We’ve worried enough this year, so let’s pretend money is no concern and fantasize about buying whatever we want … automotively speaking.

Whether you covet elegance, comfort for traveling, or sport for sleighing, one of these fantasies — with whiffs of nostalgia — should brighten your carpark this season.

For celebration: 2025 Rolls-Royce Phantom Centenary Private Collection

With Graceland aglow for the holidays, it’s easy to imagine one of Elvis’ Cadillacs — or his 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V — parked in the driveway, ready to whisk him through the famous music gates on the way to a lit holiday celebration. He preferred close gatherings at home, but he could have been coaxed out by the special run of 25 Phantom Centenary editions.

It certainly shimmers like a lawn ornament with the Spirit of Ecstasy rendered in solid gold from a design based on the 1925 casting. A black grille, hood, roof and decklid contrast with white lower body panels and gray aero wheels. It cuts a swath whether rolling through winter snow, shopping on Rodeo Drive or arriving for holiday merrymaking.

Envisaged to honor the Phantom’s 100th anniversary, interior scenes honor notable clients who have traveled within one. Developed in collaboration with a fashion atelier, the rear seats wear high-resolution printed fabric bearing 160,000 stitches. Up front, laser-etched seats depict hand-sketched linework. Woodwork boasts 3D marquetry, ink layering and 24-carat gold leafing. The dash art gallery reflects pages of a book with abstract text formed in aluminum.

Elvis’ Phantom had a GE mobile phone. This Phantom plots directions and RSVPs via voice.

Behind that titan Parthenon grille is an engineering masterpiece: A 6.75-liter twin-turbo V-12 engine shrouded under a cover finished in Arctic White with 24-carat gold accents. The Three Kings didn't have this much gold. It also summons 563 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque — enough to whisk the big sedan 0-60 mph in a scant 5 seconds while humming "Silent Night" back to the village.

Everything about the Phantom Centenary seemingly outshines a king’s birth or even a king’s driveway. Good thing, because each of these cars costs a king’s ransom of $3 million.

For travel: 2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL

Traveling over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house, or taking your elegant family to the train station, was once the mission of a classy wagon. Chevrolet virtually invented the modern SUV with the 1935 Suburban, but its electrified successor, the Cadillac Escalade IQL, gets you to your Gulfstream for a holiday hop to Vienna.

It’s glitzier than a Christmas market riffing on the brand’s grille, rendered in plastic with welcome lighting, and bracketed by tall light blades. Its body stretches towards its rear haunches like reindeer launching to flight. When your valet is loading gifts, they’ll notice vestiges of fins that promise luxury.

After riding in the Escalade IQL, stepping on-board your jet may dampen moods as the Caddy’s cabin is bedazzled by a pillar-to-pillar infotainment screen and available 42-speaker AKG audio system. Crank up Mariah! An executive second row package adds stowable tray tables, personal screens and dual phone chargers. Those middle captain’s chairs massage, heat and ventilate, and they are graced with headrest speakers.

Unlike with gas-powered Escalades, there’s a front eTrunk with power hood and 12.2 cubic feet more. Clubs in front, presents in the back, easy as that.

If you prefer driving to flying, the Escalade IQL conveniently has a range of 460 miles and can recharge 116 miles per 10 minutes. It’s powerful, too, with 750 horsepower underfoot — enough to disappear 0-60 mph in just 4.7 seconds. Adaptive magnetic ride control and air ride control blissfully dispenses with turbulence below. It can even power your house during a snowstorm.

Hands-off Super Cruise is standard, but in 2028, GM promises to launch its “eyes off” version on the IQ. You might even be able to video chat with Grandma on your way to her chalet.

For those who own planes, the $132,695 price is but a puff of marshmallow.

For sleighing: Ferrari SC40

A Ferrari painted Rosso Corsa red shadows even Santa’s crimson sleigh. I remember when I received a car magazine featuring the exotic Ferrari F40. Unveiled in July 1987, this was a car that could destroy a track, and if you were careful enough, survive a ride to dinner (definitely not in snow).

That red sleigh leaped off magazine covers and down the track as the first production car to break 200 mph. Its howling 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 delivered a then-fantastical 478 horsepower. It was an abominable monster without electronic traction nannies and a spartan interior that made Santa’s barn feel luxurious.

I lost my entire mind, but relived the feeling when I saw the Ferrari SC40.

Dreams dance again through a one-off by Ferrari’s Special Projects programme. Stylists started with a 296 GTB, then penned sharp lines that recall the original. SC40 script is honorably engraved on sides of the wing. Open mesh on the rear deck reveals mechanical components. The engine is viewed through Lexan louvres. An artful central exhaust outlet is tipped in titanium and carbon-fiber. Even the sugary white paint is bespoke.

As another nod to the F40, carbon-Kevlar is visible in footwells and behind seats. Seats are upholstered in red fabric and charcoal suede with Prancing Horses embossed on the headrests. Flatscreens and wireless phone connections jingle towards modernity.

Unlike that antique of Christmas past, this sugarplum cuddles a plug-in hybrid system with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 that delivers 819 horsepower. It matches the old sleigh’s acceleration and terminal velocity, but shines brighter with 15 miles of EV range and 50 mpg combined.

Sadly, not even Santa can bring you an SC40, as it was created for an undisclosed client for an undisclosed price. Maybe he can rekindle lost love and drop an F40 instead, but even those are dearer than Cabbage Patch Kids.

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