After a 2021 marked by a strong growth of up to 30%, the luxury car sector is ready to welcome a whole range of new models in 2022. Here is an overview of some gems that should be presented or launched this year.
The Covid-19 crisis has not made luxury sick: this is what all premium brands have been observing since last year. They have shown, once again, their tendency to be less sensitive to the world economy fluctuations than lower range ones, and the automotive sector embodies this phenomenon. 2021 will have left its mark as a year of records: boosted by the electric and SUV fashions, never so many sales over 200,000 euros had been completed in one year. Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, but also Bugatti, which sold 150 cars… luxury and ultra luxury have the wind in their sails. Ferrari increased its net profit by 21%, and 2022 should confirm this favorable trend.
Let’s start with SUVs: sometimes despised by purists, they however do not spare the premium offer. And all brands have fully understood it, to such an extent that, among the 2022 new models, SUVs are more than ever before. In the bel paese, Ferrari is about to launch its very first one, the Purosangue, and Maserati, that had taken a lead from 2016 with its Levante, is going to present its little brother, the Grecale, at a size that should compete the Porsche Macan. Another model, not unveiled yet, is BMW’s X8, whose hybrid-750-horsepower-V8 series model’s engine will be the Bavarian’s most powerful one. Other brands combine both current trends by proposing 100% electric SUVs: Mercedes-Benz disclosed its estate EQB at the end of last year, and the latter will be in competition with its cousin, the new Audi’s Q6 e-tron. Although few information has been unveiled about it, Lotus pledges to mix quick refill and on-the-road performance with its internally named “Type 132”.
But new sedans and sports cars have it all as well: Ferrari, for instance, is testing the Spider version of its hybrid-830-horsepower-V6 296 GTB. Among the Icona array, that revisits historical models of the Maranellese brand, the Daytona SP3, inspired by 1960s’ racing cars, is the latest supercar. Lamborghini is also making the Countach be reborn, in 100 copies… already sold for ages. Germany-wise, Porsche has presented the RS 500-horsepower version of its 718 Cayman GT4. As for the very powerful Mercedes AMG-One, it (finally) should fill the production lines, four years after its first presentation in Frankfurt: the brand with the three-pointed star has built-up backlogs due to trouble adapting its F1 engine for road usage.
Last but not least, some other pearls among the most exclusive are about to see the light of day, such as the Mercedes-Maybach S680, limited to 100 units and probably commercialized in the Middle-East and Asia, where green standards will let its V12 express itself without any limit. In contrast, the Bugatti Chiron, in its Super Sport version (0-200 kph in 5.8 seconds and a 7th gear to be moved up from… 403 kph, among its phenomenal features), should be available worldwide… spending 3,840,000 euros.
By Alexandre Hontanx
