Today, everything has changed. There’s more choice than ever, more manufacturers entering the top end of the market and some mind-blowing in-car technology on offer. If you want Minority Report-style gesture control, near-autonomous driving ability or to park your car by remote control, all that and more can be yours.
While the car industry has diversified and evolved dramatically in recent years, there’s no question that some of the strongest growth has come from the luxury car sector. And, despite the recent downturn in China, there’s evidence that there’s more to come.
From larger manufacturers such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes, to traditional firms like Bentley and Rolls-Royce, and even smaller makers like Lamborghini, Maserati and Tesla, they are all turning their focus to the luxury car market in all its forms.
“It sounds obvious, but the luxury car market will continue to grow as long as the world economy continues to grow,” says industry analyst Jay Nagley. “However, while there’s still a market for traditional saloons, the default luxury car in the 21st century is now the SUV. Land Rover keeps pushing the Range Rover further upmarket and it continues to sell strongly – at the £120,000 mark. Plus, once many drivers have gone into an SUV, they enjoy the high-up driving position, the panoramic view and the feel-good factor – they don’t want to return to a standard saloon.”
Porsche’s 2015 sales underline Nagley’s point. Last year Porsche, a company renowned for its sports cars, sold almost five times more Cayenne and Macan SUVs worldwide than it did 911s, its classic rear-engined coupé. Is it any wonder, then, that so many other manufacturers are looking to the SUV market for the future of luxury car sales?
Bentley’s long-awaited new Bentayga, the first of the “super-SUVs” to arrive, has just gone on sale and already has a year’s waiting list, despite a £160,200 price tag. Most of those early orders include about a further £50,000-worth of options too. A handful of customers have also opted for the ultimate optional extra – a Breitling Mulliner Tourbillon self-winding, dash-mounted clock. The cost? A cool £150,000 extra.
Joining the Bentayga this spring is the Maserati Levante, which is likely to draw on the styling of its 2011 Kubang concept car, while the Lamborghini Urus is scheduled to arrive in 2018. Powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, the Urus is expected to be even faster than the new 187 mph Bentayga (and this is a big 4x4, remember), although it’s expected to wear a price tag of more than £180,000, so you might want to start saving now.
Further ahead, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin have already admitted to working on future SUV models. All are confident that the market can sustain this change – both Maserati and Lamborghini are expecting each their 4x4s to double their current sales.
Not only that, but other areas of the luxury market are also thriving, with both the Aston Martin DB11 (the successor to the ageing DB9, which will take several styling cues from the exclusive Spectre-starring DB10) and the £250,000 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible out this spring.
The 286mph Bugatti Chiron sportscar, the successor to the Veyron, is to be unveiled this month. Rumour has it that 100 people have already placed their deposits for the new £1.5 million-plus Chiron.
So does the dominance of sports cars and SUVs mean the traditional luxury saloon’s days are numbered? Not according to BMW, which introduced its 7-Series in the autumn and loaded it with class-leading technology.
“The car of the future will ultimately be a smart device and it’s about how we incorporate that into our customers’ lives,” says Stephen Chater, BMW’s general manager for product and market planning. That’s a real element of the appeal of [the 7-Series] and our customers expect it more than ever. That will increase, too, with some of the technology eventually cascading down the range to models like the 5-Series.”
The 7-Series features everything from wireless phone charging and gesture control (swiping or pointing) inside the cabin for certain functions, to a smart key fob that can show the car’s fuel level or pre-set the ventilation to a certain temperature. The fob can even be used to park the car remotely from outside if you’re manoeuvring into an awkward space.
Still, for Rolls-Royce, the concept of luxury has a different meaning. “Our customers generally value simplicity and aren’t interested in numerous buttons – one of the best things about a Rolls-Royce is its effortlessness and the sense of it being a sanctuary,” a spokesperson says. “At our factory in Goodwood, we’ve now got a commissioning suite where you can sit in consultation with a designer and pore over your personal choices of interior silks, leathers and woods. We even have special lighting so that you can see how any of the 44,000 paint colour choices will look in your part of the world, whether you live in Los Angeles or London, because of the way the light falls in different countries.”
Rolls-Royce has taken this idea one step further by showcasing its cars at its summer studios, started in Porto Cervo, Sardinia at the Promenade du Port in 2014. As well as keeping a small fleet of cars there between June and September, it uses the studio as a social space for the public and yacht owners in the port, as well as holding evening events with artists, jewellers and other “super luxury partners”.
This remains the ultimate in soft-selling, however. Those using the studio are welcome to take a car for a test drive or be chauffeur-driven somewhere for the evening. But while there’s an interactive car configurator to specify your next model, no orders are taken at the studio because, as studio manager Isobel Dando puts it: “Commissioning a Rolls-Royce should never be rushed.” Turning someone away who wants to order a £300,000 car? Now that’s real luxury.
