World’s Most Expensive Motorcycles

Motorcycles have had mass appeal to the general public for roughly a century and a half. An American named Sylvester Howard Roper designed one of the first motorcycles in the 1860s. The motorcycle was displayed at fairs and circuses around the eastern U.S.. Europeans also had their hand in popularizing motorcycles and, during the World Wars, motorcycles functioned as a quick means of transportation.

As the motorcycle progressed, the engines and frames became bigger, sleeker, faster and more powerful, resulting in the high-tech and expensive motorcycles of today. If you can afford one, a custom motorcycle built to your exact specifications is within reach.

MV-Augusta F4CC – $120,000

This expensive motorcycle was created by Claudio Castiglioni, MV’s director. He wanted to create a spectacular motorcycle that met strategic marketing needs while also being something truly special and unique. The expensive motorcycle bearing his very own initials “CC” has a top speed of 315 kph (195 mph), 1078 cc’s and a 198 hp engine. Each bike boasts a platinum plate located near the top of the steering column showing the model number from 1 to 100, making this motorcycle all the more special to its owners.

MTT Turbine SuperBike – $150,000

Not only is this motorcycle expensive, it’s also extremely fast. This bike, also known as the Y2K Turbine Superbike, is the Guinness World Record holder for the “Most Powerful Motorcycle Ever to Enter Series Production”. The turbine engine in this one is made by Rolls Royce and is capable of over 300hp. The motorcycle also boasts carbon fiber fairings, a rear mounted camera with LCD color display, forward-and rear-looking radar detector with laser scrambler, one touch “Smart Start” ignition, and many other cool gadgets. This bike seams to be pretty popular in Hollywood. It starred in the movie “Torque” and even Jay Leno owns one!

Icon Sheene – $160,000

This bike was created by Andrew Morris in honor of legendary British Grand Prix motorcycle champion Barry Sheene, who died in 2003 at the age of 52. As such, only 52 of these 250 hp, turbocharged 1400cc motorcycles will be created, each emblazoned with a playing card hand-painted by the same artist who painted Sheene’s helmets, Mike Fairholme. Each of these bikes will be bespoke, tailored to fit the purchaser’s unique requirements.

Macchia Nera concept bike – $201,000

Built around a Ducati 998RS engine, this motorcycle’s Italian designers and engineers set out to create an extremely high tech and expensive motorcycle that would be thought of as “the ultimate track bike” that is “simply beautiful and beautifully simple”. The Testastretta engine is fitted with lightweight metals and alloys, like titanium and aluminum, making it very lightweight. The view from the side of the Macchia Nera shows exposed belts and engine components, giving its design a minimalist feel while still being aesthetically pleasing. We should add that this bike is a one of a kind and not in produced for retail at this point, but if you have an extra 150,000 Euros (US $201,000) laying around for an expensive toy, your dream might come true.

Ecosse Titanium Series RR Limited Edition – $275,000

This luxury motorbike features a titanium chassis with clear coated carbon fiber bodywork and wheels. It features a fuel injected, intercooled, supercharged 2,150cc billet motor and is capable of over 200 hp. Its saddle is ergonomic and adjustable. The bike also comes with a timepiece, designed by French watchmakers BRM, which is made to match the bike and is engraved with the same serial number as the handlebar clamp and VIN plate. This bike is limited to only 10 units.

Dodge Tomahawk V10 Superbike – $555,000

This reproduction of Dodge’s concept bike is considered an “automotive sculpture,” as it is not street legal in the US. Ten of these bikes were offered by Neiman Marcus in their 2003 Christmas Book. The Dodge Tomahawk V10 superbike boasts an 8.3 liter engine (505 cubic inch), and the 10 cylinders can bring the bike to a maximum speed of almost 400 mph. The 1500lb bike has an independent 4-wheel suspension and can reach 60 mph in around 2.5 seconds.

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World’s Most Expensive Precious Metal

Rarity alone isn’t enough to qualify a metal as precious. It must also be naturally occurring, lustrous and ductile, possess a high melting point and low reactivity and, most important to anyone wishing to wear jewelry made from the metal, it must not be radioactive. Natural, radioactive metals like polonium and radium need not apply.

