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19 March 2024

Find buyer for world's costliest car, $7.4m Lamborghini… get $350,000

Designer Robert Gülpen poses with a model of the world's most expensive car. (Supplied)

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

It doesn’t drive, mind you. But it will go down in history as one of the world’s most expensive set of wheels at $7.4 million.

And it could also possibly earn you the chance to walk away with $350,000 in the bargain.

Too bad they will be attached to a model car and not a life-sized version of the glamorous, platinum and jewel-encrusted avatar that is the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, which will see its prototype unveiled today at the Dubai Mall, in all its sparkling glory.

But for designer Robert Gülpen who is the brainchild behind this work of art, the vision was never one to create a car that could be driven on the city streets, but rather one that would pay tribute to the one luxury that has now become an essential necessity to the world we live in today – the automobile.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7 ahead of the unveiling, Gülpen explained his vision further, saying: “This model car I have created is a work of art, something that would appeal to a connoisseur or a collector or art of sculptures.
“It was never meant to be a life-sized model of my vision.”
Too bad for the bling-loving clientele in Dubai.

He continued: “This model car is a tribute to the history of automobiles, to say thank you to possibilities this industry brings to you.”

Prototype unveiled

What will unveil today is a prototype of the $7.4m vision that will be carved out of a block of solid gold, rimmed with platinum and embedded with 2,000 diamonds.

Gülpen said that his prototype, $350,000 masterpiece on its own that will be on display at the Dubai Mall for the next four weeks, before it travels to Abu Dhabi and then the rest of the world, took two years of “back breaking” and “intense” work to finally assemble together.

In his own words, he explained: “The entire creative process from start to finish took two full years to assemble.

“I had to work with six to seven different companies at intervals to create the model car that you see today.”

Why the Lamborghini?

The answer may surprise you.

He said: “I had approached 100s of carmakers around the world because to even create a model car, you require a license to tamper with the design.

“The Lamborghini company was the first to respond to my request and I went ahead with them.”

Armed with original design specs data from the Italian carmaker, Gülpen went on to painstakingly create a model car body that is designed by real carbon fibre that is used in Formula 1 racing cars.

The rims were made of gold and platinum, while nearly 1,400 precious stones were embedded in the interiors to create the final bling.

Gülpen further revealed that for this world tour, the carbon fibre model was further gold-plated to bump up this prototypes final cost to $350,000.

The deal

Said Gülpen: “It is too risky to embark on a world tour with a $7.4m anything. Plus, the final piece will be created to the design specifications of the buyer itself. That large an investment will earn him a creative input after all.”

After travelling later next year to Macau, Beijing, New York and onwards, Gülpen hopes to find a buyer for his world’s most expensive model car, or ultimately land its fate in an auction house.

However, the prized booty is not for him alone - $1m is marked for something else.

He said: “Around $650,000 will be donated to a children’s charity, preferably one in the UAE itself.”
And the remaining $350,000?

“That’s for the person who finds me a buyer. If you bring me someone who will invest in the $7.4m model car, the $350,000 is all yours.”