Indian supercars are shelved because of road congestion 3
In 2014, Parveen Agarwal – the owner of an Indian real estate company – bought an orange Lamborghini Gallardo supercar with a 550 horsepower engine, high-performance brakes and an electronic rear spoiler.
`These vehicles must be driven on open roads, and the roads in Kolkata are a disaster,` Mr. Agarwal said.
Kolkata is a poor city in eastern India.
Crowded scene in Kolkata during rush hour.
So he and some friends created a supercar club.
A recent meeting of the club brought together about 10 drivers with luxury cars such as a black and blue Aston Martin Virage, a white Ferrari 458 Spider or a convertible Bentley Continental GT.
In the supercar club in Kolkata, the youngest person is Devansh Modi (13 years old).
`Speed is what I’m most passionate about. Sitting in the back seat means I don’t have to look at the road or pay attention to traffic. I just relax and enjoy the trip,` Devansh said.
Meanwhile, Rishi Raj Lohia, the 26-year-old owner of a new real estate company, was circling the slow trucks in his Jaguar V6s.
Parveen Agarwal’s Lamborghini.
India has 97 billionaires and is the country with the third most billionaires in the world after the US and China, according to Hurun’s report on the global super-rich.
However, analysts in the auto sector estimate that India only consumes about 100 – 125 supercars (worth over 200,000 USD with engines over 400 horsepower) each year, partly because of the poor road system.
Some other factors that also affect supercar consumption in India are import taxes of up to 140%, concerns around after-sales service, difficulties in finding replacement parts or safety issues.
Paritosh Gupta – founder of CannonBall club in New Delhi, said that some members buy super cars but can only show them off if their house holds big parties.
Kabir Talwar (36 years old) had to leave his yellow Lamborghini Gallardo 560 at a dealership in New Delhi.
Similarly, Arijit Saha said the surrounding roads are quite narrow and have many potholes, so he cannot park his red Jaguar XFR worth $75,000 at home.
Mr. Saha and some members of the club in Kolkata plan to bring their supercar to a race in February 2016, with the venue being an airstrip in the southwest of the city.
In November 2015, Ferrari opened a car showroom right next to a road full of potholes in Delhi.
He said people can now drive luxury Ferrari cars even during traffic jams, on roads with many potholes and under India’s harsh weather conditions.
As for Agarwal, he thinks that maybe we have to wait until little Devansh is old and in a wheelchair before the roads in Kolkata will get better.
Kim Dung (according to WSJ)
