A Singapore businessman may have set a record by paying $3 million for a new sports car.
The tycoon, who made his millions in electronics and is now an investor in various local and foreign ventures, bought himself a Pagani Zonda F, a 602-horsepower Italian supercar capable of hitting 100kmh in 3.6 seconds.
Said to be the same person who recently paid more than $4,000 per sq ft (psf) for an Orchard Road apartment, he took delivery of the 345kmh top speed two-seater just two weeks ago and is still going gaga over it.
Insisting on anonymity, he gushed: "It's a work of art. Just look at how fine the finishing is. I'm told women do the intricate bodywork because men's hands are too rough."
Powered by a 7.3-litre V12 Mercedes-Benz AMG engine and adorned in Gucci upholstery, the car is the second Zonda to be put on the road here. It attracts an annual road tax of about $11,600 and an insurance premium of around $60,000.
The F-series is rare even by Zonda standards. Only one other is said to exist in Asia - bought by Hong Kong actor-singer Aaron Kwok last year.
The car is the latest 'toy' for the 50-something businessman who is married with children. His stable includes Ferraris, Porsches, a Rolls-Royce and a limited edition Enzo Ferrari.
The Zonda F has an open-market value (OMV, or roughly its cost price) of about $485,000. After taxes, it is probably nearly $1.2 million. The rest that adds up to the hefty price tag can be assumed to be the profit for its agent, Automobil Manufactur. The firm would not show the sale invoice.
The most expensive car ever registered in Singapore was a Jaguar XJ220, in 1992. A member of the Malaysian royalty paid $3.2 million for it.
But back then, the main car tax and excise duty were 150 per cent and 41 per cent respectively of its OMV, and the certificate of entitlement (COE) was about $25,000. Today, they are 110 per cent and 20 per cent respectively and the COE is about $14,000.
