Supercars steal the spotlight at premium show

The 3rd Supercar & Import car Show 2012, which
opened on Saturday and goes on until May 20 at the
Impact Exhibition & Convention Centre, showcases more
than 250 models and accessories from the leading car
importers.
Wachira Jirasakdanon, managing director of Union Pan
Exhibitions, the organiser of the show, said that the event
is expected to gain more visitors and sales, thanks to a
larger number of exhibitors and vehicles.
The company expanded the exhibition space from
7,000 sqm last year to 10,000 sqm, attracting more than
more than 20 authorised dealers of imported top-end cars
and motorbikes.
Visitors have a chance to inspect more than 250 cars
and accessories from luxury brands that include superbikes
from Triump, Ducati and KTM. With the continued
growth in sales of supercars and imported luxury cars in
Thailand, Union Pan plans to expand the exhibition space
to reach 50,000 sqm in the next five years.
Wachira estimated that the show would welcome
150,000 visitors and generate more than Bt1.5 billion in
sales.
The highlights of the show include the Ferrari 458
Spider, Lamborghini Aventador and LP 570 Limited
Edition, the new Bt75 million Pagani Huayra, as well as
Maserati’s first SUV. Aston Martin and Jaguar are also
present.
Chettha Songthaveepol, president of Penta Media, the
publisher of Evo Magazine, said that this year more than
10 luxury auto clubs were invited to partipate in the event
such as Lamborghini Club Thailand, Mercedes-Benz Club
Thailand, BMW Society, New Mini Society, Porsche Club
Thailand, Cavallino Club Thailand, Maserati Club Thailand,
Ducati Club and Triump Club. They would all gather to
exchange ideas and enjoy various activities together.
In addition, a Miss Supercar Contest has been created
for the first time, allowing visitors to vote for their favourite
brand.
“The event is also aimed at showing luxury carmakers
that Thailand has a high growth potential in supercars and
premium cars. As a result, this will attract more investment,”
said Chettha.
Chettha added that the supercar market has grown
200-300 per cent in recent years. The market was expected
to continue the buoyant growth this year due to the
launch of new, innovative vehicles, many of which are
available in Thailand.
Top Most Auto Imported Co Ltd president Yuttapong
Sereedeeloet said that his company is exhibiting more
than 40 latest models at the show, including the MP4-12C,
Lamborghini Aventador LP700 – with the top model priced
at Bt35.7 million – Porsche cars, the BMW M5, which
made its debut in Thailand, and the Toyota GT86.
Top Most aims to attract buyers with the interest rates
from 1 per cent plus cash discounts, premiums, and 5-year
service warantee packages. Top Most expects to receive
bookings for 30-40 cars at the show.
Yuttapong said the company invested about Bt500 million
to establish a modern showroom on Rama 2, of which
Bt50-80 million would be spent on maintenance sevices.
Top Most estimates that it will sell 120-150 cars this year,
mainly Porsche models, contributing to 60 per cent of
total sales.
AT A GLANCE
The new Ferrari 458 Spider is the world’s first mid-rangeengined
Berlinetta equipped with a retractable hard top.
The 458 Spider is powered by Ferrari’s naturally aspirated,
direct-injection 4.5-litre V8.
Made entirely of aluminium, the hard top adopted for
the 458 Spider offers a number of advantages over the traditional
soft top, including a weight reduction of 25kg and
a deployment time of just 14 seconds.
The 458 Spider offers maximum torque of 540 Nm
(398 lbs/ft) at 6,000 rpm, while maximum speed is 320
km/h. The vehicle has a fuel consumption of 11.8 litres per
100 km. Price is approximately Bt27 million.
The Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 is redefining the
very pinnacle of the world’s super sports car market – brutal
power, outstanding lightweight engineering and phenomenal
handling precision are combined with peerless
design and the very finest equipment to deliver an unparalleled
driving experience. With the Aventador,
Lamborghini is taking a big step into the future.
The vehicle has the new twelve-cylinder, 6.5-liter displacement
engine delivering 515 kW/700hp. It can accelerate
0-100 km/h in a fantastic 2.9 seconds and has a top
speed of 350 km/h. Prices start from Bt36.5 million.
The Porsche Panamera S Hybrid marks the beginning of a
new chapter of Porsche Intelligent Performance, continuing
the success story of the four-door Gran Turismo. Not
only is the new model the most economical Porsche of all
time, it also outperforms all full-hybrid production cars of
its class in terms of consumption and CO2 emissions.
The new model offers a 3-litre V6 compressor engine
and a synchronous electric motor with a 380hp (279 kW)
system, plus the eight-speed Tiptronic S. It can acceleration
from 0–100 km/h in 6 seconds and has a top speed
270 km/h. Maximum torque of up to 300Nm is available
constantly at speeds below 1,150 rpm. The car is priced at
Bt8.2 million.
The Aston Martin Rapide, an elegant four-door sports car,
features a 6-litre V12 engine, which is mated to a smoothly
responsive, paddle-shift ‘Touchtronic 2’ automatic transmission.
The Rapide delivers maximum power of 350kW
(477PS/470bhp) at 6,000 rpm, maximum torque of
600Nm (443lb/ft) at 5,000 rpm and a maximum speed of
295 km/h. It offers 0-100 km/h acceleration in 5.2 seconds.
Prices start from Bt15 million.
The McLaren MP4-12C provides a 3.8-litre V8 twin turbo
engine mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automated
manual transmission. The vehicle delivers a maximum
speed to 7,500 rpm and acceleration of 0-100 km/h in 3
seconds. Fuel consumption is 8.5 km/litre. It is priced at
Bt22.5 million.