The City of Westminster has been named the ‘supercar capital of the UK’ following a recent Freedom of Information request. The London borough, which has a population of around 250,000, is home to 532 supercars.
This is according to a Guardian investigation that shows wealthy people are buying more supercars than ever before. Almost 16,000 supercars were registered in 2019, according to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) figures. That’s up from 14,000 in 2018.
For context, the 2019 figure is roughly the same as the 2020 sales figures of Jeep (4,639 registrations), Mitsubishi (9,076), Smart (1,377), SsangYong (1,488) and Subaru (951) combined. It’s only 3,000 fewer than Dacia (18,918).
The underground car park at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge is said to hold the highest concentration of supercars in the world.
‘The supercars of choice’
David Kendrick, a partner at UHY Hacker Young told the Guardian: “Despite all of the economic uncertainty around Brexit, UK celebrities, sports stars and business executives continue to snap up the latest supercars, leading to many manufacturers having lengthy waiting lists.
“Out of all of the brands, Ferrari is still the biggest selling, but Lamborghinis and McLarens are quickly becoming the supercars of choice. While Westminster maintains its supercar hotspot crown, we’re likely to see a bigger concentration of supercars outside of London as the wealthy seek more space as working from home becomes the new norm.”
Last year, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea installed noise cameras after receiving complaints that local roads were a ‘magnet for Lamborghinis and Ferraris’. The cameras, which have a 74 decibel (dB) noise threshold, were activated more than 130 times in the first 11 days.
One supercar was measured at 104dB – the equivalent of a helicopter flying overhead.
Johnny Thalassites, Kensington’s lead member for transport, “Residents have had enough of drivers using our streets as a racetrack. Supercars look good and most drivers are considerate. But when they’re not, it is disruptive and irritating for people living and working in the area.”
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