6 Cars That Wear Too Much Bling From The Factory

It may come as no surprise to learn that the Bentley Bentayga makes this list. After all, it does have a dedicated champagne fridge and a cupboard to hold your cutlery and fine china. But the most ludicrously bling item in this car is the dashboard clock, which is a £150,000 option on a £160,000 car.

The reason it’s so expensive is because it’s a self-winding Mulliner Tourbillon by Breitling. It’s a fully mechanical timepiece that ticks within a titanium cage, and the whole unit is mounted inside a solid gold housing that can automatically rotate to charge its batteries. If you hit a particularly harsh pothole and jolt the clock out of position, its motor will return it to dead centre within three seconds. The dial is available in either white or ebony black mother-of-pearl, and the indices are diamonds.

2. Volvo's crystal gear lever

With its new XC90, Volvo was aiming to move its brand upmarket. That meant luxury materials, a high-quality cabin and premium options. One such option was this exquisite crystal glass gear level, made by world-renowned Swedish glassmaker Orrefors.

3. Range Rover SVR's 22-inch wheels

If you put 22-inch wheels on pretty much any car, you’d be hitting donk levels of silliness, but on the ludicrously large Range Rover Sport SVR they actually look kinda normal. Still, 22 inches for a set of wheels is quite obscene, and is more than worthy of a place on this list.

4. Mitsuoka Himiko

Mitsuoka is a small Japanese car company that builds very low-volume, unique cars using established platforms. Mitsuoka also has a bit of a soft spot for chrome, with shiny metal bordering pretty much everything on the company’s cars. Our personal favourite is the Himiko, which is built on the Mazda MX-5 platform, and sports chrome surrounds for the grille, headlights and bumpers.

5. BAC Mono Marine Edition

You know you’re targeting a rich clientele when you introduce a model built specifically for people with super yachts. Yep, if you buy a BAC Mono Marine Edition you not only get a car, you also get a carbonfibre crane to attach to your yacht that allows you to lift your car on board. To protect your expensive track day weapon from the sea air, you’ll also get a container to stow it onboard, which is climate controlled to ensure the salty air doesn’t damage the bodywork or chassis. All this could be yours for the princely sum of £500,000. Almost makes that Bentley clock look like a good deal….

6. Rolls-Royce's Spirit of Ecstasy

The ultimate bling accessory has to be the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy that adorns the grille of Rolls-Royce vehicles. The hood ornament was introduced in 1911 as luxury cars of that era typically wore mascots, and customers requested Rolls-Royce have their own. It’s changed over the years, with a kneeling model used across two eras between 1934 and 1956 on Rolls’ sportier models.

The modern interpretation is slightly smaller at three inches tall, and fully retracts in the event of a crash to meet pedestrian safety legislation.