The most extravagant optional extras - US edition

When we set out to document the most extravagant options that you can choose for your new car, we expected it to be a straightforward exercise.

We would get price lists for the various luxury and high-performance cars and trawl through them. Reckoning on much of this information being available through online configurators, we could fill in the gaps by contacting press offices.

Little did we know that in most cases, pinning down what you'll pay for many extras on your Bugatti or Rolls-Royce would be pretty much impossible, with such information a closely guarded secret. Even the press kits for our (usually loaded) ultra high-end loaner cars often omit this information - just a final sticker price a lot higher than MSRP. But undeterred we pressed on to find out what we could, even though some brands that should be here are absent.

However, we have managed to find plenty of eye-wateringly costly options including brake kits, carbon fiber body kits and much more. So if you want to know who charges $9500 for a yellow paint job or $939 for a fire extinguisher, read on:

Ferrari: Historical colors

Over the years Ferraris have been painted in an array of liveries that have become iconic, and you can now specify them on your new Prancing Horse. So if you want bright metallic green, blue with a white stripe or even brown you can pay a hefty $12,486 on your Portofino, 488 GTB (pictured) or 812 Superfast for the privilege.

Ferrari: parking cameras

If you're buying a Ferrari Portofino, 488 GTB or 812 Superfast (pictured) you'll want to look after its bodywork and what better way to do it than by investing in parking cameras front-and-rear? But to do so you'll have to pay $6074.

Bugatti Chiron: Sky View

When Bugatti revealed that Chiron buyers could specify a pair of glass roof panels for their $3 million hypercar, it didn't disclose the asking price. We still don't know, but we're pretty sure it's well into five figures.

McLaren 720S: Track Pack

Shaving 53 lb (24 kg) off the kerb weight of a McLaren 720S might seem less than vital, but if you've got a spare $332,770 to spend on a carbon fiber supercar why not go for it? The Track Pack costs $28,000 on top of the standard car.

Among other items, the pack gives its fortunate owner lightweight forged alloy wheels, a McLaren Special Operations carbon fiber active rear spoiler, a sports exhaust, carbon fiber racing seats, carbon fiber gearshift paddles, and a black Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel.

Ferrari GTC4 Lusso: panoramic roof

A lot of high-end mainstream family cars now come with a glass roof as standard, but if you want one on your Ferrari GTC4 Lusso you'll have to pay $20,000 for it.

Mercedes-AMG: ceramic brakes

The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4Matic 4-Door has a pretty awesome set of brakes, as you'd expect of a 648 hp slingshot. But the circa $150,000 super-sedan is available with a set of ceramic brakes with standout yellow calipers for around $10,000.

Ferrari: golf bag

If you need a golf bag you could visit Walmart and snap one up for $20. But if you want an official Ferrari one to go with your 812 Superfast you need to prepare yourself for a $9800 bill. Although to be fair, the Ferrari bag is rather more a work of art than the discount alternative.

Bentley Bentayga: entertainment

For many of us, rear-seat entertainment means a $50 Kindle Fire stuck to the back of the front seat, but not in the $229,100 W12-powered Bentayga where it's all beautifully integrated, naturally. And for this you'll be relieved of $7515 at purchase time.

Mercedes-AMG GT: yellow paint

Buy a Mercedes-AMG GT coupé or roadster and you can have black or red paint as part of the deal. Various metallic finishes are available for an extra $720-$1515, but if you want metallic ‘solarbeam’ yellow you'll have to pay out $9500 for it.

Ferrari: Apple CarPlay

A lot of mainstream cars now come with Apple CarPlay and you don't have to spend a fortune to secure something with it. It allows control of certain phone functions from the car’s control screen, which is better for both convenience and safety. Ferrari was interestingly the first carmaker anywhere to offer such tech, on its FF (pictured here) in 2014; if you want it on your Portofino today you'll have to pay an extra $4219 for it.

Or you could pay Chevrolet just over three times that figure for a CarPlay system, and it’ll throw in a brand new Spark subcompact for free.

McLaren 720S: Various

You'd think that paying more than $285,000 would net you electrically adjustable seats as standard but no: they're a $3610 option, and if you want carbon fiber seats, that’ll be $6780, thank you very much. One of the most popular extras is a $2740 lift system to protect the front splitter from uneven ground and parking lot ramps.

Ferrari: fire extinguisher

Home Depot will happily sell you a perfectly fine fire extinguisher for about $20. But Ferrari charges $939 for an official extinguisher for its 488 GTB; that compares with around $200 for a McLaren extinguisher.

Lamborghini Huracán: body kit

You might think that the Lamborghini Huracán RWD Coupe is aerodynamic enough, but for $22,484 you can buy a body kit which will apparently "Generate immense downforce at high speeds and head-swivelling attention at any speed". The kit includes aggressive front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and rear wing in a strong, lightweight black composite.

Mercedes-Maybach: bag

Of course there are plenty of exclusive luggage brands that charge thousands for bags and cases, but the idea of spending $3546 on a Mercedes-Maybach-branded leather bag still grates – even if it does have a carrying strap made of the same material used in a Maybach’s seat belts. Still, it's a lot cheaper than that Ferrari golf bag.

BMW M760i xDrive: Executive Lounge Tier 2

The rear of a $156,700 V12 BMW M760i isn't a bad place to spend time, but if you want the full luxury experience you'll want to swap the bench seat for two individual chairs separated by a centre console. BMW will also throw in heated, ventilated and massaging seats plus a bit of entertainment – as long as you're happy to pay $5750 for the privilege.

Lamborghini Huracán: ceramic brakes

Carbon ceramic brakes don’t come cheap on any car, and on a Lamborghini Huracán they’ll cost you a cool $17,500. But you do get to choose brake caliper colours between black, yellow, orange or red for no extra cost.

Mercedes-AMG GT: Burmester high-end surround sound

Buy a $134,400 Mercedes-AMG GT and you can pay $6900 extra for a Burmester high-end surround sound system. It features 11 speakers, capable of delivering an earthquake-inducing 1000 watts of output.

Founded in 1977, Berlin-based Burmester built its first in-car music system for the Bugatti Veyron in 2005.

Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 Spyder: Sport Exhaust System

With its 610 hp V10 the Huracán isn't lacking in power, but for $4800 you can have an official sports exhaust that's claimed to be 10% lighter than the standard set of pipes.

Mercedes-Maybach: two-tone paint

So you’ve just spent $170,750 on a Mercedes-Maybach S560 (pictured) and you still want to stand apart from the Luxury-class Uber set? Then you're in luck because, new for the 2019 model year, for $12,000 you can invest in a two-tone paint finish with a choice of nine different colour schemes.