Top 10 most expensive cars in the world

We are bringing you the list of 10 most expensive cars in the world. At the top of the list is of course the legendary Bugatti Veyron, most expensive, most powerful, and fastest production car in the world.

Bugatti Veyron $1,700,000



The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world, with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph). It reached full production in September 2005. The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and is sold under the legendary Bugatti marque. It is named after racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders.

According to Volkswagen, the final production Veyron engine produces between 1020 and 1040 metric hp (1006 to 1026 SAE net hp), so the car will be advertised as producing "1001 horsepower" in both the US and European markets. This easily makes it the most powerful production road-car engine in history.

Ferrari Enzo $1,000,000




The Enzo Ferrari, sometimes referred to as the the Ferrari Enzo and also F60 is a 12-cylinder Ferrari supercar named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was built in 2003 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fiber body, F1-style sequential shift transmission, and carbon-ceramic brake discs. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics. After a maximum downforce of 1709 pounds (775 kg) is reached at 186 mph (301 km/h) the rear spoiler is actuated by computer to maintain that downforce.

Pagani Zonda C12 F $741,000





The Zonda C12 F debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It is the most extensive reengineering of the Pagani car yet, though it shares much with its predecessors including the 7.3 L V12. Power is increased to 602 PS (443 kW/594 hp) with a special clubsport model producing 650 PS (478 kW/641 hp). The company promises a 3.2 second sprint to 60 mph (97 km/h, a top speed over 374 km/h (225 mph) and it will be the queen in braking from 300 km/h to 0 (186 mph to 0). The Zonda F clubsport has a power to weight ratio of 521 bhp/ton (384 W/kg) . Compare, for example, the Enzo Ferrari which has a power to weight ratio of 483 bhp/ton (356 W/kg).

Koenigsegg CCX $600,910



The Koenigsegg CCX is the latest supercar from Koenigsegg. CCX is an abbreviation for Competition Coupe X. The X commemorates the 10th anniversary of the completion and test drive of the first CC vehicle in 1996. The CCX is intended to be more suitable for the U.S. market and thus engineered to comply with US regulations. The CCX is powered by a Koenigsegg designed and assembled, all aluminium, 4700 cm³ DOHC 32-valve V8 based on the Ford Modular engine architecture enhanced with twin Rotrex centrifugal superchargers with response system, 1.2 bar boost pressure and an 8.2:1 compression ratio. The engine produces 806 hp (601 kW) and 678 lbf.ft (920 Nm) on 91 octane (U.S. rating) gasoline, 850 hp (634 kW) on 96 octane (Euro rating) gasoline and 900 hp (671 kW) on biofuel.

Porsche Carrera GT $484,000




The Porsche Carrera GT is a supercar, manufactured by Porsche of Germany. The Carrera GT is powered by an all-new 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 SAE horsepower (450 kW). Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 330 km/h (206 mph), although road tests indicated that in actuality the car could accelerate from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds and to 0-100 in 6.8 seconds and has a top speed of 335-340km/h (209-212.5mph).

Mercedes SLR McLaren $455,500





The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a sports car and supercar automobile co-developed by DaimlerChrysler and McLaren Cars. It is assembled at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. Most people presume "SLR" to stand for "Sportlich, Leicht, Rennsport" (German for "Sport; Light; Racing"). The car's base price is £300,000 or $455,500. The SLR has a supercharged 5.5 (5439cc) litre dry sumped 90 degree V8. It produces 466.8 kW at 6500rpm (626 hp) and 780 N·m (575 ft·lbf) torque at 3250 - 5000 rpm.

Maybach 62 $385,250




The Maybach 57 and 62 were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since the brand's revival by DaimlerChrysler. They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept car presented at the 1997 Tokyo Motorshow (which was based on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan). DaimlerChrysler attempted to buy the Rolls-Royce/Bentley marque when Vickers offered the company up for sale. When this attempt failed (they were outbid by BMW and Volkswagen respectively) they introduced the Maybach as a direct challenger in 2002. Both models are variants of the same ultra-luxurious automobile. The model numbers reflect the respective lengths of the automobiles in decimetres; the 57 is more likely to be owner-driven while the longer 62 is designed with a chauffeur in mind. The engine is a Mercedes-sourced 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12, generating 550 hp.

