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All new cars are given an insurance group between 1 and 50, and these can give you a good steer of how expensive the cars will be to insure.
Those with the lowest ratings will be the cheapest to insure, while those rated in the top 50 band will be the most costly. Car insurance groups are set by the Group Rating Panel, which includes members of the Association of British Insurers and Lloyd's Market Association. The panel is administered by Thatcham Research, which assigns a rating to all new models.
In working out each rating, Thatcham takes into account a number of areas: how susceptible the car is to accident damage, as well as how much it is likely to cost to repair and how long that work may take; the new price of the car; and which safety and security features are fitted.
The cost of cover also varies for people of different ages and professions. So to make all our quotes comparable, GoCompare based each quote on a 40-year-old man from London who has 10 years' no claims bonus and no driving convictions or accidents within the past five years, driving 10,000 miles a year.
Below we count down the 20 most expensive new cars to insure and tell you how much they cost in terms of the annual premium:
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20: Porsche Cayenne Turbo
Cost of insurance: £1510
It may now be commonplace for sports car makers to produce SUVs, but that wasn't the case in 2002 when the Cayenne first went on sale. The model may have upset car enthusiasts at the time, but Porsche went on to sell more than 770,000 Cayennes, making it the brand's most important car.
The Turbo costs nearly twice as much as the standard Cayenne, but it does come with a 4.0-litre V8 engine, air suspension and plenty of kit. That higher price and faster performance makes it pricier to insure, too.
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19: BMW 7 Series M760Li xDrive
Cost of insurance: £1682
The M760Li is the flagship of the 7 Series and borrows the 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 of the Rolls-Royce Wraith. It costs a whole lot more than lesser 7 Series models, but insurance is around £1000 cheaper than what you'll pay for a Roller.
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18: Audi SQ7
Cost of insurance: £1732
The standard Q7 was so good that we named it our 2018 Luxury SUV of the Year, so it follows that this hot version will be equally appealing. With a 4.0-litre V8 diesel engine under the bonnet, the SQ7 certainly delivers on the performance front, and when you're not in a hurry it'll waft you along as quietly as a lesser Q7.
The SQ7 costs more than some rivals, but it's cheaper to buy and insure than the Range Rover Sport SVR.
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17: Bentley Continental Flying Spur
Cost of insurance: £1792
The Flying Spur is a large four-door saloon that competes with the formidable Rolls-Royce Ghost. Unlike its chief rival, though, there are two engines to choose from: a 4.0-litre V8 and a 6.0 W12. Our price here is for the less powerful version.
Whichever engine you choose, you'll be wafted around effortlessly at high speed. The V8 is smoother and sounds better than the W12, and it's more affordable to insure than rivals from Rolls-Royce – read on to see how high those premiums are.
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16: McLaren 540C
Cost of insurance: £1982
Technically, the 540C is McLaren’s entry-level car, although that classification seems more than a little unfair. While it’s certainly the cheapest car the company offers, it still gets a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 like almost every other McLaren currently on sale.
It's surprisingly usable, shockingly rapid and great fun to drive, even at everyday road speeds.
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15: Ferrari 812 Superfast
Cost of insurance: £2025
The latest V12-engined model from the Italian firm is its craziest yet. The Ferrari 812 Superfast is fitted with a 6.5-litre V12 that produces a frankly absurd 789bhp. That means a 0-62mph time of 2.9sec and it’ll get to 120mph before some hot hatches will manage the former.
With a price tag above £260,000, 812 buyers may not be too bothered about the cost of insurance but, for those who are, it's worth noting that the Ferrari is nearly £1000 cheaper to insure than a McLaren 720S.
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14: Audi R8 Spyder
Cost of insurance: £2113
The R8 Spyder is the convertible version of the R8 Coupé – a car we think is a superb supercar. The open-top model uses the same naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 petrol engine as the coupé. Unlike some convertibles that can get wobbly when the fixed roof is removed, the R8 Spyder feels as rigid as a rod of iron.
All that perfection doesn't come cheap, though – the R8 Spyder costs more to buy and insure than a Porsche 911.
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13: Bentley Continental GT
Cost of insurance: £2217
The classic looks of the Continental hide an all-new platform that was developed with Porsche and is also used on the Panamera. That makes the Continental a splendid combination of high-speed tourer and sports car.
