Demand for bespoke luxury cars is picking up speed

If you also watched every episode of “Pimp My Ride” in the early 2000s, then you know that the pinnacle of cool was wrapping your car in metallic flames and sticking a hot tub in the trunk.

While some of us never accomplished that dream (rolls eyes), it seems others are finally making it happen — kinda.

Around 400k people in the world have ~$30m in potential spending, a group that’s expected to grow to 528k by 2028, per CNN.

And carmakers have been busy manufacturing luxury rides to tempt those big spenders:

• Ferrari’s revenue rose 17% to $6.46B in 2023, and the company’s stock hit a 52-week high on Feb. 1.
• Lamborghini sold 10k+ vehicles last year, a first for the company.
• Rolls-Royce had its best sales year ever in 2023, delivering 6k+ cars.

With cars so expensive, upscale automakers can turn a profit selling far fewer than the average car brand. And the sales might just keep coming — the global luxury car market is estimated to reach $1.2T by 2032.

Personalize my ride

While a regular old Bugatti will set you back $3m+, off-the-lot luxury cars aren’t enough for some customers.

Bugatti’s Sur Mesure program offers total customization. One collector ordered an artwork-adorned car that took two years to make, covered in hand-drawn sketches.

Other luxury car brands have also seen an uptick in demand for hyperpersonalized rides:

• Three-quarters of Bentley’s customers requested custom options in 2023, up 43% YoY. Bespoke additions can add ~$75k to the price of a car.
• Rolls-Royce Bespoke offers customizations on everything from embroidery to paint colors, while its invitation-only Coachbuild program builds about one car every two years from scratch, costing ~$25m each.

At Porsche, customers can choose from 160+ paint colors or, if that’s not good enough, have their own bespoke color mixed for an additional $25k+.

So, if you’re sitting on a couple million you don’t know what to do with, start here for inspiration.