The Lamborghini Veneno Roadster is a spectacular machine to be sure. In addition to the fact that it looks like a space-fighter only 9 examples will ever be made, making it one of the most exotic cars on the planet. I guess that’s why Lamborghini wants a hefty $4.5 Million to snag one of these bad boys.

But is it really worth that kind of money? I mean, if we’re totally honest here, the Veneno Roadster is really just a slightly upgraded Aventador Roadster underneath. It doesn’t have a ton of fancy technology or an obscene amount of horsepower like many of today’s hypercars that cost only a fraction of the $4.5 Million. I mean an Aventador Roadster costs less than $600,000, even if you load it up with all the  crap, so what you’re spending the extra $3.9 Million on is just a body kit… an epic, change your trousers sort of body kit, but a body kit nonetheless.

That got us thinking of a question: For $4.5 Million dollars, would you have the Veneno Roadster? Or would you have other things that add up to that amount? And if you’d choose to forgo the Veneno, just what could be had for the same amount of money?

I, for one, would never spend that kind of money on a more standard car with superficial enhancements. $4.5 Million is a TON of money to work with, and I’d much rather have the following collection of cars than just a Veneno Roadster. See for yourself just how absurd the Lambo’s price is….

Daily Drivers

Brand new Audi A6 3.0 TDI ($68,000): Maybe the most solid daily driver on sale. Decent performance, diesel MPG, total luxury, and fairly anonymous looks… that sounds “meh” but there are times it’s better to not be noticed, like when you just want to relax, or not get pulled over by the cops.

Used Cadillac CTS-V Wagon ($56,000): This car is a big middle finger to the values of mainstream America, a family station wagon that has converted to the dark side by way of a 556hp supercharged V8 and a manual gearbox. Kids aren’t allowed in the back, but bad girls are more than welcome!

Brand new Ford Fiesta ST ($25,000): Front wheel drive at its finest. This little bastard will put a smile on your face no matter what else you drive!

2011 Ram 3500 4×4 Diesel ($38,000): Gotta have something to tow a few cars to the racetrack and car shows with, might as well be a Ram with a big ol’ Cummins diesel under the hood.

Modern Muscle

2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 ($33,000): A fine example of a modernized muscle car. She’s got that savage 5.0L V8 under the hood, but she’s also got a new found love for taking corners.

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat ($61,000): The biggest and baddest of the new old-school. Dodge came late to the supercharging party, but they brought 707hp with them when they finally did arrive. #Murica

Sports Cars

2015 Subaru WRX STI ($39,000 +$14,000 in mods): There’s nothing quite like a Subaru when it comes to the driving experience, and the new STI is supposed to be fantastic. It needs a power bump for sure, but an extra $14 grand ought to be able to get her exactly where she needs to be.

2007 BMW M Roadster ($30,000): A fantastic roadster experience with a beautiful-sounding, normally aspirated inline-6. The perfect car to take out on a sunny day when you don’t feel like causing a scene in a supercar.

2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS ($160,000): Prices are definitely climbing on these, and for good reason. The 997 may well be the last generation of manual 911 GT3 models. I could’ve gone for the 4.0 RS, I know, but the extra 50hp wasn’t worth spending double the money. This will be one car that definitely sees some track days!

V8-Swapped Mazda Miata (~$25,000): Because everyone needs a car that exists to try and kill them every time they drive it. I don’t know if I’d go as crazy as the Miata in the video above, but it just goes to show that the sky is the limit. Can you say, drift machine?

1988 BMW M5 ($28,000): This is THE O.G. super-saloon car, and it his quickly becoming a vintage classic. Gotta love those great, old-school driving dynamics!

Brand new Dodge Viper SRT ($110,000): Because Chrysler really needs to sell some of these, and with this kinda money I should do my part. Also, the Viper was my first dream car back in the day, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this new Viper since I drove one a few months back. Its beastly!

1968 Plymouth Road Runner 426 Hemi ($58,000): I have a special place in my heart for Mopars of the muscle car era, and this Road Runner has the 426ci Hemi V8 in it with a proper manual tans and a Hurst shifter. Because any muscle car with an automatic is a double-agent for the Soviets, and I certainly don’t want any of that communist B.S. in my garage!

1967 Chevy Corvette Stingray 427/435 ($95,000): In my opinion, the C2 Stingray is still the best-looking Vette of all time, and this 427 is one of the top-spec models, save for the elusive L88. Gotta love it, gotta have it!

1959 Cadillac Eldorado Custom ($50,000): When I came across this Caddy, I knew it had to be on my list. Who needs originality when you can roll around in something this badass?

2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta ($400,000): It’s a Ferrari GT car with a V12 in the front, just the way God intended. The F12 is probably more supercar than comfy GT car, but the added refinement is nice. Oh, and that V12 sound!

2015 Rolls Royce Wraith ($360,000): Yes I made my ideal Wraith, and yes it is purple. Rolls Royces are inherently ostentatious, so why not go all out? I think it’s actually quite elegant, once you get past its audacity. It’s perfect for those longer “grand tour” drives where the Ferrari F12 may prove too rambunctious.

Supercars/Hypercars

2013 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Performante ($250,000): This is one of those unicorn cars, a high-spec modern Lamborghini with…. prepare yourself… A MANUAL TRANSMISSION!!! For me, in this game, it hit a bunch of birds with one stone. Imagine having full manual control of that howling 570hp V10 engine, and an open roof that allows you to fully bask in the glory of its symphony. Call it “the hellish road to heaven” because it looks friggin evil.

2015 Porsche 918 Spyder ($900,000): This is Porsche’s most modern technological tour-de-force. The 918 is one of the fastest accelerating cars on the planet, and it’s a hybrid that can get good MPG to boot (if you really wanted to spend your time that way). The 918 is my favorite of the new hybrid hypercars for a few reasons, but mostly because it will surely yield the most direct technological progress for the mass market as its technology trickles down into other areas of VW group. The 918 also happens to be the cheapest of the hybrid hypercars, probably the most reliable of the three, a convertible (which is nice on the road), and the fastest around the Nurburgring, at least at this point in time.

Pagani Huayra ($1,700,000): Clearly the most expensive, the most stunning, and the capstone of my pretend collection of cars here: The Pagani Huayra. The Huayra is a vastly different experience to the other supercars I’ve chosen. It isn’t the most powerful, or the fastest, but it’s the lightest (weighs less than a Porsche Cayman), and it is heavily turbocharged. On top of all the Huayra’s performance is the artistry and craftsmanship. Paganis aren’t the fastest supercars out there, but I’d argue they do have the biggest sense of occasion. This car is a stunner among stunners, in addition to being a blast to drive, and that’s why I chose it first when figuring out my plan of attack.

Conclusion

That concludes the collection of 20 cars I would amass instead of buying a single Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. Look back through this list of cars and realize just how absurd the Veneno is. Granted, with the way wealth works, I’m sure everyone who bought a Veneno probably has all of the other cars they want as well, but this exercise should do well to show exactly how much $4.5 million can get you in the way of cars.

Anyone reading this who wants to post their own list, please do! Or, heck, if any of you out there would actually go with the Veneno, please tell us because it would be interesting to hear why. This world is made up of lots of people with lots of different tastes and opinions, so we are excited to see what any of you would get with your $4.5 Mill. Also, be on the look out for Al’s Veneno Price Game picks in a follow-up post later this week. Happy fantasizing!

-Nick Walker