Seriously, almost fainted with this sighting
Discussion
good lord.
Got into Singapore very early this morning, very, early.
Walked out of the Mandarin and what was there.......
Zonda roadster in a greeny/silver and a black Rolls Phantom! It blew the crust right out of eyes that did.
I mean, the tax on the Zonda and Roller is 200%! That makes it even more insane and even more glorious.
**Certainly beats being approached by the Trannies on Orchard Rd at 4am!
>>> Edited by maranellouk on Saturday 12th February 14:30
Got into Singapore very early this morning, very, early.
Walked out of the Mandarin and what was there.......
Zonda roadster in a greeny/silver and a black Rolls Phantom! It blew the crust right out of eyes that did.
I mean, the tax on the Zonda and Roller is 200%! That makes it even more insane and even more glorious.
**Certainly beats being approached by the Trannies on Orchard Rd at 4am!
>>> Edited by maranellouk on Saturday 12th February 14:30
Am in Singapore too for a few days at the moment, didn't see the Zonda yet !!
A good few fezza in the Sheraton in Scott Roads, funnily already two taxi men were sniggering at performance car owners in Singapore 'They can't drive, they only use 1st and 2nd in the city'.
Some truth to it though, unless they cross to Malaysia little chance to use it.
PS1: From my window I can see the back of the Mandarin, and Hyatt I need to invest in a pair of binocular and find out who your 'famous friend looking for privacy' in Singapore
Enjoy your stay and good luck with your 'friend', it's raining here Sunday afternoon
. JL
>> Edited by Gulliver on Sunday 13th February 07:06
>> Edited by Gulliver on Sunday 13th February 07:16
A bloke I see around near me has got a Phantom and a Continental GT. The thing is, he has a double garage but the Conti is kept outside (the house has big gates so guess its quite safe). That begs the question - what else lives in the garage with the Phantom??? I keep an eye out every time I pass hoping to find out!
chris_n said:
A bloke I see around near me has got a Phantom and a Continental GT. The thing is, he has a double garage but the Conti is kept outside (the house has big gates so guess its quite safe). That begs the question - what else lives in the garage with the Phantom??? I keep an eye out every time I pass hoping to find out!
Fridge and a washer drier.
Only there for 24 hours but.....
Did the Mandarin over night then a suite in the Swissotel for the day did the trick in the end. View is something else. Especially from the bar on the 70th floor! Def. stay there again.
Did a little stroll of Raffles mid-afternoon which was very nice and serene. Should have had a look at their rooms as I will be back in a few weeks.
TurboBloke: It may very well have been an XJ220 in Bangkok. As you leave the airport, on the left-hand side, there's an XJ220 in a showroom. Not sure if it is still there but during last summer it certainly was.
Did the Mandarin over night then a suite in the Swissotel for the day did the trick in the end. View is something else. Especially from the bar on the 70th floor! Def. stay there again.
Did a little stroll of Raffles mid-afternoon which was very nice and serene. Should have had a look at their rooms as I will be back in a few weeks.
TurboBloke: It may very well have been an XJ220 in Bangkok. As you leave the airport, on the left-hand side, there's an XJ220 in a showroom. Not sure if it is still there but during last summer it certainly was.
maranellouk said:Ahah, s it wasn't the heat and humidity getting to me then...I'll take a closer look next time, should be visiting again in August
TurboBloke: It may very well have been an XJ220 in Bangkok. As you leave the airport, on the left-hand side, there's an XJ220 in a showroom. Not sure if it is still there but during last summer it certainly was.
Guys, guys, let the Malaysian in your midst correct you. 
Singapore is probably hands down the most expensive country in the world to purchase a vehicle - ANY vehicle. You need the equivalent purchasing power of a millionaire in the UK to even contemplate buying a basic Ferrari in Singapore, though saying that the higher up the scale you go in terms of purchase price the more proportionately attainable the cars become.
The import tax on cars in Singapore is only 41% (the high figure commonly quoted applies to Malaysia, where it is typically 200%-250%).
In Malaysia, buying a car is the same as getting one in the UK - you pay the asking price, the annual road tax, you register it and you drive it home. That's it. The asking price of course is ridiculously high - take a £110,000 Ferrari for example. With the c%250 tax slapped on, it comes up to an absolute equivalent of about £400,000, and then when you factor in the relative calculations of purchasing power and the cost of living in Malaysia, £400k (RM2.5m in local currency) becomes a LOT of money. For instance, the average white-collar graduate fresh out of uni in Malaysia can expect to earn an annual salary of about £3k - you may gawk at this, but the standard of living is just so different. Which is why someone buying a F360 in Malaysia is akin to someone buying a McLaren F1 in the UK.
Now in Singapore the system of car ownership is incredibly complex. Apart from high vehicle purchase taxes (levied on the buyer) and also high registration fees (150% of the vehicle value, which includes IIRC the final price including the previously added import tax), there are high road tax costs as well. Also, the one thing that creates more headache than it eases is the need to purchase a Certificate of Entitlement ("COE"). Owning a car is not a right in Singapore, it is a privilege - and you need to bid for the chance to buy that privilige. Every month a limited number of these certificates is released by the government for its citizens to bid on in an open auction - the highest bidders win and pay the average price. These ceritificates always go for the tens of thousands, and are prohibitive to prospective owners.
However I believe the price of these certificates is the same, in that you pay the same for a certificate to run a Murciélago as you would a Merc C-Class, so in that sense it isn't so bad. The only problem with it though is that the very cost of the certificate is prohibitive to many thousands of low-earners in Singapore. In the UK a couple of hundred quid will buy you a banger - in Singapore there is no such luxury. To run any car, you need to be decently paid.
