http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/107546/10-most-expensive-cars-to-own-and-drive?mod=family-autos
by Russ Heaps
Tuesday, August 18, 2009provided byBankrate
If you just have to drive your idea of the best car in the world, feel the need to impress every friend and stranger in sight or just have more money than you know what to do with, these cars might capture your fancy.
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Here is a list of the 10 most expensive-to-own new vehicles, according to Edmunds.com. Four are from Mercedes-Benz and all but one are European imports. When you consider that the cars on our least-expensive-to-own list cost $0.39 per mile or less to own, the idea of paying $3 to $4 a mile is staggering.
In addition to the average market transaction price and financing rates, the estimates of what it truly costs to own these cars include factors such as fuel, insurance, repairs, maintenance and depreciation. The end result is a ballpark figure for the total cost over the first five years of ownership, as well as the cost per mile based on driving 15,000 miles per year.
All estimates come courtesy of Edmunds.com which features a "True Cost to Own" calculator.
1. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series
Starting price: $301,750
5-year total: $364,471
Cost per mile: $4.86
What pushes the Black Series up the price ladder from the SL65 AMG is the wide use of carbon-fiber body parts and some under-the-hood enhancements. Its 670-horsepower, 6-liter twin-turbo V-12 slingshots this two-seater to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds. It's also loaded to the gills with high-tech standard equipment.
2. Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
Starting price: $202,825
5-year total: $244,363
Cost per mile: $3.26
Capable of reaching 60 miles per hour from a standstill in just over four seconds, the S65 AMG combines opulent interior appointments with outrageously aggressive performance. It uses the same 6-liter twin-turbo V-12 found in other high-end Mercedes models but in this application it develops 604 horsepower.
3. Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG
Starting price: $205,575
5-year total: $230,771
Cost per mile: $3.08
A strikingly handsome coupe, the CL65 AMG is more than a pretty face. Its 604-horsepower, 6-liter twin-turbo V-12 is capable of going from zero to 60 in just over four seconds. Standard gear includes a rearview camera and nighttime vision assist.
4. Audi R8
Starting price: $126,400
5-year total: $159,753
Cost per mile: $2.13
If your goal is to get noticed, there is no surer way to do it than behind the wheel of Audi's R8. Sleek, fast and decadent, the R8 uses a mid-mounted 420-horsepower 4.2-liter V-8 to turn all four wheels. It can dash from zero to 60 in just over four seconds. Sure it's expensive, but it is arguably the most accessible exotic on the market.
5. Porsche 911 Convertible Turbo
Starting price: $141,650
5-year total: $159,393
Cost per mile: $2.13
With an extra-cost options list as long as your arm, this two-seat drop-top offers an array of customizing choices. A 480-horsepower, 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat six-cylinder engine funnels output to all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. It gets to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds.
6. Audi A8 L W12
Starting price: $122,625
5-year total: $153,588
Cost per mile: $2.05
The "L" in its name refers to this luxury sedan's stretched wheelbase, while the "W12" indicates it packs the potent 450-horsepower, 6-liter, W-12 engine under its hood. Fewer than six ticks of the clock are needed for the A8 L W12 to reach 60 miles per hour. Among its standard features are massaging front seats and four-zone automatic climate control.
7. Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Starting price: $106,620
5-year total: $146,096
Cost per mile: $1.95
The Zeus of 'Vettes, the ZR1 is a supercar by any measure. Motivating it to a zero to 60 time of just over three seconds is a 638-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter, V-8. Although it doesn't possess the amount of high-end bric-a-brac many of the other entries on this list do, pound for pound and dollar for dollar it may just be the best sports car in the world.
8. Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Starting price: $125,775
5-year total: $138,613
Cost per mile: $1.85
The only SUV on this list, the Cayenne Turbo S packs Porsche performance into an off-road-capable all-wheel-drive uber package. Turning all four wheels is a 550-horsepower, 4.8-liter, twin-turbo V-8. Reaching 60 miles per hour from a stop takes a hair less than five seconds. A 14-speaker surround-sound audio system and a hard-drive-based navigation system are standard.
9. BMW M6 Convertible
Starting price: $111,725
5-year total: $138,186
Cost per mile: $1.84
The high-performance version of the 6 Series, the M6 is fitted with a 500-horsepower 5-liter, V-10, providing this soft-top with zero to 60 sprints of less than five seconds. A 13-speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system and adaptive xenon headlights are standard.
10. Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG
Starting price: $99,775
5-year total: $137,749
Cost per mile: $1.84
No sedan better captures the sleek flow of a coupe's styling than the Mercedes-Benz CLS. In its hopped-up guise as the CLS63 AMG, it complements its drop-dead curb appeal with an asphalt-chomping 507-horsepower, 6.2-liter, V-8 engine. Reaching 60 miles per hour requires just a bit more than four seconds with a top speed of more than 180 miles per hour.
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