A rich Arab sent his Lamborghini Murcielago on a 6,500-mile round trip to London 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.” 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.
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