There's nothing cheap about the Continental, though. It costs upwards of £160,000 to buy, won't do much more than 22 miles to the gallon and is pretty costly to insure, too.
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12: Lotus Evora
Cost of insurance: £2350
The Evora doesn't have a three-figure price tag, but it's up with the most expensive cars to insure because it's powered by a supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine that propels it past 62mph in just 4.1sec. There's also a 410 Sport version that does the same sprint in 3.9sec, which is faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera.
If you're counting the pennies, it's worth noting that the Evora costs around £1000 more to insure than a 911.
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11: Ferrari 488 spider
Cost of insurance: £2382
The 488's twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre engine enables it to dash past 62mph in 3.0sec and carry on to 202mph. Add to that a price tag starting just above £200,000, and it's easy to see why it costs more than £2300 to insure.
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10: McLaren 570S
Cost of insurance: £2453
The 570S has the Porsche 911 Turbo and Audi R8 in its sights; cars that can potentially be used every day, yet can still top 200mph on a long enough stretch of autobahn.
In short, the 570S is crushingly fast, yet communicative and fun – even at sane speeds. It's not the cheapest McLaren for our driver to insure, but it is around £500 less a year than a 720S.
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9: Ferrari GTC4
Cost of insurance: £2547
The GTC is the most practical supercar on the market. It has blistering performance, jaw-dropping grip and balance, and yet it's remarkably easy to live with. With prices starting at more than £200,000 and fuel economy not likely to exceed 20mpg, it's certainly not cheap to live with.
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8: Ferrari Portofino
Cost of insurance: £2625
The Portofino, like its predecessor the California, marked a new direction for Ferrari – it's a hard-top convertible and it's the brand's most affordable model, with prices starting at a little over £160,000. It's not the most refined open-top choice, though.
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7: Bentley Bentayga
Cost of insurance: £2763
The Bentayga is Bentley's first foray into the SUV sector. Like other Bentleys, it makes good use of its Volkswagen Group parentage – the Bentayga sits on the same platform as the Audi Q7.
It's far pricier than its Audi cousin to insure, though – even the sporty SQ7 costs £1000 less a year in premiums.
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6: Tesla Model X Ludicrous Performance
Cost of insurance: £2976
While Tesla may appear to be following the herd by producing a luxurious, sporty SUV, the Model X has some features that make it stand out from rivals. One good thing is that it's a pure electric vehicle with a real-life range of 233 miles; one less appealing feature is the falcon-wing rear doors, which need a lot of space to open.
The more powerful P90D has a Ludicrous Performance mode that enables it to exceed 60mph in 3.2sec, making it faster than some supercars.
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5: McLaren 720S
Cost of insurance: £2993
As its name suggests, the 720S produces 720 horsepower, and that translates to a 0-60mph time of 2.8sec and a top speed of 212mph. The 720S is pricier to buy and insure than its main rival, the Ferrari 488, but its handling is just as stunning and it has a surprisingly comfortable ride.
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4: Bentley Mulsanne
Cost of insurance: £3110
The Mulsanne may be big, brash and showy, but these aren’t necessarily negatives when you’re looking for a car that represents your status. It's undeniably stately, too, oozing luxury with a hand-built finish that you can tailor to your heart’s content.
So the Mulsanne is a beautifully finished saloon with a wonderfully torquey V8 engine. Just bear in mind that it'll cost a small fortune to buy and own.
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3: Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Cost of insurance: £3651
The DBS Superleggera is pricier to buy and run than its main rival, the Ferrari 812 Superfast, but it's more engaging to drive and easier to live with because the ride is more forgiving.
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2. Honda NSX
Cost of insurance: £7230
The original NSX was a groundbreaking car that blended high performance and good looks with legendary Japanese reliability. The latest version moves the game on by adding modern-minded efficiency to the car's list of talents.
All that technology doesn't come cheap, though. Prices for the NSX start just above £144,000, and our London-based driver will pay more than £600 a month in insurance.
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1: Rolls-Royce Wraith
Cost of insurance: £10,500
The Wraith isn’t like other coupés. At 5.3 metres long, it’s closer in size to a Victorian semi than an Audi TT, and with a starting price of almost a quarter of a million pounds, it’s a lot closer in price, too.
This car is a hugely appealing ownership prospect for the privileged few who can afford to buy and own one.
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