By: Christopher Tan

Higher fuel prices, ERP, parking charges as well as escalating inflation have put the brakes on car sales. Top-selling brands such as Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi registered fewer sales in the first five months, official data reveals.

The story is the opposite for luxury brands. High-end choices - such as the cars reviewed here this week - are not only bucking the trend, some are setting sales records.

Aston Martin sales more than doubled to 12, Maserati's more than trebled to 60 and Porsche's were up 40 to 148.

Ferrari sales shot up by over 50 per cent to 29 units, while Lamborghini and Bentley maintained their pace at 21 and 18 respectively.

In the same period, six Rolls-Royces - each at around $1.5 million - were sold, from four at the same time last year. Seven Lotuses were plucked, up from just one.

Sales of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi were all up as well.

Things looked just as rosy in June too. Five Maseratis, five Lambos and 30 or so Porsches were sold.

New model launches over the next several weeks are expected to drive demand further. These include Lamborghini's LP560-4 and Porsche's heavily revised 911 with dual-clutch transmission.

The prospects for high-end cars are so promising that Dutch supercar-maker Spyker is coming to town. Spyker told Life! that it has appointed Ferrari agent Hong Seh as its dealer. The latter, however, claims 'things are still up in the air'.

The fantastically styled Spyker range, which includes models like the 400bhp C8 and 500bhp C12 Zagato, is expected to command prices in excess of $1.5 million. That's substantially pricier than Ferraris, which typically range between $780,000 and $1.1 million.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 05 July, 2008