Gold, silver and platinum are undoubtedly the most well known precious metals, but they fall short of being the most expensive precious metals in the world. As of this writing, platinum (around US $1,500/ounce) and gold (around US $1,200 per ounce) take second and third place, respectively. Silver, in the low double digits, doesn’t even rate.

The real money is in rhodium.

A member of the platinum group of metals which, unsurprisingly, includes platinum, rhodium is most commonly found mixed with other platinum group metals. This makes it difficult to extract, which can only increase its value. The silvery white metal is primarily mined in South Africa, North America and Russia’s Ural Mountains.

Rhodium has a variety of applications. It is used in the process of “rhodium flashing” white gold and platinum in order to give jewelry made from those metals a whiter, more reflective surface. It is also particularly suited to the production of catalytic converters. In 1979, Paul McCartney was presented with a rhodium-plated disc in honor of his status as the Guinness Book of World Records’s all-time bestselling songwriter and recording artist.

So how much is rhodium worth? It’s currently valued at twice the price of gold—around US $2,400 per ounce!

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World’s Most Expensive Porsche

According to New York’s Luxury Institute, who surveyed 500 households with incomes over $200,000 in 2006, Porsche is the most prestigious brand of automobiles. While some may argue in favor of Bugatti or Rolls-Royce, that is still high praise indeed.

Porsche Carrera GT


The most expensive Porsche currently avaialable is the Porsche Carrera GT at $440,000. With a top speed of 205+ mph and the capability to accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds, it’s certainly fast enough to justify its price.

Porsche 918 Spyder


Their new concept car, the Porsche 918 Spyder, may just be the German company’s next most expensive car. The 918 Spyder is a two-seater convertible with a 500 hp V8 engine. It has a top speed of 199 mph and can accelerates from 0 to 60 in under 3.2 seconds. Its electric drive-systems allow it to run 15 miles on electric power and it consumes fuel at a rate of 78 miles per gallon.

This fantastic new Porsche is likely to have an MSRP of $630,000.

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Most Expensive Bicycle

Of the four most expensive bikes in the world, three were created in honor of Lance Armstrong, whose victory over cancer is as legendary as his ongoing career. The Lance Armstrong Foundation, founded in 1997 after Armstrong was diagnosed with the disease, raises funds and awareness to support cancer research and help cancer sufferers.

7-Diamond – $75,000

This expensive bike was sold to an anonymous buyer at the Lance Armstrong Foundation Gala in 2005. Studded with seven 1-carat Gemesis man-made diamonds and 300 white diamonds, the gold-plated bike commemorated Armstrong’s victory over seven Tour de France events. The expensive bike was a joint effort between Trek Bikes, Nike, jeweler Alan Friedman and artist Lenny Futura.

Aurumania’s Gold Bike Crystal edition – $114,000

Aurumania’s Gold Bike Crystal edition is almost entirely plated with 24 karat gold—even the spokes. The seat is a Brooks saddle made of the finest leather, while the handlebars have grips made with hand-sewn, chocolate brown leather. Even the numbered badge is made of leather. Of course, the bike isn’t called “Crystal edition” for nothing. It’s decorated with over 600 Swarovski crystals—including the Aurmania name written in Braille along the crossbar. Only ten of these spectacular bicycles were produced.

Trek Yoshitomo Nara Speed Concept – $200,000

Yoshitomo Nara created this work of art, a Trek Speed Concept bike embellished with his signature angry, childlike figures and his own take on the Livestrong logo, as a custom time trial bike to commemorate Armstrong’s renewed cycling career in 2009. The bike was displayed at the Stages event organized by The Lance Armstrong Foundation and Nike to raise cancer awareness. It was sold at the Bikes of Stages auction at Sotheby’s, which raised $1,125,000 for The Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Trek “Butterfly” Madone – $500,000

Like the Speed Concept above, this Trek Madone was decorated in honor of Armstrong’s return to cycling. When Damien Hirst got his hands on the bike, he coated it with hundreds of wings taken from butterflies. While PETA were predictably angry at Hirst’s chosen medium, the “Butterfly” Madone became the most expensive bicycle in the world at the Bikes of Stages auction.

