THE chances of you catching a ride on Air Force One any time soon are pretty slim unless you're on first-name terms with Mr O. But if you want to jump on board Richburg One, it should be slightly easier.

Richburg One is the name of a tricked-out Toyota Alphard MPV from Richburg Motors. Although you may not find anything remotely presidential about it, the well-known parallel importer says the design of its interior and the materials used are inspired by private jets, for example, the wood trim and the wine cabinet.

But the main selling point of the car has to be the privacy partition between the driver and the rear cabin.

The Alphard is a grand luxe MPV that is not offered by authorised distributor Borneo Motors Singapore. This extra-large model with spacious cabin has the usual three rows of seats found in all multi-purpose vehicles. But Richburg One has been been retrofitted to include a partition wall with a sliding glass window.

An intercom allows the rear passengers to communicate with the chauffeur. And if they require even more privacy, the glass partition can be electronically tinted at the press of a button.

The modification adds about $30,000 to the Alphard's $172,000 list price, but the idea is not new. Hong Kong-based Richburg has been offering such an option on previous Alphard models sold in the Special Administrative Region since 2005, and these cars are bought by HK billionaires and movie stars alike.

But Richburg says that with the latest-generation Alphard it has raised the bar by making the interior more luxurious and adding a new feature - an emergency alarm that can be triggered during a kidnapping or if you just feel like attracting some attention.

Two technicians from the Hong Kong team specialising in this kind of customisation work were in Singapore to prepare Richburg One for a three-day roadshow at Suntec City Exhibition Hall.

Also featured is an Alphard that Richburg says is powered by "fun drive" - or what could also be the ultimate family entertainment system. A Nintendo Wii and DVD entertainment system has been installed and comes with wireless headphones, advanced motion detector and an independent monitor for each seat.

Richburg has also converted a Toyota Estima MPV into a "private theatre on wheels". A digital theatre system with 5.1 sound has been built into the back of a four-seater Estima, complete with Infinity speakers, an active sub-woofer and amplifier. This mobile theatre is guaranteed to rock not only the occupants in their Ottoman chairs but other road users too.

Several other high-end Toyota models were also displayed at the exhibition.

This article was first published in The Business Times on Nov 22, 2008.