New supercar models to be unveiled in Macau
Organisers of Top Marques, Monaco's annual show of the world's most exotic and expensive supercars, hope to unveil several new models when they roll into Macau for the show's first Asian edition.
The event, from November 24 to 27 at the Venetian Macao, will come hot on the heels of the Macau Grand Prix and promises to be a fiesta of not just luxury sports cars, but also watches, yachts, property, artwork and other bespoke items.
'The show is a high-calibre event targeted at VIPs and high-net-worth clientele,' said John Hardyment, chief executive of Bayshore Pacific Exhibitions, Top Marques' partner in Asia. It would be a showcase of 'the rarest and most expensive cars on the road - and really sexy', he said.
An agreement was reached with the Venetian to make the show an annual event. Touted as the world's only live supercar show, prospective buyers are invited to take their dream cars on the road before making the decision to part with their millions.
'The show is about accessibility. Visitors can walk up and touch [the cars], and sit inside if they are invited,' Hardyment said. The Macau government has agreed to close a 2.1 kilometre stretch of road near the venue for the road tests.
Invitations to test cars would go to clients of sponsors and exhibitors, Hardyment said, and there were no limits on the number of invitations they could hand out. A one-day pass for the public will cost HK$380.
Hardyment said they hoped to attract 20,000 visitors from around the region over the four days. This year's Monaco show in April attracted 33,000 visitors.
As well as some of the most coveted models by the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, Audi and Jaguar, rarer models on show will be from specialist makers of limited-edition or customised supercars such as Pagani, Fisker, Gemballa and GTA Motor.
Hardyment said two new launches were under discussion with carmakers for the Macau show, but there would hopefully be more.
Top Marques Monaco, with the motto 'See it! Drive it! Buy it!' has been running for eight years and saw the launch of six supercars at this year's show. Among them was the Gemballa Tornado, a customised SUV based on the Porsche Cayenne, which was on show for just 16 minutes before being bought by an anonymous sheikh.
Another show-stopper was British-based Keating's ZKRs, with a 2,200 horsepower turbocharged engine. (The classic Ferrari 458 Italia, by comparison, has a 562 horsepower engine.)
Top Marques had considered Shanghai and Beijing as venues for the first Asian show, but chose Macau because if offered regional accessibility. 'We needed an integrated resort for all the functions going on around the car show. But the decider was the availability of the road for the test track,' Hardyment said.
