THE MOST EXTRAVAGANT CARS

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me." People of means enjoy a freedom that others only dream about. They are able to specify and obtain exactly what they want for nearly anything they desire, whether it's a bespoke Savile Row suit, a designer home, a luxurious yacht, or a one-of-a-kind, coach-built automobile.

1923 Heine-Velox

Gustav Otto Heine, a producer of fine pianos, was a true auto enthusiast. He became one of the earliestFord dealers in 1903. After selling the high-priced Queen automobile, he tooled up to build his own car, which he called the Heine-Velox. Fifty examples were planned, but the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake destroyed his car factory and his piano business. Pianos took precedence, so it wasn't until 1921 that Heine returned to the car business in a bold way, with the most expensive car in America.

1920s McFarlan Phaeton

In the Roaring '20s, the rare, immense and imposingMcFarlan was the choice of a discerning few. The engine was an enormous 572-cubic-inch inline-6. Carefully hand-built, and with the finest interior fittings and yards of aromatic leather, the massive McFarlan symbolized exclusive transportation in the Gatsby era. At the 1923 Chicago Auto Show, McFarlan offered its spectacular Model 154 Twin-Valve Knickerbocker Cabriolet, with gold-plated trim, for over $25,000.

1929 Bugatti Type 41 'Royale'

The story goes that one of Ettore Bugatti 's dinner guests insulted him by saying, "Mr. Bugatti, your cars are very sporting, but for a town carriage of genuine elegance one still must go to Rolls-Royce." Unfazed, Bugatti tooled up for the limited-production Royale — on the eve of the Great Depression. The basic chassis was $30,000. Only six Type 41's were built; no two were alike; no royals ever owned one; and only three were sold. The exquisitely-proportionedCoupe Napoleon, with its 169.3-inch wheelbase, was frequently used by Ettore Bugatti himself, and is arguably the most beautiful town car ever built.

1933 Duesenberg Model SJ Arlington 'Twenty Grand' Sedan

Built for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition, designed by Gordon Buehrig (who later penned the Cord 810), and bodied by Rollston, this handsome low-roofed sedan built on the long-wheelbaseDuesenberg chassis sported a supercharged 420-cubic-inch DOHC straight-8 engine with external exhaust pipes. Priced at a then-astronomical $20,000 (the equivalent of nearly half a million dollars today), it quickly became known as the "Twenty Grand."

1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow

With its dignified advertising, elegant styling, and respectable high-society dealers, Pierce-Arrow was the choice of many wealthy owners. Pierce-Arrows rivaled Packard for prestige, pioneered extensive use of aluminum (including cast-aluminum bodies), and was the first automaker to feature hydraulic valve operation. But the staunchly conservative company clung to 6-cylinder engines. By 1926, Pierce was forced to merge with Studebaker and move to South Bend, Ind. To spur sales, five hand-built concept cars, designed by Phillip O. Wright and called Silver Arrows, were assembled in South Bend and introduced at the 1933 Chicago Century of Progress Exposition.

1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Jonckheere 'Round Door' Rolls

Originally built in 1925 as a Hooper-bodied cabriolet for Mrs. Hugh Dillman of Detroit, who reportedly never took delivery, this Phantom I then passed to the Raja of Nanpara. The Rolls was re-bodied nearly 10 years later by Jonckheere coachbuilders of Belgium, this time as a unique coupe with ovoid doors. The side glass was cleverly built to slide in an overlapping pattern. Details like a canted Rolls-Royce grille, a louvered fastback rear, and a prominent fin never appeared on any other Rolls. Inside, wood paneling and luscious red leather invite entry.

1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster

Mercedes-Benz's top-of-the-line 1930s autobahn cruiser, the massive 540K sported a long hood under which lurked a supercharged 180-horsepower straight-8 engine. Coachwork on the 540K chassis ranged from baroque limousines and streamlinedAutobahn-Kurier coupes to svelte hardtop coupes and elegant roadsters. Designed by Hermann Ahrens and built to order by Karosserie Sindelfingen(Mercedes-Benz's coachbuilding subsidiary), the flamboyant 540K Special Roadster was considered the ne plus ultra of body styles on this coveted chassis.