So owning a bona fide supercar in Singapore isn't such a big deal as it is in Malaysia when you enter the big league cars. In Malaysia the high import tax always makes more expensive cars dearer on a sliding scale of a fixed percentage of 250%, whereas in Singapore once you get over the hurdle of the COE, you effectively pay a combined fee of just under 200%. There hits a point where things even out and you actually pay less for a car in Singapore than you do in Malaysia, and combine this with the fact that the standard of living in Singapore is much higher than in Malaysia, and the reality of owning a Zonda in Singapore isn't too far-fetched. You'd still have to be ULTRA rich though.
And there was your friendly neighbourhood lecture on vehicle pricing in the far east.
Corrections welcome.
>> Edited by -DeaDLocK- on Sunday 13th February 21:40
Singapore is probably hands down the most expensive country in the world to purchase a vehicle - ANY vehicle. You need the equivalent purchasing power of a millionaire in the UK to even contemplate buying a basic Ferrari in Singapore, though saying that the higher up the scale you go in terms of purchase price the more proportionately attainable the cars become.
The import tax on cars in Singapore is only 41% (the high figure commonly quoted applies to Malaysia, where it is typically 200%-250%).
In Malaysia, buying a car is the same as getting one in the UK - you pay the asking price, the annual road tax, you register it and you drive it home. That's it. The asking price of course is ridiculously high - take a £110,000 Ferrari for example. With the c%250 tax slapped on, it comes up to an absolute equivalent of about £400,000, and then when you factor in the relative calculations of purchasing power and the cost of living in Malaysia, £400k (RM2.5m in local currency) becomes a LOT of money. For instance, the average white-collar graduate fresh out of uni in Malaysia can expect to earn an annual salary of about £3k - you may gawk at this, but the standard of living is just so different. Which is why someone buying a F360 in Malaysia is akin to someone buying a McLaren F1 in the UK.
Now in Singapore the system of car ownership is incredibly complex. Apart from high vehicle purchase taxes (levied on the buyer) and also high registration fees (150% of the vehicle value, which includes IIRC the final price including the previously added import tax), there are high road tax costs as well. Also, the one thing that creates more headache than it eases is the need to purchase a Certificate of Entitlement ("COE"). Owning a car is not a right in Singapore, it is a privilege - and you need to bid for the chance to buy that privilige. Every month a limited number of these certificates is released by the government for its citizens to bid on in an open auction - the highest bidders win and pay the average price. These ceritificates always go for the tens of thousands, and are prohibitive to prospective owners.
However I believe the price of these certificates is the same, in that you pay the same for a certificate to run a Murciélago as you would a Merc C-Class, so in that sense it isn't so bad. The only problem with it though is that the very cost of the certificate is prohibitive to many thousands of low-earners in Singapore. In the UK a couple of hundred quid will buy you a banger - in Singapore there is no such luxury. To run any car, you need to be decently paid.
So owning a bona fide supercar in Singapore isn't such a big deal as it is in Malaysia when you enter the big league cars. In Malaysia the high import tax always makes more expensive cars dearer on a sliding scale of a fixed percentage of 250%, whereas in Singapore once you get over the hurdle of the COE, you effectively pay a combined fee of just under 200%. There hits a point where things even out and you actually pay less for a car in Singapore than you do in Malaysia, and combine this with the fact that the standard of living in Singapore is much higher than in Malaysia, and the reality of owning a Zonda in Singapore isn't too far-fetched. You'd still have to be ULTRA rich though.
And there was your friendly neighbourhood lecture on vehicle pricing in the far east.
Corrections welcome.
>> Edited by -DeaDLocK- on Sunday 13th February 21:40
There must be a whole host of seriously wealthy people in Malyasia then.
Was working in the Petronas Towers for a couple of days in 2003, the week before the GP in fact. Left the office late one night so had to go in through the front entrance of our hotel (The Equatorial).
We were greeted by an Enzo parked in front of an F50, a Koenig 360 Spider and a comprehensive gaggle of 360 Modena's, 360 spiders and 550's. Turned out the Ferrari Owners club were having their GP dinner at our hotel - needless to say there was a crowd of guests outside with cameras flashing.
Made the 550 Barchetta that had been parked outside all week seem rather ordinary!
Was working in the Petronas Towers for a couple of days in 2003, the week before the GP in fact. Left the office late one night so had to go in through the front entrance of our hotel (The Equatorial).
We were greeted by an Enzo parked in front of an F50, a Koenig 360 Spider and a comprehensive gaggle of 360 Modena's, 360 spiders and 550's. Turned out the Ferrari Owners club were having their GP dinner at our hotel - needless to say there was a crowd of guests outside with cameras flashing.
Made the 550 Barchetta that had been parked outside all week seem rather ordinary!
What you saw was, in a word, an extreme rarity. I lived and grew in KL for 20 years and all I managed was a 360, a couple of 355s, a sprinkle of 512s and 348s and a Diablo.
An Enzo in Malaysia? All I can say is - Wow!!
Thing is though lots of really rich people in the UK don't spend money on cars as a priority. They may get a Merc or a Rangie, but that's about it. Generally only enthusiasts buy supercars/hypercars. In third-world (I use the term loosely) Malaysia a car is still very much a status symbol, so if someone can afford an Enzo, he will get one to show-off even if he doesn't have the slightest interest in the marque or motoring.
An Enzo in Malaysia? All I can say is - Wow!!
Thing is though lots of really rich people in the UK don't spend money on cars as a priority. They may get a Merc or a Rangie, but that's about it. Generally only enthusiasts buy supercars/hypercars. In third-world (I use the term loosely) Malaysia a car is still very much a status symbol, so if someone can afford an Enzo, he will get one to show-off even if he doesn't have the slightest interest in the marque or motoring.
The registration tax for cars in Demark is 180% PLUS 25% VAT 
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