NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Why would anyone pay $250,000 for a car? As an investment? Surely, real estate would be better. Because the car is really 10 times better than a Ford Taurus? Well, these cars are way better than a Taurus. But you can get something way better than a Taurus for a fraction of the sticker price on one of these beasts.

There are several reasons to buy these cars, actually. Status. Performance. Craftmanship. But they all come down to emotion. Sometimes, insane emotion. Brian Miller, owner and general manager of Manhattan Motorcars, a New York City dealership that specializes in six-figure automobiles, says that many of his customers actually buy cars like these and trade them back after just a couple of weeks to buy something else equally expensive. A deal like that usually costs the buyer about $10,000 per car, and most of those folks go through many cars each year.

"It's like a disease," said Miller. "And I hope they never find a cure for it."

$150,000 to $160,000

Bentley is coming back. Recent Bentleys, basically re-badged Rolls-Royces, had little to recommend them as driver's machines. Sure, they're posh, but they drive like armored cars with comfortable seats. Fine for riding in, but, please, you might as well let someone else take the steering wheel.

This car will be the first for Bentley after its break from Rolls. BMW takes over the Rolls-Royce name in 2003, but Volkswagen, currently the parent of both Rolls and Bentley, will keep making Bentleys.

In the Continental GT, which will go on sale in the Fall of 2003, the back seats are deliberately designed for children. The front seat is the place for grown-ups. The engine, with two turbochargers and twelve cylinders arranged in a "W" (rather than the more usual "V") shape, will pour out more than 500 horsepower. It will make 60 mph in less than five seconds then keep going all the way up to 180 mph.

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The challenge was to design a car that, while meeting those performance marks and handling nicely, could still accommodate a family of four comfortably over "unlimited distances." The trunk can hold two skis and two snowboards or two golf bags and two suitcases so the comfy family of four will have plenty do to when they get there.

$273,000

Murcielago means "bat" in Spanish, but it was also the name given to a legendary bull. Murcielago sparred with the famed toreador Rafael Molina "Lagartijo" in a bullfighting ring in Cordoba, Spain, on Oct. 5, 1879. Murcielago fought so bravely that Molina spared the bull's life. That doesn't happen much in bullfights.

Lamborghini's emblem has always featured, as it happens, a bull. So company chose the name of this famous fighter for its newest 12-cylinder all-wheel-drive supercar.

With a car like this, it's pretty clear where the priorities lie. According to Lamborghini, the instructions to the Murcielago's designer were fairly simple: "We'll make the engine, you design the body to fit."

The body is fairly adjustable. Air scoops on the outside expand and retract according to driving conditions or driver-operated controls. There's also a low-rider type feature that allows you to lift the front end to keep it from scraping over speed bumps. The interior is all leather and there's a CD player with autochanger and an optional satellite navigation system in case you get carried away and can't find your way back.

About $350,000 according to media reports

Unlike the Bentley, it's the back seat that really impresses here. If you're getting into the Maybach, let somebody else drive. For that matter, why bother driving at all? You could sit in a parking lot and nearly get your money's worth out of this car.

The Maybach has fully articulated recliners in back that make your La-Z-Boy look like an Anabaptist church pew. And there is a squash-court's worth of legroom in front of each. Each of those comfy back seats has its own video screen and there's a refrigerator and folding tables, too. I could go on, but this car has so much posh stuff it starts to sound like a prom night rental limo.

Maybach is the new ultra-luxury badge from the Mercedes-Benz part of DaimlerChrysler. It's actually a reintroduction of a German luxury brand that competed against Mercedes in the 1920s and '30s.

By the way, the number refers to the car's length of nearly 6.2 meters. For somewhat less money you can buy the 57. I don't know if this idea of selling luxury cars by the meter is going to catch on.

$155,500

As its Web site puts it: "Aston Martin is an inner-directed experience." Kind of like tai chi, right? Well, the DB7 Vantage Volante offers you a 6-liter V-12 with a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic (with optional Touchtronic shifting) headed directly toward your truest, most inner self at a top speed of 165 mph. Hold on to your hat.

Among the other available options are personalized sill plaques bearing your name, job title, or other special message ("Mind the gap"?) and matching luggage in the same color as your car's interior. You can also order yours with a retro-looking wire mesh front grill instead of the standard horizontal slats. Nice touch, I think.

You can also get an optional umbrella holder that fits into the underside of the trunk lid. It comes with an Aston Martin umbrella. If you want to make your Aston Martin even more British, that'd be the way to do it.

$652,000

You know that cool computerized special effect they call "morphing"? That's where one thing, say a bucket, changes as you watch into something completely different, say a Doberman pinscher.

Well, if you did that with an Italian supercar and Formula 1 race car you'd get the Enzo Ferrari, named for the company's founder.

While it retains the low, wide stance of a car like the Lamborghini Murcielago, the shape of the Enzo's deeply carved nose subtly suggests an open-wheeled Formula 1 racer. Whereas the Lamborghini is smooth and subtly shaped, the Enzo is deeply and much more blatantly aggressive in its appearance.

Luca Del Monte, public relations for Ferrari North America, gives a tour of recession-proof cars with exquisite beauty and craftsmanship -- and with a waiting list of up to three years. Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Underneath, the car has the technology and performance the shape suggests. This is the most expensive Ferrari ever made and the fastest. Its 6-liter 650 horsepower V12 engine takes the Enzo to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds and roars all the way to a top speed of 218 mph. Shifting is clutchless, using steering wheel paddles (This is the same system used in Formula 1 cars.)

The driver seat comes in four sizes (S, M, L, XL) and 16 different combinations of the seat bottoms and backs. No need to guess your seating needs, though. If you happen to be passing through, Ferrari has a test rig set up near the assembly line so you can try out different seats and pedal adjustments.

$98,975

OK, so it's not quite six figures, but when we're talking about this much money why let $1,025 stand in the way?

To celebrate the 100th birthday of Jaguar's founder, Sir William Lyons, Jaguar will be offering this limited-run special edition of its XKR. Sir William, who passed away in 1985, founded the motorcycle sidecar company that later became Jaguar in 1922 at the age of 20.

The 100 has the same 370 horsepower supercharged V8 as the standard XKR. It also has the XKR's Computer Active Technology Suspension (CATS) that automatically selects "firm" or "soft" shock absorber settings in response to conditions. In the 100 version, though, the CATS unit and shock absorber settings have been tuned for tighter handling response. Jaguar has made a few other tweaks to the car's handling and steering, as well, for sportier driving.

As a nice visual touch (you might have to get down on your hands and knees to really see it well) the car's brake calipers are finished in silver and have a red Jaguar logo. The tires are ultra-low profile Pirelli P-zeros. Inside, the 100 offers Connlly Autolux leather covering heated seats.

If you're thinking about shopping for one of these cars -- or all six of these cars? With an average base sticker price of about $272,000, you might not think there would be a lot of other buyers out there. Well, they don't make these cars in big batches, either. If you can even get your name on one, waiting lists stretch as long as five years.