1937 Phantom Corsair Cord Model 812

Built by Rust Heinz, heir to the Heinz "57 Varieties" food business, and using a 1937 front-drive Cordchassis and supercharged Cord V8, the low-slung Phantom Corsair was conceived as the "car of tomorrow. Despite its era-lofty $12,500 price tag, Heinz expected to sell 25 examples. Features included a wind-tunnel-developed body, independent suspension, dash-adjustable shock absorbers, push-button doors and pop-up roof panels, thermostatically operated climate controls, a padded "crash board," a beverage cabinet, an all-wave radio, and a bevy of special instruments, including a compass and an altimeter.

1954 Ferrari 375MM

Early Ferrari purchasers included the very rich and famous: King Leopold of Belgium, the Aga Kahn, and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. The filmmaker purchased this car for competition, and rumor has it that with some encouragement from his wife (the actress Ingrid Bergman), Rossellini returned the car to Ferrari and had it made into a "more civilized coupe." Sergio Scaglietti — a metalworking genius whose later body designs include the immortal Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and the 250 GTO — and his craftsmen fabricated an armature of steel tubes to create the body's framework. Hand-formed aluminum panels were finished to perfection.

1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II

The first Lincoln Continentals — Ford Motor Company's art-deco, 12-cylinder, Lincoln-Zephyr-based boulevard cruisers — were phased out in 1948. Eight years later, in an effort to upstage archrival Cadillac, Lincoln introduced the elegantly simple Mark II. With its crisp lines, minimalist trim, smooth 300-horsepower V8 engine and impressive $10,000 sticker, the Mark II immediately became the most expensive car in America, until Cadillac battled back with the glitzy and hardly conservative Eldorado Brougham.

1956 Dual-Ghia

The sleek Dual-Ghia combined American running gear with a dramatic body style. Its genesis was a sleek concept car by Italian coachmaker Carrozzeria Ghia — the Dodge Firearrow IV. Gene Casaroll's Detroit-based company, Dual Motors, produced twin-engine trucks for the Army Air Corps during World War II and later hauled new Chryslers to dealerships. Casaroll convinced Chrysler to let him produce a street version of the Firearrow. Paul Farago, Ghia's U.S. representative, was enlisted to help. Low and wide on a 115-inch wheelbase, the Dual-Ghia's cabin was all 1950s flash, with an engine-turned dashboard and colorful two-toning.

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham

In 1957 people were shocked by the new Series 70 Eldorado Brougham's $13,074 price tag. Nearly triple the price of a base Series 62 Caddy sedan and a whopping increase from the original estimate of $8,500, America's first production 4-door pillarless hardtop had all the presence of a GM Motoramashowcar. A hand-built American luxury sedan, it was designed to compete with the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Eldorado owners of that era craved a showy, glitzy statement that flaunted their nouveau riche status.

1969 Iso Grifo

Giorgio Guigiaro and Nuccio Bertone are credited with the design of Renzo Rivolta's gorgeous Grifo fastback Gran Touring coupe. Giotto Bizzarrini (who engineered the Ferrari 250 GTO and the sports car that bore his name), did the mechanicals. Just 47-inches high, sleek and slippery, and priced just above a Ferrari 275 GTB at $14,986, the Grifo packed a 327--cubic-inch Chevy V8. The 365-brake horsepower optional Corvette motor was good for 165 mph, and the Grifo could be serviced at the local Chevy dealer.

1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible

Cadillac believed it ended a glorious era with the announcement that it would stop building convertibles in 1976, due to heightened safety awareness along with a rise in hardtop popularity and air conditioner use. Hence, the massive, 224.1-inch long, 2.5-ton '76 Eldorado convertible was billed as the "last of a magnificent breed." Under a huge expanse of hood lurked a 500-cubic-inch V8 engine. Emission detuning limited the engine to "just" 190 horsepower with a Rochester 4-barrel carburetor, or 215 horsepower with optional Bendix electronic fuel injection.

1985 Bentley Turbo R

In the late 1980s, still under the ownership of Rolls-Royce and even before BMW rejuvenated the brand,Bentley was on its way to reprising the elements that had made its "winged B" a legend in the 1930s. Recalling the magic of the "Blower Bentleys" of yore, the hot and exclusive new "R" packed a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger; its 6.7-liter V8 engine churned out nearly 500 lb-ft of meaty torque. Billed as the "fastest four-door production car on earth," a Turbo R averaged over 140 mph for one hour in a special endurance test, and broke a record set by aLamborghini Countach.

