McLaren 765LT Spider — approximately £300,000
- Bentley Continental GTC W12 — approximately £233,000
- Maserati MC20 Cielo — approximately £200,000+
These are the cars that the hire market reaches into, and the ones this guide is actually about.
The Most Expensive Cars Available to Hire in the UK
Ferrari SF90 Stradale — The Most Expensive Hireable Supercar
The Ferrari SF90 Stradale is the most expensive car that can be accessed through the UK specialist supercar hire market. Its retail price sits between £400,000 and £500,000 depending on specification. The SF90 also happens to be the fastest production Ferrari ever built — 986bhp from a hybrid V8 and three electric motors, 0–62mph in 2.5 seconds.
Hiring the SF90 is an appointment-only, top-tier-specialist experience. It's not available through standard hire platforms. Access typically requires:
- Minimum age 30, often higher
- Fully clean driving record
- Identity verification and insurance qualification beyond standard
- Security deposit in the range of £10,000–£15,000+
- Hire rates in the region of £2,000–£3,500 per day
What you receive for this: access to a car that costs half a million pounds, represents Ferrari's most advanced engineering, and is owned by approximately 1,000 people globally. For anyone with the means and qualification, the hire rate — relative to what the vehicle actually costs — represents extraordinary access.
Lamborghini Aventador SVJ / Ultimae — Naturally Aspirated Finale
The Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae was the final expression of the V12 Aventador line before the Revuelto arrived. With 780bhp, 217mph, and the last naturally aspirated V12 Lamborghini will build for the foreseeable future, the Ultimae represents the end of an era in supercar engineering.
Ultimae and SVJ variants are accessible through the specialist hire market's top tier at approximately £1,500–£2,500 per day, with security deposits of £8,000–£15,000. These are rare even in hire fleet terms — not every provider maintains them, and availability is genuinely limited.
Tier 2: Very High-End Hire Cars (£1,000–£2,000/day)
McLaren 720S Spider — The Attainable Performance Extreme
The 720S Spider costs approximately £220,000 new. In the UK specialist hire market it's available at approximately £1,350–£1,600/day — one of the more accessible entries in this tier relative to its purchase price.
720bhp, 212mph, 2.9 seconds to 62mph. The dihedral doors opening upward. The ProActive Chassis Control active suspension. The carbon fibre monocoque tub. The 720S Spider is a genuine engineering achievement at a hire rate that — while significant — represents extraordinary access relative to what the car actually costs.
Lamborghini Huracán STO / Performante — Track Technology on the Road
The hardcore Huracán variants bring GT3 racing technology to public roads. Available through a small number of specialist providers at approximately £1,200–£1,800/day, they represent the Lamborghini performance ceiling in accessible hire terms.
Bentley Flying Spur W12 — The Luxury High-End
The Bentley Flying Spur W12 (approximately £200,000 new) is available at approximately £500–£900/day for hire — a notably lower rate than the performance cars in this tier despite a comparable purchase price. The hire market rewards raw performance over luxury in its pricing.
The Rolls-Royce and Bentley Tier: Expensive Because They Are Exceptional
Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended — The Most Expensive Regular Production Car
The Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended is the most expensive regular production car on sale in the UK, starting at approximately £500,000 before the bespoke options that most Phantom owners commission. Gallery interiors that cost more than most family cars. Coachline designs hand-painted by a single specialist. The "Starlight Headliner" with individually placed fibre-optic stars beneath glass.
In hire terms, the Phantom Extended is available as a chauffeur-driven event vehicle at approximately £500–£900 per event package (3–4 hours). This represents the hire market's most dramatic value inversion: the most expensive regular production car in the UK, accessible for an event at what amounts to a small fraction of its purchase price.
Rolls-Royce Cullinan — The SUV Pinnacle
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan (approximately £300,000 new) brings Phantom-grade suspension technology and cabin refinement to an SUV format. For self-drive hire (with appropriate qualification), the Cullinan is available at approximately £1,500–£2,000/day from specialist providers. This makes it the most expensive regularly self-driveable hire car in the standard UK market.
