Mercedes is a car manufacturer known for building exceptional motor vehicles offering industry-leading innovation, upscale brand image, and unparalleled comfort. Of course, for a car brand to bear such high manufacturing standards lots of R&D money is pumped into building these cars.
The most expensive Mercedes-Benz
The most expensive standard new Mercedes on the market today is the Maybach GLS SUV, which starts at about $200,000. However, if you’re going for a hypercar, the new Mercedes-AMG Project ONE will soon be available for $2.72 million.
Mercedes offers cars for almost every segment, and every one of these cars is built up to Mercedes standards. In the manufacturing process, lots of expenses have to be made, and all of which drive the price up significantly. Nevertheless, Mercedes still manages to dominate the luxury car market.
Video: Top 10 Most Expensive Mercedes Benz Cars In The World
The most expensive Mercedes SUV: Maybach GLS
As far as car trends are considered, SUVs are becoming more and more popular, and many car brands have begun to produce an SUV for every segment of the market. As far as Mercedes is considered, there are currently 9 different SUVs to choose from.
The most expensive Mercedes SUV is the Mercedes Maybach GLS costing around $200k or more, depending on the options you add on, and options are plenty. Maybach is a sub-brand by Mercedes that specifically makes the most luxurious cars in the Mercedes product range.
The GLS offers unparalleled opulence on four wheels, suspension specifically tuned for nothing else besides comfort, and a large number of chrome bits of trim to emphasize the premium brand name designation.
If you follow the trends in the car buying universe, you are probably fairly well acquainted with the legendary Mercedes G wagon, which comes in at second place for the most expensive Mercedes SUV. The G-class is one of the most iconic SUVs ever to be built, and the G63 made by AMG offers the best G-class experience ever at around $160k.
Most expensive Mercedes Sedans: S-class and AMG
Mercedes offers amazing SUVs, but sedans are the bread and butter when it comes to staple Mercedes offerings. Throughout history, Mercedes has kept on improving the vast array of different sedans to industry-leading heights, and such unparalleled progress comes with a hefty price tag.
The most luxurious, most opulent, most upmarket Mercedes sedan is undoubtedly the legendary S-class. Mercedes has been improving the S-class since the late 50s, the 7th generation S-class was recently released.
The base price for the newly released entry-level S-class is around $110k, and the price can even double once Maybach and AMG start making their variants with plush interiors and fire-breathing engines.
Most Mercedes models are made in-house, and then later sent to AMG for the AMG treatment. The GT 63 S 4-door Coupe is made entirely by AMG. It offers sports car levels of performance and 4 seats with 4 doors. The car starts at around $160k and the price climbs to eyewatering levels when it’s outfitted with add-on options.
Sportscars and Supercars
Exclusivity and limited production numbers are the two main reasons why some Mercedes models cost triple the usual Mercedes sedan price. Making cars is extremely expensive, and it’s the reason why the car industry rarely offers competitive newcomer brands.
The yet-to-be-released Mercedes hypercar called the Project ONE offers Formula 1 technology, an engine from the championship-winning Formula 1 car. It will give hyper-performance with a top speed north of 350km/h (217 mph). This hypercar by Mercedes does not come cheap. Mercedes plans on only making 275 units, and the price will be $2.72 million dollars.
But, if you think that Project 1 is the most expensive Mercedes ever, well it’s not, not even close. In 2013, a 1954 Mercedes Benz W196 was sold for over $29 million dollars. Mercedes sports cars such as the 1936 Mercedes Benz 540K roadster and the legendary 300SL coupes also sell for multiple millions of dollars.
FAQs about pricey cars
What makes cars expensive?
The production number has a big effect on car prices. Making cars is expensive, so if a manufacturer plans on making only a handful of a specific model, prices ranging in millions of dollars are fairly common. If a car is fairly common then the amortization of costs per car is fairly cheap, and it brings down the price tag as a result.
In addition to production numbers and exclusivity, expensive cars tend to be powerful and luxurious. Manufacturers such as Mercedes tend to offer high-performance models by AMG, and all of them cost more than their ”regular” counterparts.
The same goes for the Maybach product range. Cars made by Mercedes Maybach sub-brand are a lot more expensive due to the exclusive nature, and upmarket materials, and luxury features.
In the 21st century, cars have to offer a huge number of different safety features just to legally be able to reach the market. And the market is a fierce playing field with many different huge brands constantly working on improving their products, and the costs, continue to ramp up fast.
What’s the depreciation like on expensive Mercedes models?
Depreciation on expensive Mercedes models varies. You would tend to think that exclusive cars that cost a lot to buy don’t lose their value due to the market never really being saturated by them, but this isn’t always the case.
Some models like a 10-year-old top-of-the-line S-class is one of the most severely depreciated cars in existence, in some cases, the effects of depreciation can shave off more than 90% of the cars original value.
The S-class has always been a benchmark for luxury and technology in the flagship limousine car segment, but other manufacturers tend to catch up, and new S-classes come and go. These reasons, plus fairly questionable reliability, result in older S-classes taking huge dives as far as the price or appeal are considered.
On the other hand, some Mercedes classics tend to be sold for more than the original price. It all depends on the car market, and the demand for some examples tends to shift as time goes on.
Mercedes supercars also never really suffer great depreciation. The value of these is never constant. The prices keep on fluctuating, but eventually they even out on a level the market deems appropriate. But generally, they do not lose too much value.
What are the most expensive cars of all time?
The most expensive new car ever to be sold is the one-off Bugatti La Voiture Noire. The car comes in at around 19 million dollars. The reason for such a hefty price tag is the fact that this Bug is a limited edition. Only one will ever be produced.
The most expensive used car sold at an auction is the Ferrari 250GTO. This 1962 prancing horse thoroughbred race car sold for more than 48 million dollars in 2018 at the Monterey RM Sotheby’s auction. For some context, some countries like Tuvalu have a lower GDP than the price of the car.
