Long wheelbase luxury for less | Six of the Best
The one thing better than a big saloon with a big engine? An even bigger one...
Audi A8 W12 L, 2017, 46k, £29,500
We all want for space - in our homes, in our gardens, in between our bellies and our waistband. Because to have a surfeit of space is to be comfortable, and in a world more stressed out than ever, comfortable sounds really rather nice. Especially if said comfort is supported by several hundred horsepower, as we have here. Those in the rear quarters enjoy palatial splendour; the lucky person behind the wheel enjoys sports car-humbling performance. Nobody passing by has a clue, and everyone is happy. We begin with perhaps the most unassuming long boy ever known; not an Audi S8 (because there wasn’t a long wheelbase here), but instead a W12 L. A monster in every regard apart from its demure appearance: 6.3-litres, a dozen cylinders, and 500hp. The rarest of the rare, and with a rear bench the size of a bedsit. Quite the way to spend £30k…
Bentley Arnage Mulliner Long Wheelbase, 2005, 58k, £36,900
But if an A8 is a little too clinical for your aspirations of opulence, how about an Extended Wheelbase Benters? By the time this Arnage was made in 2005, Bentley was very well established as part of the Audi empire (and Continental GTs were finding homes with footballers up and down the country), but this sort of thing very much predates such gaudiness. It’s leather, wood, metal and a whole lotta engine, then more of the above for good measure. Neither the spec nor the photos of this one show off the Arnage’s quality at its best, but nobody aboard is going to want for a sense of occasion here. Certainty not with the 6.75 V8 up front, and a small fortune recently spent bringing it up to ‘the standard a Bentley of this calibre deserves.’ Consider caps very much doffed to the sole owner.
BMW M760Li, 2017, 75k, £31,999
If speed really matters in the quest for long-wheelbase luxury, though, then there really is no beating the M760Li. Yes, BMW made the world an M-badged 7 Series. They put some effort in, too: as well as the twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 boasting more than 600hp and 190mph potential (!), there was uniquely tuned Executive Drive Pro air suspension, four-wheel steering and active anti-roll. Little did we know a decade ago, either, but this would be the last handsome 7 Series, with a likeable interior to boot. This 2017 example is currently for sale at £100,311 off the new RRP; with V12 7 Series consigned to the history books now, it might not actually fall very much further…
Mercedes S63 AMG LWB Executive, 2016, 46k, PH Auctions
Among all its equipment and features, the one thing a BMW M760Li lacked was a truly stirring soundtrack. There was some V12 rasp outside, but inside Active Sound Design was doing a lot of the heavy lifting. The solution? Well, you wouldn’t have that problem with a V8, as AMG (and Tokyo Drift) has long taught us. Even with a similar twin-turbo setup, the old non-hybrid S63 always brought the thunder in both 5.5 and 4.0 guises. And the performance: 585hp in this car means 62mph in a lot less than five seconds. So the headrest pillows are going to be essential for all. This particular ‘63 is Executive grade, so you’ll want for nothing. And neither does the car, with an extensive main dealer service record, refurbed wheels and fewer than 50,000 miles. Bidding opens on Wednesday.
Jaguar XJ Portfolio 5.0 LWB, 2010, 73k, £12,995
There’s no escaping the fact: buying a car that was once very expensive, is now much more affordable and will always be rather large is going to cost money. Maybe not initially, but in terms of running costs and fixes these can’t be maintained cheaply. Or not properly and cheaply, rather. So why not save a heap of money in the first place? This Jaguar XJ L has a great sounding V8 like the Mercedes, a very British sense of style like the Bentley, and just as many expensive materials as anything else here. The final XJ really was the Jag flagship at its finest, finally a contemporary luxury saloon to look at but still brimming with old school charisma. Yet it’s for sale at £12,995, with fewer miles than the BMW. It’s almost £20,000 less than anything else here, which should go some way towards fuel, tyres, tax - and timing chains…
Maserati Quattroporte GTS, 2016, 42k, £31,900
A curveball to finish. Because while there wasn’t a long wheelbase Maserati Quattroporte offered for the sixth generation, that didn’t matter too much as it was flipping massive to begin with: 5,262mm means it actually has a few millimetres on the LWB Jag. With that box most certainly ticked, there’s plenty more to recommend the QP: more than 500hp from the - you knew it was coming - Ferrari-derived V8, the very good eight-speed ZF auto, and in this one some very snazzy red leather for all to enjoy. Maybe one for the driver rather than the passengers this time around - where are the picnic tables? Where are the screens? - though they do have plenty of space to enjoy. You’ll be fortunate enough to have rear-wheel drive, 180mph potential, and a perfect pair of paddles to enjoy. Freshly serviced and with just one owner from new, the temptation is easy to grasp. Even easier than with most Maseratis, in fact.
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