Hong Kong tycoon orders fleet of 30 Rolls Royce Phantoms for HK$155 million
Record order as Stephen Hung buys 30 Phantoms for high-rollers at his Macau hotel
A flamboyant Hong Kong tycoon has placed the biggest ever order for Rolls-Royce cars - a fleet of 30 Phantoms for an "ultra-luxury" resort he is building in Macau.
Stephen Hung's purchase adds up to about HK$155 million and surpasses the 14 Phantoms bought in 2006 by The Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong.
The former investment banker signed the deal with Rolls-Royce executives on Tuesday at the British-based company's Goodwood factory in West Sussex. The Phantom Extended Wheelbase models will be used to chauffeur guests to and from his Louis XIII hotel, which is scheduled to open in Cotai in early 2016.
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Rolls-Royce said two of the cars would be the most expensive Phantoms ever commissioned, complete with "gold-plated accents" on the outside and interior. In the UK, prices start at about HK$5.6 million but customers have spent double that on bespoke models.
Hung, who is in his mid-fifties, and his wife, Deborah Valdez-Hung, a Mexican former model, have an affection for the British carmaker.
Hung owns a white and gold Phantom with his initials on the licence plate, while his wife has one in "Barbie pink" with her first name emblazoned on the plates - a Valentine's Day gift from her husband.
Named after the French king who founded the Palace of Versailles, Hung's resort will boast a 20,000 sq ft villa billed as the world's most extravagant hotel suite. It will reportedly cost HK$1 million a night.
Hung, who sports red and blonde highlights in his hair, has even enlisted a descendant of Louis XIII to help with the hotel's Baroque design.
Louis XIII Holdings will pay a US$2 million deposit to Rolls-Royce, and another US$3 million by the end of this year. The balance will be paid in 2016 when the cars are delivered to Macau, the world's most lucrative gambling market, outpacing the Las Vegas Strip seven times over.
