Big Mac to go

IT SEEMS Hong Kong's road hogs aren't quite the splendid beasts we (and they) thought they were. At least not in the splash-it-all-about financial stakes.

Sure, your average Hong Kong millionaire prides himself on having one of everything (Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, etc) but he failed to rise to the ultimate challenge. The $6 million challenge if you will.

That was the price (exclusive of import tax) he would have had to pay for the much-hyped McLaren F1 sports car which hit town a year ago, along with big-wig McLaren boss Ron Dennis, in search of buyers.

Some 12 months down the road - and in the wake of the latest car tax threat - our man in the super-car industry tells us Hong Kong has yet to take delivery of a single motor. This leaves us way behind the rest of the obscene amount-spending world.

Naturally, the Sultan of Brunei bought eight of the centrally-steered rockets, while at least one megastar snapped up an F1. Although Mick Jagger and Elton John went for the Jaguar XJ220, Rowan Atkinson was extremely interested in the McLaren. Phil Collins may have passed on it but his manager decided he just had to have one.

George Harrison went one step better by not just ordering an F1 but also requesting a remarkable custom job. A serious guru fan, Harrison requested special dashboard niches into which he could put his favourite elephant deities, as well as a fibre-optically lit elephant shrine in the luggage compartment.

Now, although Harrison's good mate Eric Clapton decided against the car, he sent one of his signature stratocaster guitar's to McLaren requesting that it be custom-painted to match the former Beatle's car. It looks as if Harrison has an interesting Christmas present coming his way.