- Huge number of foreign-owned sports cars and 4x4s have descended on glamorous French city of Cannes
- Rich families from Dubai and Kuwait have cars delivered to hotels in the Cannes area where they spend holidays
- Vehicles are tailor made, special versions of famous models from car makers like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bentley
- Influx of similar super cars is quickly becoming an annual event in wealthy Knightsbridge and Kensington
- It is thought Arabs come to the capital from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE to escape the baking hot summer months
- Cars spotted include a six-wheeled Mercedes AMG, a gold Range Rover and several brightly-coloured Rolls Royces
- Local residents are worried that the cars owners may not respect parking rules and could drive dangerously
They
are the glamorous playthings of multi-millionaires usually seen
parading along the seafront of Dubai or locked up in vast garages in
Riyadh.
But
dozens of stunning supercars owned by mega-rich Arabs have now
descended on the glamorous city of Cannes on the south coast of France -
days after many were seen jamming the streets of Knightsbridge in
London.
Wealthy
playboys from Dubai and Kuwait have had their expensive toys delivered
to the French Riviera where many spend their holidays in the summer
months.
This customised red Ferrari, complete
with blacked out windows, is among many supercars to have been delivered
by rich Arabs to Cannes on the glamorous south coast of France
Eye-catching: Tourists stop and stare
at a powerful-looking Kuwaiti-owned X-Bow convertible super car parked
along with ordinary vehicles by the side of a sea-front road
Sparkling: A young boy admires a shiny
silver Porsche 911 GT2 complete with eye-catching red alloys. It is one
of many luxury vehicles delivered to Cannes from Kuwait
Two Kwaiti-registered Lamborghinis in
white and blue are parked up in front of an orange McLaren next to a
restaurant in upmarket Cannes
A man drives his large blue convertible down a seafront road in Cannes while walkers stop and stare at the vehicle
Wealthy families from Dubai and Kuwait
have reportedly had their cars delivered to the Carlton hotel in Cannes
where many spend their holidays in the summer months
The
vehicles are tailor made special versions of famous models from car
makers like Ferarri, Lamborghini and Bentley - and are certainly turning
heads in the resort.
The
owners seem trusting enough to leave their luxury vehicles parked up on
the side of the road while tourists walk past in amazement.
The
vehicles include an X-Bow, a McLaren, a number of Lamborghinis and
Ferraris of differing colours, parked up alongside luxury hotels and
restaurants in the French Riviera destination.
Many of the the vehicles parked up in
Cannes are tailor made special versions of famous models from a series
of high-end luxury car makers
Glamorous: Sightings of luxury supercars, owned by mega-rich Arab famililes, have become common place in Cannes in France
A large white Bentley with tinted
windows is parked up on a street in Cannes, France. A similar influx of
cars has been reported in parts of London
Luxury: A number of Kuwaiti-registered
vehicles are in Cannes where their wealthy owners are spending their
summer holidays away from the searing temperatures at home in the Middle
East
Gridlock: A driver and his passenger
in a black Ferrari stop to admire a red version of the famous make of
car while tourists point out the vehicles and traffic builds up on the
road behind
It is becoming increasingly common for
super-rich Arab families to have their vehicles delivered to glamorous
locations around the world, including Cannes - especially during the
summer months
The flashy
supercars brought over to Cannes by Middle Eastern playboys that they
have been pictured clogging up many of the parking spaces on the
waterfront
The
pictures come days after similar cars were reported on the streets of
Knightsbridge in London as rich Qataris, Saudis, Emiratis and Kuwaitis
move to Britain to escape the Middle East's baking mid-summer months.
But
the growing number of sports cars around the wealthy Knightsbridge
district is causing some local residents to worry about breaches of
parking rules and potential dangerous driving.
The
most outrageous car to make the trip over this time around is the
six-wheeled Mercedes G63 AMG, an enormous £370,000 off-roader. A 220mph
Pagani Huayra, worth more than £1 million, has also attracted attention
from tourists and passersby.
There is also a gold Range Rover, various Rolls-Royces, Lamborghinis and Ferraris, numerous Bugatti Veyrons and a 1970s Datsun.
The
rich Arabs stay in the best hotels and empty their wallets in London's
most expensive shops, but they also cause problems with their unique
supercars.
Snazzy: A red Ferrari with blacked out
windows is left by the side of the road. Many of the vehicles brought
over by superr wealthy Arab tourists are tailor made special versions of
famous models
Star attraction: Passers-by stop to admire a chrome-coloured Lamborghini parked in front of another luxury-looking vehicle
A white and blue version of the same make of Lamborghini are parked up in front of the upmarket Carlton Restaurant in Cannes
Residents
in affluent Knightsbridge have complained they are behaving in an
anti-social manner, revving the cars and treating the exclusive area as
their personal racetrack.
Panda
Morgan-Thomas, a management consultant, said: 'I am not angry. I am
just exhausted. After a relatively calm three years the last few days
have seen the return of supercars to Knightsbridge.
'They
are again racing down Sloane Street from late afternoons until 3 or 4
in the morning. We honestly thought we had made progress but it seems as
though local residents are in for another sleepless August.'
