LUXEMBOURG — On this cold winter day in the Grand Duchy, a thick fog blankets the capital city. But the weather and low visibility don’t faze Frédéric and his BMW M3. Six cylinders, 480 kW of power, a maximum road speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) and a purchase price including options of 118,000 euros. With every turn of the key, this motorized jewel sends shivers down his spine. Frédéric talks about it with passion.
“My M3 is the only thing that can give me an instant rush of emotion and a unique sense of freedom,” he says, though he prefers to remain anonymous. Why? Because, as he puts it, “Nice cars are a shared passion here, but outside Luxembourg, people just don’t get it.”
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Following traffic laws, Frédéric usually keeps his powerhouse of a car under 130 km/h (80 mph) as he cruises the 36-kilometer, four-lane highway between Luxembourg city and Trier, Germany. But once over the border, there’s no more speed limit, and he presses firmly on the gas pedal. Even if the condition of the autobahnen pales in comparison with roads in Luxembourg. “Our asphalt is of high quality — it’s like driving on a carpet,” he continues.
A highway network barely stretching 163 km
Today, Frédéric will take the A7 north to check out Tesla’s electric Cybertruck, a beast measuring 5.68 meters long and 2.41 meters wide, showcased for two days at the automaker’s store in Roost. “This pickup has insane electric power and will definitely find its audience, even though car enthusiasts here swear by combustion engines,” he observes. Still, last year, the fully electric Tesla Y was the best-selling vehicle in the Grand Duchy.
No matter the model they drive, Luxembourgers’ highway thrills are limited by the size of the system: 163 kilometers, or 101 miles. Of the six highways branching out from the capital, the A1, connecting Luxembourg to Germany, is the longest. The other stretches range from just 11 to 31 kilometers.
Yet, the country’s car registrations are soaring. With 678 vehicles per 1,000 residents, Luxembourg boasts the highest motorization rate in Europe after Italy. Above all, its share of luxury cars is unmatched, with one high-end vehicle for every 13 people.
Luxembourg boasts the highest standard of living in Europe.
As of Dec. 31, 2023, Luxembourg had registered 460 Aston Martins, 952 Ferraris, 420 Bentleys, 269 Lamborghinis and 653 Maseratis, according to registration statistics. Added to the list were 28 Bugattis, 104 Rolls-Royces, 9,930 Porsches and countless high-end BMW, Audi and Mercedes models. The over-representation of top-of-the-range cars, collector vehicles, SUVs and “supercars” machined in the best studios is a reflection of national wealth.
Luxembourg boasts the highest standard of living in Europe. In 2024, its GDP per capita reached 122,525 euros — far ahead of France, which ranked 15th with an average of 44,168 euros. A senior official originally from Moselle, France, who has lived in Luxembourg for more than two decades, sees this wealth gap as the key driver behind Luxembourgers’ and cross-border workers’ love for high-performance cars.
Over the past 50 years, Luxembourg’s GDP has skyrocketed. Rooted in agriculture and steel, the country’s prosperity took off with soaring land and real estate prices, fueled by the arrival of financial services, consulting firms and several European institutions. At the same time, the population nearly doubled, growing from 340,000 residents in 1970 to 672,000 today.
Prosperity and cheap gas
Located just steps from downtown, the Kirchberg plateau has housed since the 1950s the headquarters of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Investment Bank and several general directorates of the European Commission. This area is home to 15,000 well-paid European nationals who are exempt from income tax. Not to mention the foreign recruits from banks, audit firms and multinational companies, drawn by the favorable tax regime for highly skilled employees.
As an extra treat for motorists, Luxembourg offers a VAT capped at 17%, no environmental tax, no registration fees and toll-free highways. Moreover, filling up with gas costs, on average, 30 cents less per liter than in France or Germany. “After buying a home, a nice car is the next big pleasure expense, either out of taste or by mimicry,” says Eliot Artignan, a Frenchman who has been working for a year at LL Classic Cars, a specialist in collectible vehicles.
