London police seized more than £8 million worth of luxury vehicles last weekend, including a £3.7 million Ferrari, as part of a crackdown on reckless driving during the capital's annual "supercar season."
In just two days, between August 7 and August 9, officers detained 90 luxury vehicles across Hyde Park, Kensington and Chelsea. The seizures came after videos emerged showing sports cars revving their engines and speeding through some of London's most exclusive streets.
Each summer, wealthy owners, many of them from the Middle East, bring their supercars to affluent London neighbourhoods such as Mayfair and Knightsbridge to escape the heat back home. Many pay tens of thousands of pounds to import their cars to Britain for a few months at a time.
Videos show reckless driving
Footage circulating online shows a Porsche GT3RS with a foreign number plate stopping in the middle of the road before burning out and speeding off on a narrow central London street, leaving skid marks as the car struggled for grip. Another video shows a similar black Porsche drifting into a main road at high speed as pedestrians walked nearby.
In one clip, the driver of a blue Lamborghini recorded himself repeatedly revving his engine alongside several other supercars on a street in Knightsbridge. Another video shows a Lamborghini driving past a busy Green Park station on Piccadilly, revving its engine loudly enough to cause it to "pop." The vehicles in these particular videos have not been accused of driving without insurance and are unrelated to the weekend police seizures.
Police describe seasonal influx
Special Chief Inspector Geoff Tatman told Sky News that this time of year brings an influx of foreign-registered vehicles from countries where the weather is too hot. He said owners typically come to London for a month or two at a time and bring their supercars with them.
Tatman said that while police welcome the visitors, some cause issues through their driving, including revving engines, speeding and the popping of exhausts, creating a nuisance for people trying to enjoy central London. He said he had seen the driver of an orange sports car intentionally slow down until traffic cleared so he could rev his engine and accelerate quickly, and that the car was seized.
Owners flock from the Gulf
The arrival of the luxury cars has become a regular event in recent years, with wealthy Kuwaitis, Saudis and Emiratis competing to out-do each other with modified vehicles. They are often seen waiting in gridlocked traffic in popular parts of central London or parked outside designer shops and luxury boutiques, including Harrods.
It is thought that owners pay more than £20,000 to fly their vehicles roughly 3,000 miles to London. Qatar Airways is one of the operators that facilitates the transport, with airport staff securing the vehicles to the floor of the aircraft before flight.
In areas such as Kensington, owners have been accused of flouting parking rules by leaving their cars in the road without paying. Local councils have previously sent traffic wardens and tow trucks to tackle supercars left in disabled bays or on yellow lines. Owners, many believed to be from the Middle East, are thought to be largely unbothered by parking fines of £110 to £160 in Kensington, having already spent large sums importing their vehicles into the UK.
Councils secure High Court injunction
Westminster City Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have secured a High Court injunction, granted at the end of July, to clamp down on car meets and antisocial driving. The injunction bans revving engines and excessive acceleration, among other driving offences, and rule breakers can face arrest.
Westminster said it had issued 419 notices against nuisance car behaviour in the last year. The council also said it has installed four "acoustic" cameras that automatically detect popping and revving engines and issue fines. The cameras, installed in 2021, are triggered when they detect noise events above 90 decibels and can distinguish an engine's sound from a typical car horn by monitoring sound patterns.
Councillor Caroline Sargent, deputy leader of Westminster, said people who think it is acceptable to drive dangerously in Westminster are not welcome there. She said the noise and disruption caused by "these boy racers" is often worse during the summer months and puts people at risk while causing significant nuisance for residents and businesses.
Sargent said the council welcomes the Met Police's latest round of enforcement and its continued partnership in deterring antisocial driving, as well as the recent High Court injunction, which she said underlines the council's zero-tolerance approach to the behaviour. She warned that drivers who break the rules risk losing their licence "or worse."
Weekend operation targeted uninsured drivers
Last weekend's operation involved 120 officers and targeted uninsured drivers as well as antisocial and dangerous driving. It is believed the operation was sparked by a large number of vehicles gathering near Hyde Park. Some motorists are thought to have shipped their vehicles into Britain without valid insurance.
A Ferrari Monza SP2, one of only 499 ever made and worth £3.7 million, was seized and driven off by a police officer wearing sunglasses. The car's owner was only carrying a provisional driving licence and had been in the vehicle for one hour before officers stopped it. Other supercars seized between Friday and Sunday included a Lamborghini Revuelto, a Rolls-Royce Wraith and a Porsche 911 GT3.
Tatman, who led the operation, said police regularly hear from local people who are fed up with cars being driven dangerously in the area, or with modifications that make them a nuisance to nearby residents. He said operations like this allow police to arrest drivers and seize their cars to keep roads safe and send a clear message that reckless and dangerous behaviour will not be tolerated.
Past incidents involving supercar owners
Wealthy Arab visitors have previously been accused of ignoring road rules while driving in London. In 2015, a man caused £2,300 worth of damage after keying the wing of a supercar roaring through his neighbourhood.
Police officers had been attempting to stop the cars, but the man, identified as MacGowan, said the drivers were taking no notice, so he stood in the middle of the street. He then used his keys to make a 35cm scratch along the bodywork of a 4-litre V8 Mercedes C63 AMG belonging to Sukh Singh after Singh stopped his vehicle in the street.