1987 Ferrari F40

The F40 represented much that Ferrari had learned in its Formula One cars, applied to a road-going example. The engine was a 4-cam 32-valve V8 with twin sequential turbochargers. European output was 478 horsepower at 7000 rpm with 425 lb-ft of torque. U.S. engines reportedly made closer to 500 horsepower because of extensive work on the catalytic converters to certify the cars. Handling was superb: The 4-piston, 13-inch brakes could haul the 2,680- pound F40 to a stop in split seconds. There was no ABS; at the time, it was believed a skilled driver could outperform electronics.

1989 Porsche 959

Porsche created its all-wheel-drive 959 to compete in international racing and was one of several automakers who marketed these racing/rally models to offer clients a state-of-the-art racecar for the street. The engine was an air-cooled 450-horsepower twin-turbo 2849cc flat-6 with water-cooled DOHC 24-valve heads and titanium connecting rods. The 959's lightweight composite and aluminum body had a relatively low co-efficient of drag of 0.32 (a contemporary Porsche 911 was 0.39). Its top speed was 195 mph, with zero to 60 mph taking 3.6 seconds.

2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

Mercedes-Benz eclipsed its legendary Gullwing and gave the Italians fits with a new, ultra-high-tech "wunderwagen," the Mercedes SLR McLaren. This lightweight carbon-fiber composite-bodied car was assembled in England by the talented team that built Mercedes' Formula One racing cars. A modern reprise of Stuttgart's legendary 1950s-era racecars, complete with fully functional side exhausts, the new SLR's supercharged 5.5-liter 617-horsepower V8 engine is set almost amidships for optimal weight distribution. The crisp 5-speed electronic AMG SpeedShift transmission selects gears quicker than you can think. This Mercedes-Benz could dash to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, topped out at over 215 mph, and idled amenably.

2005 Lamborghini Murcielago

Everything about the Murcielago shouts supercar. From its impossibly low silhouette, bellowing 6.2-liter 580-brake horsepower V12 engine located behind your head; contortionist-inspired entry; and a $290,000 price tag, exclusivity is this car's specialty.Lamborghini sold fewer than 100 of them a year in the U.S. Flip up one of the scissor doors, sit on the sill, fall into the well-bolstered driver's bucket, then swing your legs under the fat, leather-wrapped wheel. A sculpted aluminum ball falls to hand. The shift gate is an alloy latticework; the 6-speed box boasts triple cone synchronizers. The crescendo builds as the revs rise to a 7500 rpm redline.

2014 Aston Martin Vanquish S

Inspired by Aston Martin's bold One-77, and sporting an even sexier version of the concept car's lightweight carbon-fiber body shell, the Vanquish has everything you need to swear off Italian supercars for good. Ferraris are hot; Astons are very cool.Lamborghinis are nouveau riche; Astons are old money — and lots of it. The Vanquish packs a 573-horsepower 4-cam V12 engine, with an exhaust note that rumbles, not screams. This suave new Brit will readily top 185 mph and perform in an elegant manner that underscores your good taste, not your gold chains.

Trident lays claim to world's fastest diesel sports car

Iceni Magna and Venturer models from British maker can hit 190 mph and deliver 57 mpg.

If your idea of a diesel hasn't evolved from the 1980s when "oil burners" were notoriously noisy, smelly, shaky and slow, the little British sports car manufacturer Trident is set to challenge your assumptions.

It's launching two new models that are laying claim to being the world's fastest diesel-powered sports cars, capable of reaching speeds in excess of 190 mph. At the same time, Trident boasts that new "torque multiplication technology" will permit its Iceni Magna and Iceni Venturer models to deliver as much as 2,000 miles of driving on a single tank of fuel.

"We have worked extremely hard to reach this point and the whole Trident team is thrilled to be bringing the world's most fuel-efficient diesel sports cars to market," says David Monaghan, co-founder of Trident Sports Cars, Ltd., which has been working on the Iceni project since it was formed in 2005.

The fastback Trident Iceni Magna and Iceni Venturer wagon share a common, 6.6-liter V8 turbodiesel mated to a 6-speed automatic. The package makes a solid but far from segment-leading 395 horsepower. But the 700 pound-feet of torque is more likely to grab your attention.

The company claims to have updated the basic torque multiplication technology commonly used in automatic transmissions to deliver even more power, as needed, allowing the engine to turn at just 980 rpm on the highway -- delivering best-of-both-worlds results.