Hypercar Hire in Europe

A myth or reality?

While there are plenty of options to arrange a Supercar Hire throughout Europe, is it really possible to get your hands on a Hypercar for a few days of rental, or is this just a dream that's never turning into reality?

The short answer to this question is yes, there are some Hypercar Hire options across Europe, but the price point can be extreme and there isn't really a "market" as such, just private cars made available to rent by their owners, which can fluctuate on a regular basis as these are bought/sold.

Read on to find out more, as well as the journey of hypercars through the decades, and our pick of each decade, before we go into more detail on the practicalities of Hypercar Hire. 

The low down on costs & deposits

First, it's important to understand as we previously mentioned that a real "market" for Hypercar Hire doesn't exist in Europe.  There are so few cars, and these are almost entirely privately owned vehicles that use brokers/car rental companies to rent their cars.  This means that firm rates are never really published on-line.  A car needs to be sourced, then a price is set based on your precise needs - in particular delivery location, miles / KM to be driven, number of days - and in certain cases other individual risks associated with the renter.  

However, let's just set the scene in terms of the cost to rent what might be "considered" a Hypercar.  Typically, compared to the rental cost of a supercar (such as the 488 Spider which might cost in the region of €1500EUR-€2000 per day to rent) your Hypercar Hire will cost you 6-8 times that amount, so expect to pay from €10K EUR and upwards per day.  

In addition, when you rent any kind of high-performance car, you can expect to provide a security deposit in the form of a credit card guarantee, in case you make damage whilst you are in possession of the car.  Coming back to the 488 for a moment - when you rent this car, and you can expect to be asked for a security deposit (normally in the form of a credit card reservation) in the region of €15-20k.  Once again, your Hypercar Hire security deposit is likely to be 6-8 times this sum, so don't expect a deposit any less than 75k EUR - depending again on the car owner - we have even had situations where a deposit of €150k EUR was requested. 

These extreme costs are linked to not just the value of the car being driven (often valued in excess of €1m) but just as important when it comes to the security deposits, the running, and repair costs of the cars.  Famously the tires on the original Veyron cost more than €4k each, which means €16k whenever you need to swap out all four corners, and that can be every 5000 miles or so!!

However, saying all of the above, if you have the means, there is often a way.  Read on to learn more, starting with our insights into the journey of Hypercars, and why these really generate so much interest, and our favorites through the decades.  Later we get to the lowdown on Hypercar Hire in Europe, including what we can source and where.

So what exactly is a Hypercar?

The term hypercar is something that is thrown around more and more in the modern world, and there are commonly disagreements about which cars are deserving of this moniker. If you ask three different people what separates hypercars from supercars you might get three different answers! The most commonly listed hypercar identifiers are things like 1000+ horsepower, super rare, over €1mil, or record-breaking top speed. But these have changed with the times. 

In the 80's, whilst the term wasn't being coined, the Ferrari F40 was considered a hypercar.  But it has nowhere near the capability of more recent hypercars like the McLaren P1, or indeed the groundbreaking Chiron - built for one purpose.

The way we see it, there were clear steps throughout the last 4 decades that progressed hypercars into the modern definition. If we examine the commonalities throughout time maybe we can find what sets hypercars above supercars.

Round 1 - the 80's - Ferrari and Porsche go toe to toe

In the 80’s we see what appears to be the first separation from supercars. Ferrari and Porsche launched what were essentially limited edition, road legal, super performance cars built for the track. From Ferrari came the fire breathing F40 and from Porsche the AWD 959. Two different takes on a theme, but with one common objective…to be the fastest production car on the planet. Though the F40 reached a higher top speed and the 959 accelerated to 60 quicker.

See the table below and note the average differences between the hypercar and the pick of the crop supercar of this era.

The Stats	Ferrari  F40	Porsche 959	Lambo Countach
Launched	1987	1986	1974
Horsepower	471	444	375
Top Speed	201	197	179
0-60 time	3.8	3.6	5.6
Production Run	1300	337	2000+
MSRP	€350k	€200k	€120k

As you can see, the F40 and 959 set themselves above the Lamborghini in every category - they output more HP, reached higher speeds in shorter times, and claimed higher price tags as limited production units.

OUR WINNER - the F40 really is still considered one of the all-time greats, and what a look! Who are we to argue with that!

Round 2 – Into the 90’s and Mclaren's game-changer...

In the 90’s Ferrari wanted to offer their clients a refreshed model that stood above the rest and blessed the world with the F50. With a higher price and higher horsepower coupled with smaller acceleration times and production numbers, this car followed the trend we saw in the previous decade. McLaren then proceeded to shock the world with one of the most famous cars of all time – the Gordon Murray designed McLaren F1.