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World’s Most Expensive Android Smartphone

Google’s Android mobile platform has made some waves since it was announced in 2007. As of May 2010, Android claimed 13% of the market share of smartphones in the US—over half of that claimed by the iOS platform run by Apple’s seemingly ubiquitous iPhone. One of the great advantages Android has over iOS is that it isn’t married to a particular hardware manufacturer, allowing many different companies to try their hands at Android smartphones.

The Chairman by Ulysse Nardin is one example of such a phone. Billed as the “world’s first luxury hybrid smarthpone,” the Chairman includes both a touch screen and a physical number pad. The Ulysse Nardin name is most often associated with luxury watches and that fact shows in the Chairman’s sophisticated design. The volume controls look like watch buttons and the crown between them can actually be wound to generate power for the device. In fact, the phone features a kinetic rotor power system visible through the backplate.

As for its hardware specifications, the Chairman has 32 GB of internal memory, an 8 megapixel camera, a Freescale i.MX processor and a display capable of high definition video playback.

There are five versions of the phone, made using either steel or 18k rose gold in the frames. Only 1846 units of each model will be produced. At a staggering $12,800 to $49,500, it’s the most expensive Android smartphone in the world.

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World’s Most Expensive Car Wash

If you own a $2 million-plus supercar, chances are you want to keep it in top condition both inside and out. Of course, no ordinary car wash can be trusted with a Bugatti Veyron or Pagani Zonda. Fortunately for owners of the most expensive cars in the world, Gurcharn Sahota of Elite Detailing offers the most expensive car wash in the world.

Sahota’s premium detailing process begins with a thorough wash using pH neutral shampoo and citrus degreasers, as well as clay bars to remove tarry substances. He then uses an electric scanner and ultra-fine sandpaper to remove even the most miniscule scratches in the paint before applying a Brazilian wax that costs over $12,000 per can. The entire process can take as long as 4 weeks and costs over $10,000.

Incredibly, Sahota runs Elite Detailing out of his parents’ house outside of Derby, England, where he has converted their garage into a workshop complete with a pit and special tiles imported from Italy.

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World’s Most Expensive Sports Bra

Tomboy turned fashionista Kelley Dooley knows it’s hard for women to find fitness wear that looks good, which is why she founded BodyRock in March 2009. Browse her shop and you’ll see collections with names like “Keep ‘em In” or “Lock ‘em Down.” You’ll also find the most expensive sports bra in the world.

The Trenta Bra is made with black spandex and gunmetal burnout fabric, which helps to ventilate, with black diamond Swarovski crystals along the neckline. The true-to-size bra also incorporates gunmetal sterling silver jewelry from Knight & Hammer’s Trenta collection, which can be detached from the bra and worn as either a long necklace or as a necklace and bracelet. It even features an open pocket on the back.

This luxury sports bra can be purchased online for $1,850 and comes in sizes ranging from XS to XL.

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World’s Most Expensive Beers

Beer is one of the oldest drinks known to man—and one of this writer’s favorites. While many people enjoy drinking light and less expensive beer, there are still some beer connoisseurs out there. If you don’t believe it, then check out the proof–the world’s most expensive beers.

Tutankhamun Ale – $52 per bottle
This expensive beer has a peculiar history. It’s brewed in a Cambridge laboratory from a recipe discovered in the Queen Nefertiti’s Temple of the Sun in Egypt. The beer is named after the queen’s stepson, more commonly known as King Tut. The temple, which housed a brewery, is believed to have been built by King Akenhaten, Tut’s predecessor and likely father. This beer is also limited and may be purchased for $52 per bottle.

Samuel Adams Utopias – $100 per bottle

Vintage No. 1 may be four times as expensive as Samuel Adams/Boston Beer Company’s Utopias, the former most expensive beer, but Utopias still holds a Guinness World Record for being the strongest beer at 50 proof.

Utopias was brewed with a blend of high-quality hops and sold in an ornate copper-plated brew kettle and offers a flavor unlike any other expensive beer or beverage in the world. The sweet flavor is richly highlighted with hints of vanilla, oak and caramel. The expensive beer is non-carbonated and should be served at room temperature.

