Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Maserati is the overwhelming best-seller in the US among niche luxury car brands, according to business magazine Forbes.

Maserati is the top-selling brand among cars that sell at least 1,200 models a year in 47 of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Three states prefer less flashy English automakers: Bentley is the favorite in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, while Virginia’s elite favor Aston Martin.

In the slightly less upscale “luxury car” segment Toyota’s Lexus is the nation’s best-selling brand, edging BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

California, Florida and New York have the highest concentration of luxury cars among states by a large margin: just 18 Maseratis were sold in Ohio last year, compared with 271 in Florida.

In Michigan, the nation’s auto producing center, native son Cadillac from General Motors is the best-selling luxury brand by a considerable margin.

The data was based on individual, not corporate, national car registration data from September 2008 to August 2009.

US States With the Most Expensive Cars (luxury, niche luxury brand)

1. California: Mercedes-Benz, Maserati
2. Florida: BMW, Maserati
3. New York: BMW, Maserati
4. New Jersey: Lexus, Bentley
5. Virginia: BMW, Aston Martin
6. Georgia: Mercedes-Benz, Maserati
7. Illinois: Lexus, Maserati
8. Texas: Mercedes-Benz, Maserati
9. Pennsylvania: Mercedes-Benz, Bentley
10. Ohio: Lexus, Maserati