the most expensive car in the world

The number of supercars and hypercars is growing at a fast clip. That means competition for the most expensive car in the world title is also growing. From the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster to the McLaren P1 to the Aston Martin Valkyrie, expensive, high-ticket rarities are crowding the top of the market. Surprisingly, a most expensive car list is not as easy to make as you might think. The prices for the most expensive cars fluctuate depending on customer build requests, which-among the buyers of the world's most expensive cars-can get rather baroque.

To assemble the list, we tried to filter out the wide spectrum of suspect vapor, such as the late Marussia, the Zenvo TS1, and the Icona Vulcano Titanium, and instead went with cars that have established sales, something of a history, and at least partially verifiable base prices-Lamborghini, McLaren, Bugatti, and Pagani, and Koenigsegg, among others.

For the most expensive cars list we looked at cars that come from unexpected places, such as the Lykan Hypersport, a controversial, ultra-low-volume speed demon that is the first supercar to emerge from the Middle East. We also looked at cars that celebrities like Gordon Ramsay have been coveting. A list like this is also notable for what didn't make the cut-the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder WRE ($1.3 million), Lamborghini Centenario ($1.8 million), and Aston Martin Vulcan ($2.3 million).

In the end, we decided to go with cars that mixed high style, an absurd set of performance capabilities, innovative materials and build techniques, and, of course, an unparalleled price tag.

10. Koenigsegg Regera - $1.9 million

View photos

Christian von Koenigsegg may be the most visionary privateer builder in the world today. His creations are deeply personal and undeniably ground-breaking innovations. The many of the most expensive cars in the world, the price of the changes to match the complexity each customer's demands. The Regera is built around a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that pumps out 1,100 horsepower. The rest of the drivetrain is a brilliant departure from the norm: the Regera uses something called the Koenigsegg Direct Drive system, wherein a small, crank-mounted electric motor is connected to the engine with a hydraulic coupling and acts as a launch motor.

Then, each of the rear wheels is assigned its own electric motor the push out around 700 horsepower. Off the line, with the coupling open, the Regera is a purely electric drive. When the hydraulic coupling closes, the smaller electric motor fills out the bottom of the torque curve. Few innovations in the automobile have inspired as much envy as Koenigsegg's drive system, and that accounts for just a part of the exorbitant cost.

9. Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta - $2.2 million

View photos

The Ferrari LaFerrari stood out when it was first introduced at the 2013 Geneva Auto Show, despite the fact that it had to share the floor with a new Lamborghini Veneno and McLaren P1. It has a top speed of 217 mph, crushed the track record at Maranello, and goes from 0 to 60 in under two seconds.

Unveiled at last year's Paris Auto Show, the Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta is the open-topped version of the fastest production Ferrari ever made. Literally meaning "open," the Aperta differs from the hard-top-which was already expensive when it was first sold in 2013 or $1 million apiece-in a few crucial ways.

The Aperta uses the same revolutionary drivetrain to create around 1,000 horsepower: the mid-rear mounted 6.3-liter Ferrari F140 V12 coupled with its HY-KERS kinetic energy recapture system cribbed from its Formula 1 car. But the absence of a roof-and a slight increase in weight-has demanded some critical changes to the car: the Aperta's has a more prominent front air-dam to boost downforce, its radiators have been angled down to direct air flow out along the underbody instead of over the hood, and an L-shaped wedge has been integrated to the upper corner of each windshield a-pillar to reduce compression on the rear of the cabin. What Ferrari calls "Butterfly" doors open at a slightly different angle. Also, look for revised wheel arches