London: London’s ‘supercar season’ is in full swing, as young Gulf millionaires descend on the city for a summer of shopping, sightseeing – and, in some cases, speeding.
The UK capital’s wealthiest streets have been roaring with engine revs since Eid, with a Saudi-owned gold-wrapped Range Rover – the epitome of bling – and a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport worth $1.7 million (Dh6.24 million) among the supercars spotted this year.
The flamboyant motors attract a band of camera-slinging British fans, known as the ‘Carparrazzi’, who relentlessly track the vehicles through London.
But to some residents, supercars are just super annoying.
Panda Morgan-Thomas – who lives on Sloane Street in the upmarket Knightsbridge district – likened the roar of the vehicles to being at a Formula One track.
“It sounds as if you’re in Silverstone,” the management consultant told Gulf News.
Morgan-Thomas – who has campaigned against supercars for several years – says she is suffering from sleep deprivation due to the noise of the vehicles racing down her road.
“I’m very grumpy if I’m awake until 4am and have to be up at 6.30am,” she said. “These so-called supercars race up and down Sloane Street. They have come back in their droves.”
Several supercars spotted in London have plates from countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.
A hotspot for sightings is the wealthy Knightsbridge neighbourhood, home to the Qatar-owned Harrods department store, and where the average terraced house will set you back a cool $8 million.
Its genteel streets are not the place for the roaring engines of cars that can reach 250 miles per hour, some local residents say.
“We get people racing around in the middle of the night. It’s really something we could do without,” said one residents’ association chief, who did not wish to be named. “Like everything else in London, it’s a problem that is getting worse.”
Sir Derek Thomas, chairman of the Lower Sloane Street Residents Association, said he too had noticed the problem.
“I’ve seen two Maseratis race up Lower Sloane Street with about a yard between them. The first to get to the top shot the lights,” he said.
However, Sir Derek said that – despite having personally been “deafened” by some vehicles in the area – he had not received formal complaints from community members.
Others were less concerned about the issue.
“From 10pm onwards, these young bloods love to get into [their cars] and roar up and down the street,” said Dr John Pollard, chairman of the Beaufort Gardens Residents Association.
“They’re going on until 2am, showing off to their girlfriends or whatever. It’s a bit annoying but it doesn’t bother us all that much.”
However, Dr Pollard said that the issue of uninsured supercars was a “bit of a worry”.
In 2013, police in London confiscated a Gulf-owned purple Lamborghini because the driver did not have a licence or insurance documents, according to media reports. Around one vehicle per day is seized in Westminster, which covers the Knightsbridge area, a police spokesperson told Gulf News.
Another concern is that of drivers from Gulf countries clocking up large parking fines, which go unpaid as authorities have few powers to collect them.
Figures from Westminster City Council show that UAE drivers owe $97,000 in unpaid parking tickets issued in 2013-14, making them the sixth worst offenders by nationality.
Despite concerns raised by some, one car enthusiast says Gulf drivers have been unfairly blamed for noise pollution.
Paul Wallace, who started the Supercars of London YouTube channel, says Gulf drivers did earn a reputation a few years ago for racing noisy cars around the city’s streets.
But they are now more relaxed, Wallace said, with many choosing quieter luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce or Bentley models.
“The Arabs are very relaxed and laid back this year. It’s not them that have been making the noise… It’s the English [drivers in] Lamborghinis,” he said.
One of Wallace’s dream cars is the Swedish-made Koenigsegg Agera R, which is worth about $1.7 million and has a staggering top speed of 439km/h. Not even the ‘supercar’ label does this motor justice: The Agera R is best described as a ‘hypercar’, says Wallace.
Yet Knightsbridge resident Morgan-Thomas questioned why owners of such speedy vehicles descend on her neighbourhood, where traffic often moves at a crawl.
“I do find it strange that – if you’ve spent all that money – all you want to do is drive around Harrods at 10 miles per hour,” she said.
Ben Flanagan is a journalist based in London
