• THE ‘Home of Rolls-Royce Collection’, a unique set of Ghost and Phantom family models, has debuted at Naghi Motors, the authorized dealer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Saudi Arabia. The collection commemorates 10 years of production at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England. Conceived and designed by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke team, the ‘Home of Rolls-Royce Collection’ celebrates the meticulous design, engineering and craftsmanship employed in the production of every car that leaves Goodwood. Only a very limited production run of these exclusive vehicles will be built to meet the demands of a very discerning clientele, of which Naghi Motors will receive one Rolls-Royce Ghost and one Rolls-Royce Phantom SII. “The ‘Home of Rolls-Royce Collection’ showcases what makes Goodwood a unique center of manufacturing excellence,” said Geoffrey Briscoe, Regional Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
• A FERRARI European theme park near Barcelona, Spain, will open in 2016, to be the second of its kind in the world after Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari has linked with PortAventura Entertainment to build a new “Ferrari Land” amusement park inside PortAventura resort. The existing resort caters to four million visitors per year — 50 percent from outside Spain. The theme park will cover 807,000 square feet, including attractions like Europe’s highest and fastest roller coaster, five-star accommodation, 250 hotel rooms and a driving simulator. The price tag for the project is about $139 million. Ferrari Brand CEO Andrea Perrone was quoted saying that after he success of Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari received many requests to develop new amusement parks and after sifting through proposals the company decided to accept the Spanish idea. Ferrari Land would aim to entertain the whole family not just Formula 1 fans. Ferraris confirmed that it would continue to appraise proposals for theme parks outside Europe.
• BMW Group aims to sell a record two million cars or more this year. CEO Norbert Reithofer said the company forecast further sales volume growth in the current year which will again bring it to a new all-time high. In 2013, BMW’s group sales were 1.96 million, with the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands all registering record deliveries, driven by a 20 percent rise in mainland China and an eight percent rise in the US. In terms of models, sales were boosted by a 23 percent rise in deliveries of the BMW 3-series sedan, stable sales of the Mini and a two percent rise in deliveries of Rolls-Royce luxury cars. Audi, which is the world’s second-biggest luxury automaker by unit sales after BMW, delivered 1.57 million cars last year, while sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars, which also includes the Smart brand, rose to 1.566 million.
• THE NUERBRUGRING, the German race track known as Green Hell for its challenging course, was sold to Dusseldorf-based parts maker Capricorn Group. The transaction values the 379-hectare property at more than 100 million euros ($139 million), including 25 million euros to be spent further developing the site, lawyers managing the insolvency of owner Nuerburgring GmbH said. The site was put up for sale last year after its owners failed to pay loans taken out to build hotels and a rollercoaster. The creditor committee had two offers and in the end decided on the offer with the highest price and good prospects for the region. The Nuerburgring, Germany’s most famous race circuit, was built in 1927 and has hosted at least 30 Formula One races, including a 1976 event where Austrian driver Niki Lauda’s car burned while he was trapped inside.
• AUDI has officially announced Dubai-based celebrity RJ Kris Fade as brand ambassador for the Middle East. Kris Fade will present Audi with various performances for Audi customers and fans. Trevor Hill,managing director of Audi Middle East, said of the announcement: “Kris Fade embodies key attributes of the Audi brand such as sportiness, progressiveness and sophistication, which is evident in his successful radio career. We are proud to announce Kris Fade as a brand ambassador for Audi,” he said. “We look forward to working with Kris over the next year.”
