Mobil Super Mewah Warga Tajir Arab Padati London
Super Cars Taking Over the Streets in Wealthy Parts of London
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
WISATAWAN dan penggemar otomotif berbondong-bondong mendatangi salah satu kawasan elit di London untuk melihat lebih dekat sejumlah mobil super mewah di dunia.
Sejumlah mobil super mewah tampak berjajar di kota wisata Cannes, di Perancis selatan, belum lama ini - kini puluhan mobil sejenis memadati kawasan Knightsbridge dan Kensington.
Sebagian besar mobil super mewah tersebut dimiliki kalangan super tajir Arab dan playboy kaya, sebagian mereka berasal dari Dubai dan Kuwait, yang mengangkut mobil mahal mereka ke London barat untuk menikmati liburan musim panas, seperti dilansir MailOnline.
Mobil - yang tampil sebagai magnet bagi wisatawan yang penasaran dan penggemar otomotif - versi terbaru dari produsen mobil terkenal seperti Ferrari, Lamborghini dan Bentley.
Pemiliknya, sebagian besar datang dari Qatar, Arab Saudi, Uni Emirat Arab dan Kuwait, dengan senang hati meninggalkan mobil mewah mereka diparkir di jalanan di Inggris, karena mereka ingin menghindari suhu panas menyengat di kawasan Timur Tengah.
Tapi meningkatnya jumlah mobil sport di distrik Knightsbridge memicu kekhawatiran sebagian warga setempat terhadap pelanggaran aturan lalu lintas dan kecelakaan.
Warga di pemukiman elit Knightsbridge mengeluhkan ulah para pemilik mobil mewah yang berperilaku anti-sosial karena tajir, dan memperlakukannya sebagai arena balap liar.
Panda Morgan-Thomas, seorang konsultan manajemen, mengeluh: "Saya tidak marah. Saya hanya kelelahan. Setelah relatif tenang selama tiga tahun tapi beberapa hari terakhir kembali ribut dengan kembalinya supercar ke Knightsbridge."
"Mereka balapan liar di Sloane Street dari sore hari sampai dini hari. Kami benar-benar berpikir kami telah membuat kemajuan tetapi tampaknya penduduk lokal harus terganggu."
Sebagian besar turis tajir, terutama datang dari Arab Saudi dan Qatar, tiba di London setelah akhir Ramadhan.
TOURISTS and car enthusiasts have been flocking to one of London's wealthiest districts to catch a closer glimpse of some of the world's most extravagant super cars.
A fleet of luxury cars were spotted jamming the street of Cannes, in southern France, recently - now dozens more have descended on Knightsbridge and Kensington.
Many of the impressive vehicles are owned by mega-rich Arabs and wealthy playboys, from the likes of Dubai and Kuwait, who have their expensive cars delivered to west London where many spend their summer holidays.
The vehicles - which act as a magnet for curious tourists and car enthusiasts - are tailor-made versions of famous models from car manufacturers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bentley.
The owners, many of whom arey Qataris, Saudis, Emiratis and Kuwaitis, happily leave their luxury cars parked up on the side of the road, as they move to Britain to escape the Middle East's baking mid-summer months.
But the growing number of sports cars around the wealthy Knightsbridge district is causing some local residents to worry about breaches of parking rules and potential dangerous driving.
Residents in affluent Knightsbridge have complained some drivers are allegedley behaving in an anti-social manner, revving the cars and treating the exclusive area as their personal racetrack.
Panda Morgan-Thomas, a management consultant, said: 'I am not angry. I am just exhausted. After a relatively calm three years the last few days have seen the return of supercars to Knightsbridge.
'They are again racing down Sloane Street from late afternoons until 3 or 4 in the morning. We honestly thought we had made progress but it seems as though local residents are in for another sleepless August.'
Most of the wealthy holidaymakers, predominantly from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, arrived in London around a week ago following the end of Ramadan.