This leaped miles (or KM) ahead of everyone with its numbers – 627hp, a 240 mph top speed (which held the record for 12 years), and a price tag of €800,000 for one of the 106 uber-rare units.  There were also several other lesser-known cars that were released in the 90s that some will call hypercars as well. Bugatti showed up with the 216 mph EB110, Jaguar briefly claimed the top speed record with the XJ220 and the CLK GTR from Mercedes claimed the record for highest production car price at over €1.5 million.

See the table below to see how these 90’s hypercars compare to your typical 90’s supercar.

The Stats	Ferrari F50	Mclaren F1	Ferrari  F355
Launched	1995	1992	1994
Horsepower	512	627	375
Top Speed	202	240	183
0-60 time	3.8	3.2	4.7
Production Run	349	106	11,200+
MSRP	€400k	€800k	€140k

OUR WINNER - The Mclaren F1, it led the way, the rest tried to follow...

Round 3 - the 2000’s - Bugatti crashes the party

The 2000s saw a whole host of super performance vehicles emerge as automakers endeavored to create a class above their “normal” supercars to boost brand reputation with halo vehicles. Ferrari released the Enzo to cast its shadow on the everyday supercars like the 360 and the 612.  Porsche debuted the Carrera GT, Mercedes-McLaren debuted the SLR, and Ferrari the incredible Enzo.

Lamborghini and Aston Martin re-bodied their models into the ultra-rare and powerful Reventon and One-77. And several boutique manufacturers came on the scene with impressive cars like the Gumpert Apollo, Koenigsegg CCX, Pagani Zonda, Saleen S7, SSC Ultimate Aero and the Zenvo ST1.

However, there was one car that dropped onto the scene that smashed just about every record, 0-60, Top Speed, BHP, and naturally €€€.  Bugatti re-wrote the book in terms of what was possible and really defined the Hypercar like nothing before it had ever done.

But asides from the Veyron, can all of these be classified as hypercars? Obviously, automakers were catching onto the few-off, big bucks, high power halo car trend. See how a few of these compared to your typical supercar the era in the table.

The Stats	Bugatti Veyron	Saleen S7	Ferrari F430
Launched	2005	2000	2004
Horsepower	1001	750	483
Top Speed	253	248	196
0-60 time	2.4	2.8	3.6
Production Run	450	70	15,000+
MSRP	€1,7m	€375k	€180k

Now we have seen the same trends continue through 3 decades. There is significant separation in all of the categories listed. Cars referred to as hypercars seem to always have more power, a higher top speed, and a faster 0-60 times. But as technology progresses, these differences are expected to get slimmer and slimmer. For example, you can see the 0-60 time difference between the 80s and 90s cars decreased (marked red). The differentiators that will remain are the production run sizes and the cost gap. In essence, exclusivity seems to be the deciding factor between hyper and super. Let's review the last decade to see if this holds true.

OUR WINNER - the Veyron, no car was ever designed and built like this car, 1001 BHP, seriously! It really is the definitive Hypercar

Round 4 – The 2010’s -  the Holy Trinity is born

If you’re reading this article, chances are you know of the Holy Trinity. You may even be here hoping to find you can rent one of them, and I’m getting to that. If you don’t know of the Holy Trinity, it was the simultaneous release in 2013 of three hypercars the likes of which the world had never seen. Ferrari released the LaFerrari, Porsche the 918 Spyder, and Mclaren the P1. Now including hybrid technology to fill the power gaps of the insane combustion engines, every stat from these three hypercars made owners of Enzos, CGTs, and SLRs wish they had waited.

 

The good news too, compared to the Veyron, these cars came at a snip, ranging from €845,000 for the 918 to €1,400,000 for the Enzo, and with a total combined production run of nearly 2000 units. 

Special Mention to The Holy Trinity - what's your flavor?
The Stats	Porsche 918	Ferrar LaFerrari	McLaren P1
Launched	Sept 2013	June 2013	Oct 2013
Horsepower	875	950	903
Top Speed	214	220	217
0-60 time	2.2	2.5	2.8
Production Run	918	499	375
MSRP	€845k	€1.42m	€1,2m

OUR WINNER - if you like Porsche, it's the 918, if you love the Ferrari, it's...I think you know where we are going, all three were incredible, it's really a case of what's your flavor 

Round 5 - it all gets a bit crazy (and seriously expensive)

There had been many technological advancements between the two decades, but progress wasn’t about to stop there. But as we near the end of 2020, even these 7-year-old hypercars might feel nervous at a stoplight with the basic Ferrari or Lamborghini supercars. Of course, newer hypercars have come along to protect that shrinking performance margin between hyper and super, but those lines are becoming increasingly blurred.   Below are a few of our favorites...pictures courtesy of Spencer Davis Photography

The One Off Bugatti CENTODIECI

Though hypercars will have higher top speeds and more horsepower, speed limits and tires prevent the use of most of it. On the road, acceleration and steadiness at speed will feel similar and on the track, many supercars would actually perform BETTER than today’s hypercars. 

