Sheikh flies Lamborghini 6,500 miles for a $45,000 Oil Change
07-31-08, 08:49 AM
#1
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Sheikh flies Lamborghini 6,500 miles for a $45,000 Oil Change
Sheikh flies Lamborghini 6,500
miles to Britain for oil change
By NEIL SYSON
Published: Today
A RICH Arab sent his Lamborghini on a 6,500-mile round trip to Britain for a service.
The £190,000 supercar was put on a scheduled flight from Qatar to Heathrow – then flown BACK after the oil check.
Money was no object as the flight would have cost the owner – thought to be a Sheikh – around £20,000.
The move sparked fury from green campaigners.
An airport worker said: “This car doesn’t have a carbon footprint – more of a crater.”
The overall cost of sending the Lamborghini to London for the oil change would have cost more than £23,000.
His black-and-gold supercar costs £3,552 to service at an approved dealer – on top of the £20,000 to freight from Qatar to Britain.
The Murciélago LP640 – driven by Batman in movie The Dark Knight – arrived from the Middle Eastern country on Friday.
It cleared customs and was trucked to specialist mechanics in London for the service.
On Monday it was flown back 3,250 miles to the oil-rich state where it was collected by the owner.
A cargo handler at Heathrow blasted the car’s environmental damage.
He said: “It would have been far more efficient to fly mechanics out there.”
Horrifies
And Jenny Evans, of pressure group Plane Stupid, said: “This horrifies me. It is another example of how rich people exploit and pollute the planet because of their money.”
She said the role of the super-wealthy in climate change was not properly recognised – while poor people were rapped for going on holiday.
Friends of the Earth’s transport campaigner Richard Dyer said: “Flying a car thousands of miles for a service is ludicrous when planes are one of the most polluting ways to transport goods. We urge the individual to get their car serviced closer to home.”
But David Price, of Lamborghini Club UK, said: “If an owner wants to service his car in that way, it is his choice.
“I’m not surprised. Thankfully the age of excess in some areas continues.”
Lamborghini UK spokeswoman Juliet Jarvis said there could be “kudos” for a Middle Eastern owner in servicing a car in London.
She said the exclusive Italian brand had a network of authorised dealers around the world – and most cars were looked after in the country where they were bought.
But she added: “This sort of thing is not unheard of.”
Qatar Airways confirmed it carried the Lamborghini.
The cars are popular with celebs including Rod Stewart and David Beckham.
miles to Britain for oil change
By NEIL SYSON
Published: Today
A RICH Arab sent his Lamborghini on a 6,500-mile round trip to Britain for a service.
The £190,000 supercar was put on a scheduled flight from Qatar to Heathrow – then flown BACK after the oil check.
Money was no object as the flight would have cost the owner – thought to be a Sheikh – around £20,000.
The move sparked fury from green campaigners.
An airport worker said: “This car doesn’t have a carbon footprint – more of a crater.”
The overall cost of sending the Lamborghini to London for the oil change would have cost more than £23,000.
His black-and-gold supercar costs £3,552 to service at an approved dealer – on top of the £20,000 to freight from Qatar to Britain.
The Murciélago LP640 – driven by Batman in movie The Dark Knight – arrived from the Middle Eastern country on Friday.
It cleared customs and was trucked to specialist mechanics in London for the service.
On Monday it was flown back 3,250 miles to the oil-rich state where it was collected by the owner.
A cargo handler at Heathrow blasted the car’s environmental damage.
He said: “It would have been far more efficient to fly mechanics out there.”
Horrifies
And Jenny Evans, of pressure group Plane Stupid, said: “This horrifies me. It is another example of how rich people exploit and pollute the planet because of their money.”
She said the role of the super-wealthy in climate change was not properly recognised – while poor people were rapped for going on holiday.
Friends of the Earth’s transport campaigner Richard Dyer said: “Flying a car thousands of miles for a service is ludicrous when planes are one of the most polluting ways to transport goods. We urge the individual to get their car serviced closer to home.”
But David Price, of Lamborghini Club UK, said: “If an owner wants to service his car in that way, it is his choice.
“I’m not surprised. Thankfully the age of excess in some areas continues.”
Lamborghini UK spokeswoman Juliet Jarvis said there could be “kudos” for a Middle Eastern owner in servicing a car in London.
She said the exclusive Italian brand had a network of authorised dealers around the world – and most cars were looked after in the country where they were bought.
But she added: “This sort of thing is not unheard of.”
Qatar Airways confirmed it carried the Lamborghini.
The cars are popular with celebs including Rod Stewart and David Beckham.
.
07-31-08, 09:33 AM
#5
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 2,134
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Green campaigners need to get their panties out of a bunch.
It's the man's money and if he's baller-status enough to fly his exotic car out almost 4000 miles to get an oil change, let him be.
It's the man's money and if he's baller-status enough to fly his exotic car out almost 4000 miles to get an oil change, let him be.
07-31-08, 09:44 AM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 7,468
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
lol: "We urge the individual to get their car serviced closer to home."
that's good for you ... you keep urging your little green heart out
leave the wealthy man alone, he doesn't care, and what ever you say wont change what he's doing
that's good for you ... you keep urging your little green heart out
leave the wealthy man alone, he doesn't care, and what ever you say wont change what he's doing
Trending Topics
def. a publicity stunt !
07-31-08, 12:38 PM
#14
Super Moderator
I spent one summer on the island of Margarita, which is a Venezuelan island just off of its coast. I remember that someone on the island had an BMW 850i and for some odd reason somebody botched an oil change job there that caused severe damage to the engine. In that case, the owner, very wealthy, flew in mechanics from Germany to fix the vehicle. Apparently, he couldn't get any from Caracas or Miami (I offered to get a good friend of mine who used to work on my 325i with me). Because Lufthansa flights were regular, it wasn't too hard to get immediate attention, but just the cost involved. But in hindsight, makes better sense than shipping the whole vehicle. Though they did have to order some parts via plane.
07-31-08, 01:21 PM
#15
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MO
Posts: 2,545
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I spent one summer on the island of Margarita, which is a Venezuelan island just off of its coast. I remember that someone on the island had an BMW 850i and for some odd reason somebody botched an oil change job there that caused severe damage to the engine. In that case, the owner, very wealthy, flew in mechanics from Germany to fix the vehicle. Apparently, he couldn't get any from Caracas or Miami (I offered to get a good friend of mine who used to work on my 325i with me). Because Lufthansa flights were regular, it wasn't too hard to get immediate attention, but just the cost involved. But in hindsight, makes better sense than shipping the whole vehicle. Though they did have to order some parts via plane.