Shopping The Most Expensive Homes In Malibu In The New Lamborghini Huracán Spyder

I was a bit hesitant about driving the fluorescent yellow Italian supercar that was parked in my driveway, almost $300,000 worth of magnificent power and head-turning looks. It was the unwieldy power that often accompanies these awesome vehicles that concerned me the most. You can imagine my surprise and delight when my new 2017 Lamborghini Huracán RWD Spyder purred gently out of my house despite its powerful V10 engine with 580 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque.

Just powering up the Huracán is a joy with its airline style toggle switch start button with a protected flip cage inspiring thoughts of taking off into space. The car is well balanced with rear wheel drive and easy to maneuver on city streets with three quickly adaptable drive modes: Strada (City Driving); Sport (loud); and Corsa (Race Track).  When driving in the automatic Strada mode, the noise is diminished and not offensive and easy to pull in and out of traffic. The best feature is the ability to raise and lower the front end to avoid scraping on every bump you encounter, as well as making it easy to enter driveways and curbs.

With the cloth convertible top down within seconds, I was off on my mission for the weekend, to search for the most expensive homes currently for sale in the celebrity studded beach community of Malibu, California. The reactions from other drivers were priceless ranging from disdain to admiration, I received more thumbs up for the exquisite space-age look and design of the car though and only a few people flipping me off.

I am proud to have been a longtime resident of Malibu for over 30 years and have seen so many changes in the city with massive development and construction. I barely recognize my former Carbon Beach locale anymore. I decided to use the new Nobu Ryokan Hotel on Carbon Beach in Malibu as my home base and set out down the famed Pacific Coast Highway in search of the prime listings. Not a single head was turned as I roared down the streets, Lamborghini’s are commonly spotted in this billionaire retreat.

First up was the former Malibu Castle location that I always admired growing up in Malibu, the original structure burned to the ground in a fire and was replaced by a gargantuan estate with the highest listed price of $80 million. The house, however, has mysteriously just been removed from the market, which could indicate a private sale is in the works.

23800 Malibu Crest Drive / Former Malibu Castle ($80 Million)

A further drive down Pacific Coast Highway is a spectacular bluff-top estate owned by supermodel Cindy Crawford and husband Rande Gerber. One of Malibu’s most famous couples, they also own the popular Café Habana in town. The compound is listed for $60 million which gives you bragging rights of having a famous couple as your neighbors.

33218 Pacific Coast Highway ($60 million)

Check out the amazing inside look at Cindy Crawford's Malibu Estate:

Rounding out the top five most expensive properties currently listed are all beachfront estates;

33740 Pacific Coast Highway ($57.5 million)

26880 Pacific Coast Highway ($54.5 million)

22506 Pacific Coast Highway ($52 million) Joel Silver estate

The high-end Malibu estate market has already topped the previous year’s tally including the highest sales ever. Five home sales this year alone have already soared above $277 million. The biggest sale this year was the $85 million beachfront estate owned by billionaire David Geffen that sold to Los Angeles Dodgers owner and Guggenheim partner Mark Walter.

Among other high-profile sales were; an Encinal Bluffs estate sold for a whopping $74.5 million to Oakley billionaire James Jannard, the Sweetwater Estate on a Serra Retreat bluff towering over the Malibu Pier that sold to Hong Kong doyenne Karen Lo for a pricey $70 million, and also the former Richard Gere estate in Paradise Cove that sold for $60 million to record producer Jimmy Iovine.

Rounding out the top sales were; the Paradise Cove estate that sold for $40 million to Steve Jobs widow Laurene Powell Jobs, the Carbon Beach estate purchased by billionaire Larry Ellison from Yahoo’s Terry Semel for $36.9 million (Ellison owns 10 additional properties on the same beach) and the Malibu Colony beach house formerly owned by actor Michael Landon, sold for $36 million to billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, marking the highest sale ever for a Colony home.