Rolls-Royce Phantom $320,000





The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a luxury saloon automobile made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a BMW subsidiary. It was launched in 2003 and is the first Rolls-Royce model made under the ownership of BMW. It has a 6.8 L, 48-valve, V12 engine that produces 453 hp (338 kW) and 531 ft·lbf (720 N·m) of torque. The engine is derived from BMW's existing V12 powerplant. It is 1.63 m (63 in) tall, 1.99 m (74.8 in) wide, 5.83 m (228 in) long, and weighs 2485 kg (5478 lb). The body of the car is built on an aluminium spaceframe and the Phantom can accelerate to 60 mph (100 km/h) in 5.7 s.

Lamborghini Murcielago $279,900






The Lamborghini Murciélago is a GT and supercar automobile made by Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and designed by Luc Donckerwolke. It was introduced in 2002 as the successor to the Diablo. The body style is a two door, two seat coupé. The LP640 version was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 2006. It features a 6.5 L engine, now producing 640 bhp, improving performance substantially. There were also a few minor external changes, primarily to the low air intakes.

Aston Martin Vanquish $255,000




The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is a supercar manufactured by Aston Martin since 2001. It rose to fame after being featured as the official James Bond car in Die Another Day, the twentieth James Bond film. In the film, the Vanquish has the usual Bond film embellishments, including active camouflage which rendered the vehicle virtually invisible. The Vanquish is powered by a 5.9 L (5935 cc) 48-valve 60° V12 engine, which produces 343 kW (460 hp) and 542 N·m (400 ft·lbf) of torque. It is controlled by a fly-by-wire throttle and a 6 speed 'paddle shift' or semi-automatic transmission. A special V12 Vanquish S debuted at the 2004 Paris Auto Show with the power upped to 388 kW (520 hp) and 577 N·m (426 ft·lbf).

Source: AutoMotoPortal.com

Top 10 Most Expensive Chocolates in the World

The top 10 most expensive chocolate in the world

Chocolates are one of the yummiest treats that almost everyone can enjoy. We buy tons of them each year, whether it be a treat for yourself or a gift for any occasion. If money is not an issue for you, then why not consider buying that special person in your life one of the following most expensive chocolates in the world:

Top 10 most expensive chocolates

10. Vosges Haut Chocolat

$69 a pound - This type of chocolate uses several signature flavor that include milk chocolate with Sweet Indian Curry and coconut.

9. Richard Donnelly

$75 a pound -Richard Donnelly started making his chocolate in 1988. His chocolates are hand made. He creates new chocolates each year based on the best selling chocolate bars in the U.S.

8. Chuao

$79 a pound - This type of chocolate is named after region of Chuao located in Venezuela. They use only fresh ingredients and also do not use preservatives in their chocolates.

7. Debauve & Gallais

$94 a pound -Debauve & Gallais typically make chocolates that are low in sugar and use quality cocoa. There are no dyes, preservatives or any other additives used in these types of chocolate.

6. Pierre Marcolini

$102.50 a pound - This type of cholate also uses the finest cacao beans. Ingredients vary based on the type of truffle they are making.

5.Richart

$120 a pound -Richart chocolate uses 70% Criollo cocoa from Venezuela, which is considered the best cocoa in the world.

4. Godiva "G" Collection

$120 a pound - The "G" Collection of chocolates was just recently introduced to Godiva. Each chocolate is made with premium cocoa beans and many other types of ingredients depending on the type of chocolate.

3. Delafee

$508 a pound - This type of chocolate is made with fine cocoa beans and flakes of edible 24-karat gold.

2. Noka Vintages Collection

$854 a pound - This chocolate is made up of the finest dark chocolates found in Venezuela, Ecuador, Trinidad and Cote d'Ivoire. Noka does not use vanilla or soy lecithin in their chocolates.

and the most expensive chocolate in the world is........

1. Chocopologie by Knipschildt

$2,600 a pound - Knipschildt was created in 1999 by Fritz Knipschildt. The most expensive chocolate that he sells is a $250 dark chocolate truffle which you can only pre-order.

World's Most Expensive Chocolates

Chocolate-maker Richard Donnelly wants to change the way people eat chocolate. He's not some diet nanny warning us that Valrhona will make our teeth fall out, turn us into diabetics or increase our girth to the point where we can no longer wedge ourselves into an airline seat. It's not that he wants us to eat less chocolate. He wants us to eat better chocolate.

