Ultra-rich queue to buy supercars as economy overheats

When it comes to cars, the ultra-rich have never had it so good. More and more manufacturers are crafting ultra-expensive models for them, and the choice available to the plutocrat petrol head is greater than ever. But there is a snag: it could take years for them to actually get behind the wheel.

Last year alone saw Rolls-Royce launch its Phantom Drophead Coupe (yours for £250,000-ish), two new convertibles from Bentley (Azure or GTC, at £230,00 and £130,000 respectively), a brace of new Lamborghinis (£190,000 or so) and the Ferrari 599 Maranello (£172,000).

In the next few months, customers can also put their names down for the new Mercedes McLaren SLR Roadster (£320,000) and the crazed Caparo T1 track car (£190,000). If they'd like a shopping cart for the spouse, the Maserati GranTurismo (a snip at £80,000) might fit the bill as would the Aston Martin Vantage (£90,000) or Jaguar XK/R (£68,000).

The bad news, however, is that the waiting lists can be long, and are getting even longer as big City bonuses chase a limited stock of vehicles. That Rolls-Royce will take five years to turn up, while Aston Martin will make you hang about for a year before you can get behind the wheel of its freshest creation. Bentley thinks about four months to a year is the wait for one of its fine motor cars (the GTC takes longest).

HR Owen, one of the main dealers in precious motorised metal, reports a thriving "futures" market in expensive cars as customers sell their cars on for a quick profit to frustrated would-be buyers. If you're lucky enough to be able to get your hands on a Ferrari 599, a £50,000 instant profit could be turned.

However, high rollers, from Russian billionaires to Premiership footballers, tend to be neophiles, and some slightly older but no less exclusive models can be obtained more easily. There's no waiting list as such for a Maybach limousine, for example, complete with its business-class reclining seats, but once you've slapped your £267,000 on the dealer's counter you'll still have to sit pretty and wait the average of six months it takes to slot your order into the next production run. Sources at Mercedes-Benz say that the stunning SLR, made from carbon fibre by F1 legends McLaren, will be available from September and, so far, there's no particular delay in getting at one then.

But a rash of extremely expensive, extravagant motor cars often prefigures an economic slump, and a Bugatti usually figures. In the late 1980s, for example, makers such as Jaguar with its XJ220, the Bugatti EB110 GT and the short-lived supercar marque Cizeta tried to cash in on the boom, but their cars arrived just in time to belly flop into the recession of the early 1990s. Old cars were swept along in the euphoria then - the classic car market turned into a speculative bubble that quickly burst, with prices even now way below the records set then.

The most notable automotive event immediately before the Great Crash of 1929 was the launch of the opulent Bugatti Royale, then (and now) one of the most expensive cars in the world. Economists who believe the luxury car market represents a "leading indicator" on the likelihood of a recession were especially worried when the Bugatti Veyron (£850,000) finally made it to the showrooms last year.

In the slow lane

* Maybach limousine
Price tag: £267,000
Waiting list: Six months

* Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe
Price tag: £250,000
Waiting list: Five years

* Bentley Azure
Price tag: £230,000
Waiting list: Four months

* Ferrari 599
Price tag: £180,000
Waiting list: Three years

* Bentley GTC
Price tag: £130,000
Waiting list: One year

* Aston Martin Vantage
Price tag: £90,000
Waiting list: One year

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