How many cars and which ones could you buy if you had S$20,633,700?

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

After a six-week trial which captured worldwide attention, a Virginia jury on Wednesday (June 1) ruled in favour of Hollywood actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard in a defamation case.

Jurors awarded Depp USD$15 million (S$20,633,700) in damages from Heard. The panel awarded Heard USD$2 million (S$2,753,550) in damages.

We decided to have a little fun and play OCD multi-millionaire. So we not only show you which cars you could buy, here’s what you can buy on CarBuyer Singapore’s Marketplace with the USD$15m (S$20.6m) but how many of them you could get for the money if you were the 58-year-old Pirates Of The Caribbean star.

16 of the Ferrari 296 GTB Plug-in Hybrid

From S$1,235,627 (without COE)

Ferraris are very common in Singapore these days, but they’re still not exactly cheap. Let alone 16 of them.

That being said, the Ferrari 296 GTB Plug-in Hybrid is “stupendously fast, but also supremely balanced in terms of its abilities”, said Ju-Len after taking her on a date along Seville’s roads across the Continent sometime ago.

There’s no shortage of the cutting-edge about the 296 GT’s shapely form. Air intakes near the headlights feed cooling air to the front brakes, for instance. A rear wing pops up (the car decides when) to add 100kg of downforce (which pushes the car to the road for stability). The car’s roof wing accounts for 10 per cent of the rear downforce by itself.

From the cockpit, everything is mostly controlled by touch sensitive switches on the steering wheel. You also have two small panels on either side of it for the air-con, wing mirrors, reverse camera, nose lifter and so on, with the driver display housing every bit of info.

The GTB’s V6 engine is coupled with a 7.45kWh lithium-ion battery pack that allows you to cover 25km of emissions-free motoring should you choose ‘eDrive mode’. All in all, the 296 GTb Plug-in Hybrid is capable of delivering up to a combined 830hp and 900Nm of torque. 0 to 200km/h takes just 7.3 seconds from a standstill. 

Given the nature of Ferraris, you might even be able to sell the 16 units for minimal loss in future. 

62 of the BMW i4 eDrive40

From S$330,888 (with COE)

62 i4 eDrive40s, is also equivalent to one platoon’s worth of BMTC recruits. Given how effective electric mobility vehicles have been for Ukraine, the SAF should consider adopting similar machines to get an edge in combat.  

And speaking of edges, CarBuyer rates the BMW i4 very highly and certainly a proper challenger to the now ubiquitous Tesla Model 3. According to Chief Editor Derryn, BMW’s electric sedan is not just “extra fun to drive, and very efficient”, but also “competent the way other BMW electric vehicles (EVs) have been.”

The eDrive40 runs on an 80.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack that produces 340hp and 430Nm of torque. A single charge gets you 424km, which is equivalent to covering Singapore from East to West more than eight times. Or perhaps 600km like what Derryn managed to cover on a single charge.

In the cockpit, you’ll be greeted with BMW’s Curved Display which consists of the main infotainment screen at 14.9-inches, and a 12.3-inch driver’s display that runs on BMW’s new OS8 platform.

Active safety features such as lane departure warning/keeping, forward and rear collision prevention/warning, pedestrian detection, rear cross traffic alerts and speed limit info come as standard.

Boot space starts from 470 litres, going up to 1,290 litres with the seats (40/20/40) folded down.

78 of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class C 180 Avantgarde

From S$261,888 (with COE)

We did the math. If Johnny purchased a C 180 Avantgarde every year starting from his tenth birthday, he would be able to spend the entire USD$15m awarded by the jury. But what do you do with 78 C 180s one would ask? Maybe start your own luxury valet service?

Mercedes-Benz’s new C 180 Avantgarde is much larger than before, looks just like an S-Class, has an interior cabin just like the S-Class and offers plenty of legroom and space.

The world’s most expensive car would require almost ten times the amount Johnny was awarded.

The 1.5-litre inline four-cylinder turbo engine produces 170hp and 200Nm of torque. 

Derryn tested the car in “Efficiency” mode, and the mild hybrid C 180 delivered a reading of 6.0L/100km-ish on the highway here, and around 8.0L/100km with mixed urban/highway runs.

It’s all screens galore when you step into the interior, there is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch central infotainment control screen which can be controlled by scrolling and tapping at the two touch-sensitive nubs on the left and right spokes of the steering wheel with paddle-shifters.

Being the largest class in its class and also with the longest wheelbase, the C 180’s legroom is generous, and headroom decent for a nicely-styled sedan.

At the back, you get an auto-tailgate and 450 litres of boot space that is expandable up to 1,510 litres by folding the rear seats down. With shades of the S-Class present, the C 180 Avantgarde delivers a modern digi-luxe experience if tech and luxury are what you’re looking for.

104 of the Audi A3 Sportback

From S$197,635 (with COE)

104 is the exact number ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ grossed on its opening week in the millions (USD) when it was released back in 2011. You probably already know it as part of the Disney franchise that starred Johnny as Captain Jack Sparrow.

10 years on, the Audi A3 Sportback was released in Singapore, CarBuyer’s Ben Chia was one of the first to get his hands on a test drive and concluded that it “does prove remarkable value when stacked up against its premium rivals.”

The 1.5-litre turbocharged engine produces 150hp and 250Nm of torque which strikes a great balance between driving verve and composure and feels tremendously sporty and fun to drive for a base, non-performance variant.

The A3’s styling is more about evolution than revolution. The most noticeable design highlights are the large Audi Spaceframe grille, the air intakes on the lower front bumper, and the larger and sharper LED headlights that give the car a more aggressive face than before.

Inside, the cabin has been completely revamped. The infotainment screen is now lower down on the centre console, and the 10.1-inch screen is angled towards the driver for easier accessibility. The Multimedia Interface (MMI) controller is replaced with an iPod-style audio controller down beside the gear selector. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity come as standard as well, with a wireless smartphone charger by the centre console.

Boot space for the Sportback stands at 380-litres, which is fairly decent for a hatchback in this class.

177 of the Kia Cerato Ex

From S$115,999 (with COE)

Yes, you read that right. You could practically buy each neighbour from your HDB block a car.

For starters, judging by what the Kia Cerato EX can offer, the mid-level trim of Kia’s popular family sedan certainly doesn’t seem ‘ex’ at all. And if your first name is Johnny and last name Depp, make that 177 units of those. 

 The Cerato EX does offer quite a lot for the money. For slightly above 100 grand you get quite an extensive list of standard equipment, including LED head and tail lights, a 10.25-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, an electric parking brake, wireless smartphone charger, and heated/ventilated front seats.

The EX scores pretty high on the safety front too, with driver assistance systems such as forward collision assist and warning, rear traffic collision warning and lane keeping assist all present here. 

The Cerato Ex’s 1.6-litre engine produces 128hp and 155Nm of torque, which is certainly enough to get you from point A to B without having to break the bank on petrol with prices recently soaring to S$4 per litre this June.

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