That's because, for the most part, the mass-produced, colorfully wrapped logs of synthochoc pumped out of the mass-candy factories are to real chocolate what house plonk is to vintage Bordeaux or a Hong Kong knockoff is to a Savile Row suit. One is pedestrian, the other sublime. And while most people are happy gnawing on a Mars bar or choking down a Charleston Chew, real chocophiles like Donnelly believe that life is too short to eat cheap chocolate.

"The products made by commercial companies have to last a long time, and they also need to be inexpensive. That means inexpensive ingredients. It's a completely different goal than we have, which is to make chocolates taste great."

Donnelly, like a growing number of chocolatiers, makes handmade gourmet chocolate for sale in small amounts to a well-heeled crowd. At $75 per pound, Donnelly's chocolate is not for hikers looking for an energy boost or for kids to find in their bags on Halloween. These are bonbons for adults; to be savored at the end of a long day, to help sooth the pain of a romantic breakup and even to act, in some cases, as an aphrodisiac.

For years, the world appeared satiated by products from the behemoths, such as privately held Mars and Hershey (nyse: HSY - news - people ). For the most part, it was because that's all people--unless they lived in certain areas of Paris or Switzerland--could find. But the $15.3 billion U.S. chocolate industry is undergoing a noticeable shift away from mass products to more expensive premium brands. According to Packaged Facts, a market research publisher in Rockville, Md., the market for premium chocolate has seen 20% annual growth since 2001. This is opposed to the overall chocolate market, which has seen only a 3.9% rise. In 2005, sales of premium chocolate was $1.2 billion and is projected to hit $1.7 billion by 2009.

In order to maintain their share of the market and to appeal to more-affluent consumers, the chocolate giants are busy rolling out their own premium brands and making acquisitions. Hershey, the number-one selling chocolate in the nation, recently acquired two medium-sized Bay-area gourmet chocolate companies, Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt, for between $46.6 million and $61.1 million, in August of last year. The two companies' combined sales are estimated at $25 million. In 2005, Hershey, which is based in Hershey, Pa., did more than $4.8 billion in sales.

Most of the growth is in dark chocolate. Hershey reports that dark-chocolate sales have grown by 11.2% in the last four years. As a result, the company is concentrating almost half of its business on dark-chocolate production by expanding already popular products, such as Hershey's Special Dark, the best-selling dark-chocolate bar in the U.S., and by making limited-edition flavors of products like Hershey's kisses in dark chocolate.

Why is dark chocolate so popular? Not only does it taste good, but, like all chocolate, it contains substances called phenylethylamine and seratonin, both of which are the mood elevators found naturally in the human brain. Moreover, according to Arthur Agatston, a Miami-based cardiologist and author of The South Beach Diet, dark chocolate is also healthier, because it has a higher percentage of cocoa than milk chocolate does.

Agatston says cocoa contains flavanols, which may help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system by relaxing blood vessels and keeping cholesterol from building up in them--thus reducing the risk of blood clots--and by slowing down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries. It is also an antioxidant. “Flavanols seem to have an aspirin-like affect, helping improve vascular endothelial function and moderate inflammation,” says Agatston.

But, of course, most people don't buy chocolate because of its flavanols or its antioxidants. They buy it because it tastes good. And while true chocolate lovers are happy to have chocolate in just about any shape or form, the market is clearly growing at the top end. To find out which chocolates are at the very top of that market, read on.

See the Most Expensive Chocolates.

Chocopologie by Knipschildt

Cost: $2,600 per pound*
€2,173
£1,491
Can$2,992
Aus$3,500
Rs114,816
Where: Norwalk, Conn.
Web site: www.knipschildt.com

Knipschildt Chocolatier was founded in 1999 by Fritz Knipschildt, who got his culinary education as a chef in Denmark. The most-expensive chocolate he sells--a $250 dark chocolate truffle with a French black truffle inside--is available on a preorder-only basis. It's made of 70% Valrhona cacao, which is blended into a creamy ganache with truffle oil. The truffle is then hand-rolled with a dark truffle on the inside and dusted with cocoa powder.

*Conversions are approximate.