Production of Utopias was limited to 8,000 bottles.

Carlsberg Vintage 3 – $348 per bottle

The Carlsberg Group, a brewing company founded in 1847 and named after founder J. C. Jacobson’s son Carl, is best known for their light-bodied lager, Carlsberg Pilsner (also known as Carlsberg Beer or Carlsberg Hof). In 2008, however, Carlsberg introduced another beer guaranteed to be linked to the Carlsberg name in the public consciousness, Vintage 1.

Vintage 3 is the third in the trilogy of beers created from 2008 to 2010. At the time of its launch, the “pale barley wine” was the only available beer to have been aged in French Côte d’Or oak barrels in the Carlsberg founder’s original cellar. Only 1,000 bottles of this exclusive beer were hand tapped and labeled with art by Kaspar Bonnén and two artists selected from the Radiant Copenhagen project.

The price of Vintage 1, 2,008 Danish kroner, reflected the year it was introduced. The brewer introduced Vintage 2 in 2009 and Vintage 3 in 2010, priced at 2,009 and 2,010 kroner respectively.

Brewdog’s “The End of History” – $765 per bottle

Well, PETA is going to have a field day with this one. Scottish brewery BrewDog has produced a beer served in bottles as shocking as the beer’s extremely high alcoholic content.

Only eleven bottles of this expensive beer, named after a book by philosopher Francis Fukuyama, were produced. The blond Belgian ale, infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and fresh juniper berries, is 55 percent alcohol and will be BrewDog’s final high ABV beer.

The bottles, however, are the beer’s most striking aspect–each one is encased in a squirrel or weasel stuffed by a gifted taxidermist. The four grey squirrels and seven weasels selected were all roadkill, however, so their immortalization as beer bottles may actually be considered more respectful than ignominious roadside decomposition.

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America’s Most Expensive Boarding Kennel

It’s great to be able to provide your pooch with the trappings of luxury, but what happens when you leave home for that 12-day cruise from Barcelona to Venice? Well, if you happen to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can lodge your canine companion at the most expensive boarding kennel in the US.

Owners who choose to board their dogs at the Pooch Hotel in Sunnyvale, Calif., have four different options that run from $50/night to $100/night. Both the Presidential (9’ by 9’ for $75/night) and Palace Suites (12’ by 10’ and 20’ by 15’ for $100/night) are equipped with flat panel televisions, webcams and luxury bedding. The Palace Suites are located in their own wing, in case your pampered pup is shy or elderly, and have the added luxury of raised bedding.

The Pooch Hotel also offers swim, treadmill and underwater treadmill sessions, as well as six week classes, holistic diet consultations and aromatherapy baths at the “Spaw.”

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World’s Most Expensive T-Shirts

T-shirts, so called due to their ‘T’ shape, were originally considered undergarments. Nowadays, of course, these ubiquitous shirts are commonly used to express the wearer’s taste in art or music, their political views or their fondness for bad jokes. While T-shirts are usually relatively cheap, sometimes they become collector’s items and enter the ranks of the most expensive T-shirts in the world.

Run-D.M.C. “My Adidas” T-shirt – up to $13,000
This T-shirt was produced as a promotional item for a Run-D.M.C. concert in the early 80s. Because of the rarity of 80s hip hop tees, especially Run-D.M.C. shirts, and the group’s legendary partnership with Adidas, this shirt has become something of a collector’s item. The back of the shirt features a joint Adidas/Run-D.M.C. “My Adidas” logo.

John Lennon “Home” T-shirt – $16,400
John Lennon “Home” T-shirt was originally given to Lennon by Richard Ross, owner of the now-defunct Home restaurant, frequented by Lennon and Yoko Ono, in New York’s Upper East Side. He wore it for several shows and it became such an iconic part of his image that reproductions are available to this day, despite the restaurant’s closure.

Hanes/UNICEF 1996 Olympics T-shirt – $42,000
In the days leading up to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, Hanes and UNICEF partnered up to raise funds for Olympic Aid-Atlanta, an organization dedicated to helping children in war torn countries, by auctioning T-shirts. The daily auctions raised nearly $1 million for the charitably organization and the highest bid came on the final day of the auctions.

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