A collector of luxury cars is expecting to fetch at least Dh11.5 million for each of his five Bentley limousines that have been put up for sale in Dubai.
The rare and exclusive Mulsanne Grand Limousines by Mulliner have not been used since the unnamed individual bought them from a set of 12 custom made vehicles in 2016.
The cars are on display at the Bentley showroom on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, where the manager is confident they will all be sold by the end of the year.
The Bentleys’ owner bought each car for Dh8.6 million in 2016 and hopes to make a profit of just under Dh3 million on each vehicle.
The owner bought it as an investment as he had the vision they would increase in value over time
Joseph Tayar,
manager of Bentley showroom in Dubai
“The retail valuation of these cars is Dh11.5 million each and they are masterpieces,” said Joseph Tayar, general manager of the Bentley showroom in Dubai.
“The price reflects how unique and exclusive they are.
“I am expecting they will all be sold by the end of the year as we have had interest from both in the UAE and internationally.”
The Bentleys were custom made to order in 2016 by the owner, who has asked to remain anonymous.
Mr Tayar would only say “they are people with taste and are of high profile”.
He said the cars have zero miles on the clock as they have never been driven.
Most cars immediately lose value as soon as they are driven out of the showroom, but that is not the case with the five limousines — which are officially known as Mulsanne Grand Limousine by Mulliner models.
The cars were built by hand in Bentley’s Mulliner division, based in the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England, which specialises in creating in-house bespoke vehicles.
“He bought it as an investment as he had the vision they would increase in value over time,” said Mr Tayar.
If you fancy purchasing one of them you have the choice of five colours — silver frost over Moroccan blue, damson over black crystal, onyx over candy red, rubino red over light gazelle, and black sapphire.
Each car weighs 3 tonnes and is 7 metres long. The interior is designed to accommodate four passengers who sit facing each other, in what Mr Tayar describes as a cabin, while the driver’s section is called the cockpit.
If the passengers want privacy they have the option to change the colour of the glass between them and the driver, from transparent to opaque, and they can then communicate with the driver through an intercom system.
The cabin section also comes with iPad docking and charging stations, bottle coolers with crystal flutes and tumblers, and a drinks cabinet.
Three dials display local time, UK time, and the outside temperature.
The cars come equipped with 6.75-litre twin-turbo V8 engines.
Mr Tayar said the design of the cars was inspired by the aviation industry.
The other seven cars that are part of the set of 12 that was created in 2016 are with private owners across the world, he added.
So who exactly would be in the market for a car like this?
According to Mr Tayar, the buyers are likely to fall into one of two categories.
“We have customers who are looking for a car like this because they want to show their status and wealth and that they have succeeded,” he said.
“Then you have those who are collectors and view the car as a piece of history and want to own something that’s part of a very limited collection.
“People who are looking for this car are not only interested in travelling in style. They want to travel in privacy and comfort as well.”
The world's most Instagrammed cars — in pictures
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
More on Quran memorisation:
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
AS IT STANDS IN POOL A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
if you go
The flights
Air France offer flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Cayenne, connecting in Paris from Dh7,300.
The tour
Cox & Kings (coxandkings.com) has a 14-night Hidden Guianas tour of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It includes accommodation, domestic flights, transfers, a local tour manager and guided sightseeing. Contact for price.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
More coverage from the Future Forum
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Envision%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarthik%20Mahadevan%20and%20Karthik%20Kannan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Netherlands%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%2FAssistive%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204impact%2C%20ABN%20Amro%2C%20Impact%20Ventures%20and%20group%20of%20angels%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
