The superluxury segment, as defined by American research firm IHS Automotive, consists of vehicles costing $100,000 (U.S.) or more. By any objective measure, this is a staggering amount of money to spend on a conveyance – but there are plenty of vehicles that fall into this category.
Mercedes-Benz offers no fewer than 17 different models that blast past the six-figure barrier. BMW has four. Audi has five. Lexus has one. Porsche, 30. Even a decidedly non-luxury brand, Nissan, has one vehicle (the GT-R) that bolts into the superluxury classification. According to Robert Karwel, a senior analyst with J.D. Power & Associates, the average transaction price for this subset of vehicles in Canada has gone from $118,049 in 2011 to $133,166 so far this year.
"In Canada, buyers are spending more on premium luxury vehicles than ever before," he says. For those with the ability to afford such a vehicle, the $100,000 mark is the automotive equivalent of the four-minute mile – once the magic threshold is exceeded, the sky's the proverbial limit.
For the purposes of determining the relative health of the superluxury segment, it can be more illuminating to look at brands that focus exclusively on the well-heeled.
These are the manufacturers, five in total, that offer a slate of different models, all costing at least $100,000. Organizations such as J.D. Power and others don't collect market-specific data on the superluxury set and manufacturers tend to shy away from revealing this information as well.
Global numbers reveal much, however. While the degree of success has varied for Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Roll-Royce, the future looks bright. These five brands, along with Maserati (with 10 vehicles priced above the six-figure threshold and three below), all posted promising numbers in 2014, according to IHS Automotive.
Four of the brands (Bentley, Lamborghini, Maserati and Rolls-Royce) surpassed global sales records. Ferrari, still emerging from a self-imposed sales cap established by the previous leadership regime, had its second-best year ever. The only straggler was Aston Martin. But the British car maker, in the midst of a corporate retooling aimed at new platforms and powertrains, is expected to nearly double global annual sales, from its current tally of 3,400, by 2018.
While the percentage of superluxury vehicles sold represents a tiny fraction of the overall car market, a deeper dive reveals the reason why conglomerates bother with these exclusive brands. Last year, sales of Ferrari and Maserati cars amounted to less than 1 per cent of sales for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, but generated 21 per cent of the group's profit.
All told, the six brands are expected to sell 62,000 vehicles worldwide in 2015 and 85,000 by 2020. The reason behind the sunny outlook is an ever-increasing willingness to side-step established brand values in search of new customers in emerging markets. Some of these markets suffer from less-than-perfectly-paved roads, so the superluxury SUV is a significant niche.
The first of these to emerge is the Bentley Bentayga, which debuted in production form at the 2015 Frankfurt International Motor Show. Before this unveiling, some 4,000 customers worldwide had expressed interest in the SUV. Company insiders predict the Bentayga could power the brand to achieve nearly 20,000 in global annual sales by 2020, up from the record 11,020 Bentleys sold in 2014.
The next wave of superluxury SUVs will include the Maserati Levante (due next year), Lamborghini Urus (expect deliveries in 2018), Aston Martin DBX (targeted for 2019) and an SUV from Rolls-Royce (codename: Project Cullinan), which vowed years ago never to build an SUV.
Here's a rundown of our top-five superluxury manufacturers, the pick of their respective lineups and what's on the horizon.
Aston Martin
The fleet suffers visibly from a lack of investment. Some interior controls date back to when Ford still owned the brand. The navigation systems are woeful. And the V-12 engines, as fun as they can be, seem like dinosaurs when compared to the turbocharged trickery employed by other manufacturers. Still, the Aston Martin V-12 Vantage S is one of the most entertaining supercars on the market – plenty of speed, beautiful balance and a raucous exhaust note. The future includes the DBX, an all-electric version of the Rapide sedan and an influx of new engines from Mercedes-AMG, which owns 5 per cent of the company.
Bentley
Years ago, Bentley forged a new path by opening dealerships in China. This strategy, combined with prices that were significantly lower than traditional rival Rolls-Royce, has led to Bentley more than tripling global sales from 2009 to 2013. Of its current offering of high-powered coupes, convertibles and saloons, the limited-edition Bentley Continental GT3-R is the top pick. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V-8 (572 hp; 516 lb-ft) prompts the GT3-R to a top speed of 332 km/h. Slick touches include the liberal use of carbon fibre, 21-inch gloss black wheels and a white-with-green-graphics paint treatment lifted directly from the racing version. For Bentley, the future is spelled B-e-n-t-a-y-g-a.
Ferrari
Even among superluxury brands, Ferrari stands alone. Its cars sell out two years in advance and, in order to get on the waiting list, you need to be a Ferrari owner – a chicken-and-egg scenario for the ages. FCA leader Sergio Marchionne eliminated the pre-existing production cap (7,000 cars a year), but the level of exclusivity and the waiting lists should remain the same. The Ferrari 488 GTB is the successful replacement to one of the best supercars, the 458. If history is any indication, the near term should yield a more powerful version of the 488. No word of a Ferrari SUV yet – but with Marchionne, it can’t be ruled out.
Lamborghini
The “other Italian supercar brand” is in the middle of rolling out different variations of the Huracan, which was introduced in 2014. The first of these, the rear-wheel drive Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2, will go on sale early next year. The Huracan lineup will likely eventually be augmented by a convertible version, a lightweight version and a lightweight convertible version. At the same time, Lamborghini is working on a replacement for its halo hypercar, the Aventador. The manufacturer showed an interesting hybrid sedan concept called the Asterion at last year’s Mondiale de l’Automobile in Paris, but is apparently leaning toward making the forthcoming Urus, its first hybrid-powered vehicle. The brand reports that Canada is consistently a top-10 market for it in annual sales and that 2015 will see it set another global record for sales.
Rolls-Royce
Company directors claim they want to maintain exclusivity and they’re not interested in chasing sales; their lofty pricing strategy is a key differentiator, even when compared with Bentley. The news that they’re developing an SUV was perhaps inevitable given that rough-hewn India represents a major growth market in terms of wealth. In terms of driving excitement, the Rolls-Royce Wraith is the standard bearer. The forthcoming Dawn looks fantastic – but it’s a convertible, so it won’t resonate in China or India, where air quality is a concern. Until the Rolls-Royce SUV lands, the Asian business executive will have to content him – or herself – with riding in the back of a Ghost or Phantom.
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