NEW YORK –

When it comes to auto insurance, speed costs.

The most expensive 2015 model vehicle to insure in the U.S. is Nissan Motor Co.'s 600-horsepower, $150,000 GT-R Nismo, at an average $3,574 a year, Insure.com said Tuesday in a statement. The 621-horsepower Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG convertible and the 645-horsepower Dodge SRT Viper held the next two spots.

Expensive vehicles cost more to repair and "the people who buy the cars that are made for speed are going to want to try them out sometime," Penny Gusner, an analyst at the information website, said in an interview. "The likelihood of them having a more severe crash compared to the soccer mom driving 35 miles an hour (56 kph) in the neighborhood is a lot higher."

The rankings are based on national averages for 1,522 models in the U.S., for a 40-year-old man with a clean driving record and good credit. Prices came from six large insurers: Allstate, Farmers, Geico, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm.

The lowest-cost vehicle is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's four-wheel-drive Jeep Wrangler Sport, at $1,134. Another Jeep model, the two-wheel-drive Patriot Sport, was second-least expensive, followed by Honda Motor Co.'s four-wheel-drive CR-V LX sport utility vehicle.

"Cars that are cheapest to insure typically are easy to repair or have fewer claims or both," Gusner said in the statement.

Nissan's GT-R Nismo is a limited-edition model, with only about 50 sold in the U.S. annually, Dan Bedore, a spokesman for the Yokohama-based company, said in an interview. Its carbon-fiber parts are difficult to source, he said, adding that maintenance for the car costs more than insurance.

"I don't think there's any case where you'd find a GT-R as a single car in a household," Bedore said. "It's one of many cars in a collection. Owners are used to paying a premium for owning the car, insuring the car and upkeeping the car."

Insure.com noted that insurance premiums vary widely by state, with a GT-R owner paying an average of $6,630 a year in Montana and $2,012 in Hawaii.

Data weren't available for all models, particularly exotic cars, Insure.com said. The website is owned by Foster City, California-based QuinStreet Inc.