A queue of extravagant vehicles were
parked around Harrods yesterday including a £400,000 Mercedes AMG, a
£1million Pagani Huayra and a £300,000 Rolls Royce
A
Dubai-registered £1million Bugatti, parked on double yellow lines in
front of a modified Rolls-Royce, attracted the attention of a traffic
warden yesterday
A Qatari-owned
£200,000 Ferrari 458 in front of a £300,000 Lamborghini Aventador. The
cars are attracting gangs of camera-wielding youths, dubbed the
'Carparazzi'
A £400,000
six-wheeled Mercedes G63 AMG, similar to one which featured on Top Gear,
is among the most outrageous to have been shipped across
The cars owners compete with each
other to see who can carry out the most outlandish modifications, with
this £150,000 Maserati Gran Turismo given a silver bonnet
The
wealthy holidaymakers, predominantly from Saudi Arabia and Qatar,
arrived in London around a week ago following the end of Ramadan.
A
number of the supercars have been spotted with parking tickets while
others have been driving around with incorrect registration plates. But
despite residents dreading 'The Season', there is one group of people
salivating at the supercars and leaping to the defence of the drivers -
the Carparazzi.
When
the wealthy Arabs arrive in London, car enthusiasts show up with their
cameras to film and photographer the million-pound motors.
This £50,000-plus Ferrari 456 Italia
has been given a spider wrap by its Qatari owner, who was keen to show
it off on the streets of central London yesterday
A gold and black Saudi-owned Bugatti
Veyron - which can sell for up to £1million - was parked in a street in
Kensington yesterday, causing many to stop and take photos
This heavily-modified gold Range Rover
- estimated to be worth more than £150,000 - has attracted attention
after its owner parked it outside the Wellesley hotel
Paul
Wallace, who runs the YouTube channel Supercars of London, played down
their bad behaviour. He said: 'August always proves to be the best time
of year for petrolheads to see their dream machines on the road.
'Having
seen the change in driving styles and cars, I still can't believe the
police presence and residents kicking up a fuss. For four weeks out of
52, these super-wealthy individuals come and pump millions of pounds
into the UK economy.
'Not
only that, they fulfil many car fan's dream by bringing super rare
Bugatti Veyrons, or special edition Paganis. I feel sorry for these guys
coming here with their expensive toys as they get harassed by police.'
The limited edition Mercedes - which
have a starting price of £370,000 - were originally engineered for the
Australian Army but have become popular with Arabs as they are one of
the few vehicles which can be driven safely off-road through the desert
dunes
A blue and white Saudi-owned Rolls
Royce, estimated at £300,000, attracts attention of pedestrians after
its owner parked it outside the bay in Knightsbridge yesterday
It's not just modern sports cars that
are being brought over, this classic UAE registered Datsun 240 GL was
spotted on London's Sloane Street yesterday
As word got around that London's
richest tourists were showing off their cars near Harrods yesterday,
this £180,000 Lamborghini Huracan was soon seen driving past
He added: 'I have been filming all summer and rarely see them drive more than 25 per cent throttle, or make any noise at all.
'I
don't see why the residents of Knightsbridge don't use this influx in
foreign cars as an excuse to go on holiday and escape one of the
busiest, loudest cities in the world for a couple of weeks of the
year.'
Previous
summers have seen expensive cars clamped outside department store
Harrods, towed for being uninsured and locals complain about being kept
awake by revving engines.
Westminster
council has revealed the parking fines handed out to cars registered in
the United Arab Emirates have nearly doubled in the last three years.
A Saudi-registered Pagani Huayra,
which has a starting price of around £1million, was spotted parked next
to an expensive hotel in the area
A pink-tinged £350,000 Rolls Royce
with Saudi number plate was seen driving through west London yesterday
as part of the now-annual influx of Arab-owned cars
A Qatari millionaire has brought this
£70,000 Mercedes AMG with him for his holiday in Britain and parked the
machine outside Harrods yesterday
Cars from the Middle-Eastern country were given a whopping £57,060-worth of fines last year, up from just £31,780 in 2011/12.
Fears
have been raised that drivers feel they can flout the rules either
because they can easily afford the penalties, or because they know
they'll be able to move home and ignore the fines.
A
Westminster City Council spokesman said: 'We do all we can to ensure
that all outstanding fines are paid – whatever the nationality of the
driver.
'However, when cars aren't registered in this country, it is sometimes extremely difficult to track people down.
'We
already work with an agency to help recover money owed by European
drivers and we're currently exploring other avenues that might further
our success. The start and end point here is that every driver who parks
in Westminster is subject to the same laws.'
A policeman approaches a modified
£100,000 Range Rover, registered in Saudi Arabia, amid locals' concerns
about breaches of parking rules and road safety
The expensive machines have been
spotted in a full range of colours, with this Mercedes CLS - starting
price £82,000 - parked on Chelsea's Sloane Street yesterday
A £300,000 Qatari-owned Lamborghini
Aventador parks up next to a £1million Bugatti Veyron as Arab playboys
compare their sports cars outside Harrods yesterday