Free public transport
Is it even part of Luxembourg’s soft power now, along with the Grand Duke, Catholicism and captive reinsurance? Uwe Hentschel, an auto journalist for the German-language Luxembourgish daily Luxemburger Wort, is clear: the country is “a paradise for Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis,” as he wrote last March. “Despite increasingly crowded roads, nothing shakes people’s love for cars,” according to the journalist, who lives in Germany and only uses trains and buses for travel. “Not the free public transport, not the massive parking lots, not even the call to reduce CO2 emissions.”
Car enthusiasts with a love for roaring engines, Julien Imhoff, 26, Laurent Reding, 25, and their seven high school friends founded the GTO Luxembourg club in 2016. “We don’t own the car of our dreams yet, but thanks to the club, we’ve found a way to get closer to it,” explains Imhoff, who was introduced to car shows from childhood by his father.
“We were all between 14 and 17, with no driver’s licenses, so we started by doing ‘car spotting’ [luxury car photography hunts] with our smartphones,” Reding says. Over time, the drivers began to adopt them, letting them test their high-end vehicles. From entry-level Audi and Mercedes to Ferrari 458s, Porsche GT3s, and the pinnacle of sports cars, the Aston Martin Valkyrie. More like a Formula 1 than a typical “road car,” the machine — priced at 4 million euros — can reach up to 360 km/h (224 mph) on the track.
Today, GTO Luxembourg unites some 800 car owners for various events. Last June, its Supercar Sunday, an open-air exhibition, attracted dozens of enthusiasts. The club also offers track days. “We plan a road trip on secondary roads, preferably with few speed cameras, for about 15 participants,” says Imhoff, president of the club.
The turns of the “Maus”
For teams from brands like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and BMW, pampering this clientele of serial buyers and collectors is a full-time job. During the summer months, they compete with each other, organizing rallies on the track and road trips through Luxembourg or nearby countries.
“I have two BMW M3s, which I mainly use when the weather is nice and on weekends, and an electric car for everyday driving,” says Gregory Mannelli, who enjoys driving solo toward Esch-sur-Sûre, in the northern part of the country, or on the “Maus,” the road from Lamadeleine to Rodange. “Lined with trees and full of curves, it’s perfect for testing this kind of car,” he explains.
Our clients often have multiple garages in their homes.
Mannelli has no regrets about leaving a career as a client director for one as a car detailer. “I dreamed of being a race car driver, but it was too expensive, so I became a beautician for cars,” he explains.
His company, FM Detailing, is one of the leading players in the market. The most requested service is SunTek PPF: the application of a paint protection film to shield against stone chips and scratches. His workshop also offers polishing, washing, leather care and storage services. “Our clients often have multiple garages in their homes, but those with more than a dozen cars almost always need storage.”
Used Ferrari for 500,000 euros
In the European automotive paradise, the Losch group, founded in 1948, holds a unique position. The dealership is the exclusive importer of 11 brands, ranging from Volkswagen to Bentley. Those with a taste for second-hand luxury cars prefer the largest showroom in the capital, opened by Motor’s Concept in January 2024. Around 50 pre-owned vehicles are on display. The store sells an average of 15 cars a month, with a majority being Porsche and Audi models. During our visit, the star attraction was a Ferrari SF90 Stradale, a plug-in hybrid priced at 500,000 euros.
“Our vehicles are on average three years old, and their prices range from 25,000 to 600,000 euros,” says Alexandre Marinho, the sales manager.
A change of scenery at his neighbor’s, LL Classic Cars, led by Laurent Lefebvre, a master of vintage car restoration. Among the 40 models, a rare 1925 Bentley 4.5-liter Le Mans stands out. “It’s in storage,” Lefebvre says. Here, Jaguar and Porsche 911 models are particularly popular. “There’s a world of difference between sports cars and our collector cars, some of which hardly ever get driven,” he says. That’s especially the case when winter returns to Luxembourg.