The Koenigsegg Jesko

The Lotus Evija

The Aston Martin Vulcan

As a result, the clearest differences between the likes of the Bugatti Chiron and Koenigsegg Jesko and supercars like the Lamborghini Huracan or even super sports saloons like the Porsche Taycan is the price and production numbers. As you can see in the table below, the acceleration of modern hypercars and supercars has become even closer in this last decade.

The Stats	Chiron	Jesko	Huracan
Launched	2016	2020	2014
Horsepower	1479	1280	602
Top Speed	261	300	201
0-60 time	2.4	1.9	2.5
Production Run	500	125	12,000+
MSRP	€2,9m	€3,0m	€240k

Despite astronomical horsepower numbers and (unusable) top speeds compared to supercars, the performance gap is shrinking. Obviously, this is a small sample size that we are looking at, but a quick google search of lap times will tell the same tale.

Since 2013 the Porsche 918 Spyder has held the title for the fastest hypercar to lap the Nürburgring, which it did at 6:57. Three years later a Huracan Performante, which costs less than half a 918, beat that record with a time of 6:52. The Aventador SVJ, 911 GT3RS, and GT2RS, and the AMG GT Black are all supercars that have joined the Performante as conquerors of that 918 Hypercar Hill.

Our Conclusions on the journey

After analyzing all this, through four decades of hypercar development, we find that the modern definition of hypercar is exclusivity. It needs to cost significantly more and be far rarer than the nearly-as-capable supercars it looks down upon. But like many things in life, this is still not black and white. How much more expensive does it have to be? How limited production are we talking about? Sometimes it's obvious. Lamborghini makes over 2,000 Huracans each year while Pagani makes 30 Huayras in a year. Look at the price gap and it’s the same story. But what about the limited production special edition models like the Aventador SVJ or the GT2RS?

What's the status of the Ferrari SF90 or the Mclaren Senna? Are these hypercars or just extremely super supercars? Either way, we still have plenty of options to put up on our walls, and more are coming out every year. Looking at all the options out there, we really struggle to pick a favorite…maybe the F40 because it seemed to be the start of the hypercar, or the Veyron for redefining what a car was capable of, or something new like the Lotus Evija or Pininfarina Battista!

Hypercar Hire - the final reckoning 

At Ultimate Drives we have been running supercar driving tours across Europe for the last 10 years, and the one thing we have learned about Hypercar Hire is that there is a sum total of zero cars that are available and dedicated as a hire car.  However, there is a market of private individuals with their own Hypercars, which from time to time, they make available to rent either directly, or via third party brokers.  For this reason, the market is notoriously difficult to even call a market.  Instead, if you have a request, this needs to be researched and individually sourced, and prices can vary dramatically.  Below is some market intel from our own connections, updated from Nov 2020

The Porsche 918 Spider - car available in the UK (London) and in continental Europe (Germany).  This is probably the most drivable Hypercar Hire out there, and typical pricing at around €10000 per day, with a €100K security deposit

The La Ferrari - available in the UK (London), Italy, and the UAE, the most head-turning option out there, typical pricing around €12000 per day, with security deposit again in the region of €80k

The Bugatti Veyron - available in Germany, and a perfect tool for the famous Autobahns, typical pricing around €20000 per day, so certainly the most eye-watering option, with a security deposit at €100k

The Mclaren Senna - not in some peoples eyes quite a Hypercar Hire, but we are now able to access one such car in the UK, with rates closer to the €4500 per day, and a deposit of €40k - so not quite a Hypercar price either 

If you are interested in a Hypercar Hire of any of the above, please let us know, and we can certainly assist with sourcing, what is a properly insured and fully inspected rental car. 

Super Supercars - the next nest thing?

If these deposits and budgets seem just a little extreme for your tastes, there is a range of cars that we like to now call "super supercars" where there is a real market, so can consequently be sourced at far more reasonable rates, with deposits that don't require you to own the odd oil field.  These cars are typically renting at around $3000 per day, and are available to both rent, and combine with our luxury driving tours - full car details available on request

The Porsche GT2 RS - available to hire in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, or tour on our 3 night Six Passes Tour in the Alps

The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider - available to hire, in Germany and Italy, or as part of our 3 night Valley of Supercars Tour in Italy 

The Lamborghini SVJ Aventador - available to hire in the South of France and Italy, or as part of our 4 Night Taste of Tuscany package in Italy

The NEW SF90 Ferrari - this just launched 1000BHP hi-tech supercar, available to hire in Italy and South of France, or as part of our 3 night Valley of Supercars tour package

Next Steps for your Hypercar Hire

For more details on available cars, options and prices, just drop an email to info@ultimatedrives.net or give us a call at +41 43 542 0867