Bentley Bentayga W12 — The Ultra-Luxury SUV
The Bentley Bentayga W12 (approximately £170,000–£200,000 new) is the benchmark ultra-luxury SUV. For self-drive hire at approximately £500–£900/day, the W12's enormous power and extraordinary cabin are accessible at rates lower than several mid-range supercars. The luxury market continues to offer unusual value in hire terms.
The Most Expensive Hire Cars: Complete Rankings
| Car | Approximate Purchase Price | Hire Rate | Hire Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrari SF90 Stradale | £400,000–£500,000+ | £2,000–£3,500/day | Specialist self-drive |
| Lamborghini Aventador SVJ/Ultimae | £400,000+ | £1,500–£2,500/day | Specialist self-drive |
| Rolls-Royce Cullinan | £300,000+ | £1,500–£2,000/day | Self-drive / chauffeur |
| McLaren 720S Spider | £220,000+ | £1,350–£1,600/day | Specialist self-drive |
| Lamborghini Huracán STO | £280,000+ | £1,200–£1,800/day | Specialist self-drive |
| Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended | £500,000+ | £500–£900 (event) | Chauffeur only |
| Bentley Continental GTC W12 | £233,000+ | £700–£1,100/day | Self-drive |
| Rolls-Royce Ghost | £300,000+ | £450–£800 (event) | Chauffeur only |
| Maserati MC20 | £200,000+ | £800–£1,300/day | Specialist self-drive |
| Bentley Bentayga W12 | £170,000–£200,000 | £500–£900/day | Self-drive / chauffeur |
The Deposit Structure at Ultra-Premium Hire Level
For the upper tier of this market, security deposit expectations differ significantly from standard supercar hire:
- Ferrari SF90 / top-tier: £10,000–£20,000+ held on credit card
- Rolls-Royce Cullinan / Aventador SVJ: £8,000–£15,000
- McLaren 720S / Bentley GT W12: £5,000–£8,000
These are held (not charged) and returned after vehicle inspection. For the SF90 hire at £3,000/day with a £15,000 deposit, you need approximately £18,000 of available credit.
The Ownership vs Hire Argument at This Level
The arithmetic of hire versus ownership becomes most compelling at this price level.
A Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended at £500,000 depreciates at approximately £50,000–£100,000 per year in its first few years of ownership. Insurance for a private owner costs approximately £10,000–£20,000 annually. Maintenance, storage, and specialist servicing add further. The total annual cost of ownership for a Phantom driven 5,000 miles per year can genuinely exceed £100,000.
Ten chauffeur-driven event hires at £700 each — ten significant occasions across the year — costs £7,000. The same car, the same experience, at approximately 7% of the annual cost of ownership.
For the Ferrari SF90: annual ownership costs including insurance (£25,000–£40,000), servicing (£10,000–£15,000), and depreciation (£50,000–£80,000) would run to £85,000–£135,000 per year. A single day's hire at £3,500 gives access to the same vehicle without any of that commitment.
At the upper end of the hire market, the economics of access versus ownership are the most compelling argument for hire available anywhere in automotive retail.
The most expensive cars you can hire in the UK sit at an intersection of extraordinary engineering, genuine exclusivity, and a hire market sophisticated enough to make them accessible for specific occasions. The Ferrari SF90's 986bhp. The Rolls-Royce Phantom's 130kg of sound insulation and magic-carpet suspension. The Lamborghini Aventador's final, unrepeatable naturally aspirated V12.
These are not experiences available to everyone. But they are more available than the purchase prices suggest.
Ready to explore the UK's most exclusive car hire options? Autofusion lets you browse and compare luxury, prestige, and exotic car hire from hundreds of rental partners nationwide. Find the most exclusive cars available for hire in the UK with Autofusion today.