Porsche recently unveiled a special 718 Cayman GT4 as a tribute to their 906 racecars from the 60s. Covered in yellow accents throughout its bodywork, with silver strips on the profile and a dark alloy finish, safe to say it’s a looker. But here’s the catch, you can’t buy it. Designed to be a one-off, customers can order the same spec for their Cayman, but they won’t be taking home the GT4 without orchestrating a Mission Impossible-Esque heist. This got us thinking, what are some of the exclusive cars in the world, that money can or cannot buy? Here’s what we found.   

7) 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider  

If you disagree with the sentiment that cars are a piece of art, you haven’t looked at Ferrari’s two-seater 250 GT California SWB Spider. Designed by the two biggest names in Italy – Scaglietti and Pininfarina, the Grand Prix car was a head turner when it was launched in the early 60s.   

It perfectly encapsulated the “La Dolce Vita” lifestyle with its open-top design and a mighty V12 motor powering everything. Sadly though, only a few were very lucky enough to experience a slice of it, with just 16 models being rolled out of the assembly. Now decades down the line, not only has it become one of the most sought-after four-wheeled items, but also one of the rarest.   

6) 1964 Ford GT40  

While we’re still reminiscing about the 60s, the Ford GT40 was one of the most celebrated cars of its decade. After all, it was this car which ended Ferrari’s reign in 24 Hours of Le Mans, a journey captured in 2019’s Le Mans ’66 starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale.   

Designed by two legends – Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles, the GT40 didn’t just go fast, but also looked good while doing so. No wonder, only a few replica models were rolled out of Ford’s factory, with each of them being priced at around $7 million today.   

5) 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO  

There are dime over dozen money-can’t-buy Ferraris out there. But if we had to choose, the 250 GTO makes for the cream of the crop. Only 39 models were ever made of the car back in the 60s, with even Enzo Ferrari keeping one for himself. Even back in the 60s, you had to shell out a heavy chunk of change to get your hands on one. A half a century later today, an original 250 GTO from 1962 comes at a valuation of a whopping $48.4 million!  

4) 1970 Porsche 917  

There are Porsches, then are extremely rare limited-run Porsches and then there is a Porsche which won the brand’s first 24 Hours of Le Man’s title and was driven by Steve McQueen himself. Over the years, the 1970 Porsche 917 has become one of the most talked about Porsches, while also being one of the hardest to get your hands on. With an unknown number of them still available, we suspect you may have to shell out seven to eight-figure worth of money to see one of these in your garage.   

3) Bugatti Type 41 (Royale)  

While Bugatti is now known for breaking speed records by the day, there was a time when the German automaker focused on producing uber-luxury models. One of which was the Type 41, a car so big that it measured 6,400mm in length. To put things in perspective, that’s 21 per cent longer than the S-Class.   

With a wheelbase big enough (4,300mm) to fit a Hyundai Creta, Bugatti initially had the plan to build twenty-five units of the car. Sadly though, due to production constraints, this number was then slashed down to seven. Today, only six of those have known to survive. One of them was auctioned for $9.7 million back in 1987! You can only imagine what it’d cost now.   

2) McLaren F1 LM  

There’s a lot of Le Man’s history in this list. While the McLaren F1M may not be as iconic as the Porsche or the Ford we mentioned earlier, it might just be the rarest of the lot. Only five units of the F1 LM were built, modelled after the five cars which finished the race and won the 95’ 24 Hours of Le Mans.   

While sporting the same chassis as the regular F1 along with a 6.1-litre, naturally-aspirated V12 engine, the LM made more power than the standard car at 671PS and 705Nm of torque. As far as how much it’d cost today, just last a year a model was auctioned off for $20.5 million.   

1) Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé  

Not only is the 300 SLR the most expensive offering on the list but also the most exclusive one. Only two models of the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé were built, one with a blue interior and the other with red. Mercedes itself owns one of the two models of the two-seater, with the other being sold at an auction for a whopping $143 million!