Luxury Car Buyers Guide PDF Reference Manual

Looking for something sleek and sporty? Solid and stately? Today’s breed of luxury autos offers everyone from performance aficionados to demanding seekers of mobile opulence a dizzying spectrum of premium metal. Learn about the leading and lesser known luxury car makers who elevate motoring to a fine art with Elite Traveler’s guide to the finest automobiles on the planet.

Aston Martin With an astounding racing heritage, a design history that has always stressed innovation while retaining a signature elegance (and, of course, the undying loyalty of a certain British secret agent), more than any other brand, Aston Martin evokes a unique balance of performance and styling in the world of sport and grand touring luxury cars. Founded in 1913, under the post-war leadership of Sir David Brown (the “DB” in the model names), the company established a solid racing reputation with a series of sporty offerings capped by the iconic DB5 of James Bond fame in 1963. Today, from its state-of-the-art facility in Gaydon in Warwickshire, the company, recently taken under private ownership after a stint as part of Ford’s PAG (Performace Auto Group), produces cars with a distinct blend of thrilling performance and understated but aggressive styling: “Like a tough guy in a dinner jacket,” is how Director of Design Marek Reichman explained it to me once, and that says it all.

Bugatti The golden era of luxury automaker Bugatti dates back to the 1920s and 1930s, when designer Ettore Bugatti produced coach-built luxury saloons like the Royale as well as legendary racers like the Type 59 Grand Prix for a select group of European elite from his workshops in Molsheim, France. Today, under the auspices of parent company Volkswagen AG, a new era for the company begins with the introduction of the Veyron 16.4, probably the most exacting, innovative and envelopepushing production car available (at a cool $1.5 million). Mining Bugatti’s uncompromising heritage of producing exclusive automobiles that are as much art as engineering, the Veyron’s development essentially started by throwing out the established car-making rulebook and focusing purely on innovation and “out-of-the-box” engineering to deliver a singularly masterful vehicle that both defines a cutting-edge experience and is surprisingly accessible and easy to drive, thus easy to love.

FAST TIMES
As befits such a rare, exceptional and innovative vehicle, this Parmigiani bugatti type 370 timepiece, by haute horologiste Michel Parmigiani, was in
development nearly as long as the car itself and picks up on the company’s idea of pure innovation with a superbly unique and elegant approach to chronometry. About $200,000.

Audi Immaculate and passionate engineering and a constant devotion to innovation has taken this German luxury brand from a somewhat conservative, fine sedan starting point and placed it firmly in a leadership role in technological integration as well as racing. This point was driven home for me recently when I attended the 24 Hours of Le Mans and enjoyed hearing the almos calm, smooth-running, diesel-powered Audi R10s whip around the track in competition with (and oftentimes declare victory over) the chortling, standard-fuel entries from other performance car companies. That spirit of embracing unique technologies that succeed in reinforcing the brand’s luxury underpinnings is abundantly apparent across its whole line, from the directly Le Mans-inspired R8 sport coupe to its terrific entry-level Quattro models to its commitment to diesel engines to its partnership with audio leader Bang & Olufsen, which produces an exceptional optional stereo package for Audi’s top models

BMW When it comes to the performance/luxury formula of high-end motoring, more than any other large-scale manufacturer, BMW consistently delivers pure driving thrills across its entire line, from its muscular M program offerings to its marvelous 7 Series flagship to its zippy Z4 roadsters to its new “SAV” X6 crossovers to its universally praised 3 Series models. This thrill factor is particularly apropos since the Bayerische Motoren Werke AG company started life in 1913 as a motorcycle maker and still continues its tradition of exceptional two-wheel vehicle manufacturing. BMW’s M program (the “m” is for “motorsports”), in particular, draws from the German company’s heritage of racing successes to deliver unparalleled power, dynamics and handling to high-end buyers, constantly re-inventing what a road car can really do.

To be a Jaguar enthusiast is to be an undying romantic, I’ll admit to it. If you think back to the quintessentially British marque’s post-war era of classically beautiful and powerful cars (as well as its share of racing victories), like the stunning long-bonneted E-Type or the regal Mark II, and take a gander at the reinvented lightweight modern models painstakingly crafted by design head Ian Callum (one of the industry’s most skilled, and most intuitive), you can still feel that romance and passion. With a business history a bit more chaotic than its uncompromising heritage of design and performance, Jaguar now has a new, deep-pocketed home with international conglomerate Tata that promises a focused and attentive approach to fostering the legendary brand. Previous owner Ford’s attempts to open up the line to more entry-level buyers proved to be a misstep; Jaguar is simply a luxury brand, period. Advanced offerings like the company’s R program (with its throbbing supercharged engines) and stunning Vanden Plas interior package for the flagship XJ, help plant that luxury flag firmly within a line of gorgeous, sensual performance automobiles.

Lexus In the late 1980s Toyota challenged the reigning protocols of luxury car-making by audaciously suggesting that leveraging the expertise and efficiency of mass production could yield superb vehicles on par with, or even superior to, their existing counterparts. Lexus succeeded not only in changing the playing field forever, but also succeeded in astronomical sales and a rapid-fire marketing success that almost defies logic.
The rest, as they say, is history. Harnessing only the best-of-breed developments from the flurry of ideas and innovations that are endemic to the competitive large-scale automotive industry, Lexus has only gotten better and better at challenging those same precepts (the first true-luxury hybrid in the LS 600h sedan, the remarkably nimble IS-F sport coupe that evokes the “P” word in terms of performance and handling) and continuing to win over the hearts and minds of the luxury car buyer..

Download Luxury Car Buyers Guide PDF Reference Manual