Pakistan’s first McLaren, a 650s, has been loaded in the United Kingdom and is en route to the country. The same buyer has also bought a Ferarri 488 GTB that also on its way. Pictures of the cars being loaded were shared on the official instagram account of ‘Cars Of Pakistan’ (carsofpakistan_).
Apart from this, budding car enthusiast and CEO of Top City Islamabad, Kunwar Moeez has reportedly bought a Ferrari Laferrari in Dubai that will soon hit the shores as well. In addition to this he has also purchased a Ferrari 458 Speciale A, which will reportedly remain in Dubai. Moeez is also the owner of a Mercedes G63 AMG Brabus 6×6 700 which is one the most expensive cars in the world. He is currently waiting for a 2017 Laborghini Aventador S that has custom seats with his initials (KMK) embossed on the seats.
The Ferrari Laferrari was discontinued in 2016 and with only 500 units built it is no wonder it auctioned for $ 7 million in December of 2016. The Mclaren is relatively cheaper at $265,000 and the Ferrari 488 is priced slightly cheaper at $197,000.
Pakistan is no stranger to Supercars on its roads. While one can show up at any Porsche and Audi dealership to purchase a 911 Turbo (up to five of those in the country) or an Audi R8 (at least 4 of those on the roads as well) you can also pretty much import anything you want if your pockets are deep enough. For example there is Major Shahnawaz ul Hassan (Retd.) of the Pasban Group who owns a 2015 Lamborghini Aventador and a Ferrari F430. Malik Riaz’s son Ali Riaz also a car enthusiast owns a Lamborghini Murcielago. There is also a green Lamborghini Hurcan in Islamabad.
Problems
- The primary problem that owners face is the quality of fuel available in Pakistan. Nothing but Hi-Octane can be run in these cars and there are numerous reports that quality of fuel is not as advertised because it is being adulterated that in turn damages these cars.
- Maintenance is another problem although with fully functional workshops of German automakers (Audi, Porsche and Mercedes), some of these cars can be maintained. Parts of course need to be imported. For example Lamborghini’s can/are being maintained by Audi Pakistan as both Lamborghini and Audi are owned by Volkswagen internationally.
- Another key issue is finding roads to drive these cars on. There are highways etc but to get there one has to drive through some very heavy traffic not to mention the speed breakers along the way that do no favors to these cars that have very low road clearance.
Nonetheless such exotic high-performance cars are being imported and due to their high displacements there is maximum duty on them meaning they cost more than double than what they are worth abroad.
Clearly the car enthusiasts in Pakistan have some very deep pockets!