Money No Object For Streetcar One Desires

The Jakarta Globe, Dian Ariffahmi, February 6, 2009
 

A model poses beside a $568,000 Italian-made Lamborghini Gallardo during the opening of Lamborghini’s first outlet in Indonesia on Friday. (Photo: Jurnasyanto Sukarno, JG)
 

Where would you find a person who would splash out on a super-expensive luxury car in the middle of a world recession, perhaps by buying a Lamborghini with a maximum speed above 300 kilometers per hour, in an often-flooded, traffic-clogged megacity? Here, it seems. And someone is buying. 

The CEO of the Italian dream car’s local office, who on Friday officially opened the first showroom in Indonesia for the top-end sports car, seemed slightly embarrassed about the whole idea. 

“We are fully aware that this is not the right moment to open such a luxury vehicle showroom, amid the global downturn and the weakening of consumer purchasing power, but we have been preparing this for two years,” Lamborghini Indonesia chief operating officer Endy Kusumo said on Friday. 

He also said that the company believed that the Indonesian market was better off than the mar kets in Europe or North America. 

“There are some people [buying], although I cannot mention how many, their names or what kind of model they want,” he said of what must be an very elite line forming to purchase a “Lambo.” 

“A car like the Lamborghini has loyal fans, and that means its sales won’t be affected by the current global downturn,” Endy said. 

With an investment of around $1 million here, Lamborghini has set itself “a realistic target” to sell 12 units this year, he said. 

At the launch, Lamborghini introduced two of its six models — the 10-cylinder Gallardo LP560-4, which carries a price tag of $568,000, and the 12-cylinder Murcielago LP640, the car featured in the “Dark Knight” movie, which sells for $798,000. 

The Gallardo has a top speed of 325 kph and can reach 100 kph in just 3.7 seconds. The Murcielago tops out at 340 kph. 

But you can’t just pop in and drive one away. Lamborghini does not have cars in stock, and interested buyers must place an order and then wait about three months for delivery, Endy said. 

Endy noted that Indonesia already has 12 Lamborghini owners, but he did not give up any names. Owners, however, are believed to include a famous lawyer who already has a Ferrari in his garage, a wealthy patron of the arts and — not surprisingly — some rich businessmen. 

If you are in the market, the new showroom is on Jalan TB Simatupang in South Jakarta, near the showrooms for Ferrari and Porsche.

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