The
supercars parading through London's streets reached a whole new level of
extravagance this week when a wealthy Arab rolled his gold Range Rover
into town.
The
'Mystere' is a £150,000 version of the famous British vehicle which has
been given an overhaul by German tuning house Hamann.
The car's normal design has been replaced with a customised body-kit which includes oversized bumpers and a bonnet vent.
It is thought the Range Rover's Saudi owner brought the car over with him for his summer stay in London
Its Saudi
owner has also opted for the luxury off-roader, which is fitted with
23-inch alloy wheels, to be kitted out with a black and gold wrap.
The
car, with the registration plate '666', has been flown over to the UK
by its Saudi owner and is parked outside the expensive Wellesley Hotel
in Knightsbridge.
A top-spec Range Rover costs £100,000 - with Hamann charging around £50,000 for the 'Mystere' conversion.
It
is one of a number of flamboyant cars which have arrived in London for
the summer season, when Middle-Eastern millionaires escape the desert
temperatures for a holiday in the UK.
One local
resident said: 'Range Rovers don't normally stand out because there are
so many of them in London, but this one is different.'
'You can't miss it. It is
amazing that the owner, who must be quite rich, decided to have it
wrapped gold coloured. It is so eye-catching, but I don't think it will
be winning any style awards.
The luxury off-roader was spotted in the car park of the Wellesley Hotel in Knightbridge, opposite Hyde Park
It comes after this ornately-painted Lamborghini Aventador was spotted in the area last summer
The 4x4's gold finish is similar to this Bugati Veyron which was parked outside the Dorchester last year
He added: 'It
was parked next to a Rolls-Royce Ghost, and you hardly noticed the
Roller. It is not often that a Rolls-Royce looks like the understated
car.'
Last
year, residents of West London complained the capital was being
inundated with supercars, which they claimed were leading to unruly
driving.
Petrol-heads
were seen driving round wealthy areas of the city in Lamborghinis,
Ferraris and Bugattis and attracting bands of camera-carrying
youngsters, known as the Carparrazzi.
Channel 4 made a documentary about the drivers, called Millionaire Boy Racers, after local residents called for a clampdown.
In 2010, a £1.2 million Koenigsegg CCXR
and £350,000 Lamborghini Murcielago were clamped outside famous
department store Harrods.
The supercars, like this Lamborghini, are regularly seized by police for over suspicions about their insurance
This bright pink Rolls Royce was among the expensive cars spotted in London last summer
Local residents say their lives have been made a misery by the supercars like these driving around the district
Crowds
of tourists watched in disbelief as a traffic warden first ticketed
then clamped both vehicles, which were believed to have belonged to the
oil-rich Qatari royal family.
It
was the first summer in which the so-called 'invasion of Arab
supercars' was noticed on London's streets, with a £1 million-plus
Bugatti Veyron and a £500,000 Mercedes Benz McLaren SLR, both
chrome-finished and with Middle Eastern plates, spotted outside the
Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge.
It is believed wealthy Arabs from Qatar,
Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia relocate to the capital in the
Middle East's hottest summer months and compete over who can show off
the most expensive vehicle.
Experts said insuring some the supercars on London's roads can cost more than £50,000-a-year, with a £15,000 excess.
Last
summer, a £350,000 purple and orange Lamborghini was seized by the
police after the driver was pulled over, again outside Harrods, because
of police concerns about his insurance.
Weeks
later the same car was seen back on the streets, but was given a
parking ticket just days after police handed it back to the owner.
A policeman talks to the owner of a blue Maserati on a double red line route during the Channel 4 show
This gold and white Bugatti put two Porsches in the shade when it parked outside Harrods last summer
These supercars - a Lamborghini Murcielago and a Koenigsegg CCXR - were seen in Knightbridge's Sheraton Park hotel last summer
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