In the recession, mounting concern over stock portfolios and feelings of guilt about extravagant buys caused some wealthy consumers to rein in conspicuous sending.
It didn't feel right buying a $300,000 Rolls-Royce when people were being foreclosed out of their homes or were losing jobs, said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends at TrueCar.com , a Santa Monica, Calif.-based new-car-pricing website.
With the economy improving, albeit slowly, the well-heeled are splurging again.
Nationwide, Toprak said, combined new-car sales for the top six exotic luxury brands have grown 16 percent in the first seven months of 2010, compared with the same period last year. That's 3,065 exotic autos sold by Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Maybach and Rolls-Royce through July vs. 2,650 in 2009.
"It's not a full recovery, but certainly things are improving," he said.
Exotic-car dealers are reaping the benefits of the trend.
"Sales are definitely stronger this year," said Garrett Hayim, president of Ferrari-Maserati of Fort Lauderdale.
Ferraris are produced in such limited quantities that sales of these upper-echelon vehicles are less "swayed by the changes in the economy," Hayim said.
Still, the average selling price for some pre-owned Ferraris did take a dive in late 2008 - as much as 40 percent for some models - but has since rebounded. The price drop, however, lured new customers to the brand who seized the opportunity to snag a Ferrari at relatively cheaper prices, Hayim said.
Most of Hayim's pre-owned exotic cars sell within 30 days, but there's a waiting list for new Ferraris. He said it's about five years for the 458 Italia, Ferrari's "latest and greatest," a two-seater with a top speed of 202 miles per hour and several new design, aerodynamic and engine upgrades.
Because they aren't mass-produced, exotic luxury cars generally cost more than mainstream premium brands. They tend to have rare or signature design and engineering elements that assembly-line vehicles lack.
Nationwide, exotic-car models will represent about 9 percent of all new-car models on sale in 2010, which is up from 4.6 percent in 2001, according to Edmunds.com .
At Ferrari-Maserati of Palm Beach, Ferrari sales have remained relatively unchanged in the downturn, general sales manager Tom Clinton said.
"The Ferrari world is still the Ferrari world, and people who buy Ferraris will always buy them," he said.
Clinton said Maserati sales had been slower, but started picking up recently. The price tag for a new Maserati is typically $110,000 to $150,000.
Veteran auto dealer Craig Zinn said activity has increased recently at his Spyker dealerships in Florida on word of the new C8 Aileron. The Dutch-minted sports car is priced about $240,000, but won't be available until later this year, which is inhibiting his ability to meet demand, Zinn said.
Although pent-up demand has brought some affluents back into the driver's seats of these swanky wheels, some analysts remain cautious about future sales.
"It's unlikely we'll see extremely robust exotic-car sales until consumer confidence, the job market and stock indexes improve," TrueCar's Toprak said.
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