Really Rich Racing

If, for tax reasons, you need to work through the proceeds from your latest company sale posthaste, there are few more efficient ways than motor racing.

Not only do you have to buy the car in the first place (and these things never, ever come cheap) but you've also then got to run it for at least a season. Plus testing, of course, and you'll need fancy overalls, your mechanics should really all be in team gear. Oh, and the road car you turn up in...it goes without saying that it'll have to match the racing wheels.

And these things should come with some sort of health warning. Motorsport is a highly addictive pastime, so you'll spend ages away from home trying to iron out the last few tenths, talking to your engineers, maybe even glad-handing some famous ex-F1 stars.

This would be fine, but that company won't run itself, and Mrs. Billionaire doesn't take too kindly to being left with the dogs every other weekend. So not only will you have to regularly fork out to repair the latest crash damage, or rebuild your engine, but your miffed other half will need regular sparkly gifts to keep her sweet. Hell, buy something for the dog while you're at it.

Strictly speaking, the overwhelming majority of racing drivers in the world are Gentlemen Drivers. Only a sacred few can take it to this level, where the playing becomes so serious that the boundary between racing and the personal becomes blurred, and you try to make the next company purchase fit your racing schedule.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

722 Trophy

If you need exclusivity, then the 722 Trophy guarantees it. Pesky crowds are banned, you'll only be at the event with other fabulously well-heeled 722 owners, you'll get to wine and dine with a couple of ex-F1 drivers who compete alongside you, and only 21 Trophy cars are going to be built. And, to top it all, you only need give 48 hours' notice before you want your car, and it'll be ready for you to test at Paul Ricard, at whatever time of the year. The circuit's even got its own runway, so you don't need to mix with the proles at Nice airport. Billionaires, this kind of racing was made for you. Sign up, and do it quickly.

Cost of car: $1.2 million
Budget for season: $134,900
Number of races: 6
Bangs for bucks: $218,500 per race

Jaguar XJ220C

The XJ220 road car might have been a commercial disaster, but that didn't stop people from going racing in them. TWR had a hand in developing them, and a few wealthy amateurs raced them. Most went to pros for Le Mans.

Cost of car: approx. $950,000
Budget for season: approx. $1.5 million
Number of races: 1
Bangs for bucks: approx. $2.5 million per race

Citation Cup

The Citation Cup is great because you get to compete against pro racers in FIA GT. The winner gets a three-hour trip in a jet. Which you'll already own.

Cost of car: $1.1 million
Budget for season: $3 million
Number of races: 10
Bangs for bucks: $418,000 per race

Aston Martin DBR9

The Aston DBR9 is more for the pro Gentleman Racer, if one exists. Not only is it such a hard-core beast that you'll require a full-fledged team to run it, but you'll be competing against some serious drivers. Of all the Astons, this is the only one for the seriously ambitious billionaires among you. An engine alone costs $190,000, and a rebuild is $85,000. You'll have to do that about every three miles, which makes the DBR9 pence-per-mile running costs somewhere north of the Apollo moon missions.

Cost of car: $1.1 million
Budget for season: $3 million
Number of races: 6
Bangs for bucks: $696,667 per race

Aston Martin DBRS9

If you've never raced before, the DBRS9 is the tool for you. Apart from anything else, this GT3 car is easier to run, so, in theory, you could do it from your garden shed. Sort of. But you'll be reassured to know that Aston will supply an engineer just for you, if you so desire.

Cost of car: $332,500
Budget for season: $570,000
Number of races: 6
Bangs for bucks: $150,417 per race

Aston N24

The N24 gets a one-make series in Asia, supporting the local Grand Prix when it's over there. But 47 N24s were sold around the world up to 2007, so exclusivity is lacking.

Cost of car: $174,800
Budget for season: $152,000
Number of races: 7
Bangs for bucks: $46,685 per race

Jaguar XJR-15

Perish the thought of racing that common XJ220C. The XJR-15 is far more expensive, only 50 were made, it has the proper V12 engine and the winner of the third race got $1,000,000...and that was back in '92.

Cost of car: $1.1 million
Budget for season: approx. $1.9 million
Number of races: 3
Bangs for bucks: $1 million per race

Lamborghini Diablo SVR

One for the extravagant billionaire. Lamborghini created the Diablo Supertrophy in 1996 (not for Lambo, just an ordinary trophy), and more than 30 cars were built. Power was up over the normal car, but some were later converted into road cars.

Cost of car: approx. $228,000
Budget for season: approx. $153,900
Number of races: 7
Bangs for bucks: approx. $54,557 per race

Group C

The trouble with some of these series is that you're forging your own path. And, as amateurs, that's not exactly paved with gold. Far better to follow in more successful footsteps. The beauty of Group C racing is that you can actually compete in the very car with which Derek Bell won Le Mans. And you'll blow an R16 into the tires. This is raw, exposed racing, and you'll feel better for it.

Cost of car: $1.9 million
Budget for season: $285,000
Number of races: 6
Bangs for bucks: $364,167 per race

Gallardo GT3

Don't be fooled by that relatively cheap price tag on the Gallardo GT3 car. There are more expensive cars to go racing in this category with, but we know of one guy who's needed to, shall we say, "heavily repair" five engines so far this year. Even for a billionaire, that's gotta start to sting a bit. Still, you do get a more powerful engine, and the exhaust note is adjustable. Very showy.

Cost of car: $304,000
Budget for season: $475,000
Number of races: 6
Bangs for bucks: $129,833 per race

Ferrari Challenge

The really scary thing about the Ferrari Challenge is that if you spin into the gravel, you'll need to change all the brake discs and pads. And that costs $76,000.

Cost of car: $351,000
Budget for season: $760,000
Number of races: 14
Bangs for bucks: $76,393 per race

Ferrari FXX

This development program for Ferrari is an invite-only event — that's when you know you've really made it. Last year Ferrari brought out the FXX Evoluzione, which upped the power but, of course, you needed to pay for it. Everyone did.

Cost of car: $2.3 million
Budget for season: Included in car cost
Number of events: 3 per year
Bangs for bucks: $760,000 per event

Le Mans

Le Mans is why GT racing remains the category of choice for the Gentleman Driver. Sure, you can buy a seat in an F3 team, but let's face it, money alone won't get you into F1. In GT racing, you do a season in the LMS, then the Le Mans organizers look favorably on you and you get to compete in the greatest endurance race in the world. If racing is about massaging the ego, few events do it better than Le Mans. Of course, an entry doesn't come cheap. Not only is there the cost of Le Mans itself, but it's always oversubscribed so an LMS season means you'll be looked on more favorably.

Cost of team: $1.1 million
Budget for season: $1.5 million
Number of races: 1
Bangs for bucks: $2.7 million per race