The Karlmann King Is Still World’s Most Expensive SUV, Still a Dumb Idea

Karlmann King tried to rip a page out of the exclusivity handbook by launching the SUV of the same name back in 2018. To this day, the Karlmann King has remained unbeatable in terms of being the most expensive SUV in the world. It’s also perhaps the biggest and most outrageous – and, at the same time, proof that common sense can prevail even with the snobby elite, because it never really caught on.

Like all things that claim to be world firsts, the King generated massive media attention when it was first introduced. With good reason, too: it’s a custom SUV built on the chassis of a Ford F-550 that stands out for sheer size and angular, unprecedented shape. It’s massive, bears some resemblance to Batman’s Tumbler, it’s absolutely outrageous on the inside, and comes with a record-setting price both for the base and the upgraded version.

With all that and, perhaps more importantly, despite the announcement that only a handful of these SUVs would ever be made for the entire world, the King has barely registered on the radar since then. This in itself is rare for a luxury custom car, even one priced as steeply as the King, and it could be down to the fact that, at the end of the day, this was a rather dumb idea.

It’s not that the King is not luxurious enough, because it is. With massive volume of interior space, it comes with a partition that separates the owner from the mere mortal driving him around, pop-up TV screen, a fridge with champagne, coffee machine, champagne flutes and coffee cups, a PlayStation 4, starry roof, colored LEDs throughout, and a variety of the finest leathers to use for the upholstery.

If you’re feeling adventurous with your money, you can even opt to have your King with real gold trimmings, because why not. It is basically a luxury rolling lounge, which can be turned bulletproof if you so desire.

This adds to the final price and the weight of the vehicle, further downing performance. With the standard 6.8-liter V10 engine from the F-550 that delivers around 420 hp, the King can reach a top speed of about 136 mph (220 kph), but it drops down to a mere 87 mph (140 kph) if you opt for bulletproofing. The King is heavy as is, but it goes up to 13,230 pounds (6,000 kg) if you think you could somehow end up getting shot at and want protection.

Created to be a rolling work of art by Italian designer Luciano D’Ambrosio, the King is hand-built in Italy with financing from the Beijing-based International Automotive Technologies. Over 1,800 people work on one of these SUVs for the base model, and it takes them up to 15 months to complete the project.

This is because the body is asymmetrical and has to be put together by hand, after what D’Ambrosio describes in the video at the bottom of the page as a “diamond design.” There are two doors on one side and one on the other, and the disparities don’t stop here. The idea, according to D’Ambrosio, was to take design books and throw them out the window in order to create something that really, truly stood out.

“When you’re in this business for so many years you think, how about being a little different, especially exaggerated,” he says. “Instead of trying to create the perfect combination of surfaces, we tried to create a break in the surface. Going opposite to what the design rules would usually ask you for, it’s called the diamond design.”

Slow speed aside, D’Ambrosio says the King is a “very flexible and nice ride.”

Pricing for this monster SUV starts at $1 million for the base model and can shoot up to $3.8 million for the fully-equipped one, including armoring and gold finishes. Back in 2018, there was some talk that a gentleman in Africa had ordered a $3.5 million King, while U.S. customers had already expressed an interest for three more of the total seven that would be made.

Given the lack of coverage these past couple of years, one could assume interest in it faded pretty quickly. Or, put it simply, if someone had bought a Karlmann King and actually drove it, the auto community would have found out about it sooner or later.

As of the time of press, there’s a $3.8 million King for sale in UAE with some 62 miles (100 km) on the odo. But other than that, the King seems to have fallen off the map altogether – which is probably a sign that it was never a good idea to begin with.