Exotics of Hong Kong

Ferrari F50

January 8th didn’t start off like any other Sunday. Morgan and I first went to a McLaren Anniversary meet in Tsim Sha Tsui, where we got to see over 40 McLarens on a small ferry pier right next to Ocean Terminal. I have never seen so many McLarens in one place at one time. With all of the cars overlooking the Hong Kong skyline – which, in my opinion, is one of the best skylines in the world – it was a jaw dropping, once in a lifetime experience.

After we spent a few hours running up and down the pier taking photos, the McLarens all left to continue their morning drive in Sai Kung. Since it was only 8:30am and with the whole day ahead of us, my fellow car spotters and I ventured to Big Wave Bay to see what the turnout was like. By the time we arrived, most of the cars that were there before were gone, but we were lucky to see a green Lamborghini Aventador SV and a silver Porsche 991 GT3RS parked next to each other. These two vehicles make the perfect modern supercar combo.

A little while later, we were surprised to see a pristine Chevrolet Corvette C1 appear seemingly out of nowhere (it’s not every day that you get to see one of these on the road, especially one as clean as this). After he parked, the owner very accommodatingly told us a little bit about the car and even let us open the doors and have a look at the interior. Once we were done admiring the Corvette, we decided to get some lunch at one of the restaurants near the beach, but received a message from some other car spotters that there were two Pagani Huayras, a Pagani Zonda F and a Lexus LFA Nurburgring edition at Luk Keng. At that point our hearts sank, but we soon realised that any one of those cars could pass through Wan Chai. We quickly finished eating and jumped in a taxi to Shau Kei Wan so we could get the MTR to Wan Chai. We reached the footbridge on Gloucester Road – a prime car spotting location – in no time and waited in anticipation.

After 30 to 45 minutes of waiting, we began to doubt that we’d see anything. However, over the past year, we have learned to be patient and optimistic. I checked my phone to see if there were any updates and, to my surprise, I received word that a Ferrari F50 was seen driving around Gloucester Road. This was very exciting news as the F50 is rarely seen on the road in Hong Kong due to it being left hand drive. Five minutes passed without us seeing anything… but suddenly, something red appeared in the distance and our adrenaline kicked in. Annoyingly, there was a cement truck right in front of the Ferrari, but it soon got out the way and we were able to capture the magnificent beast in all its glory. The entire moment lasted only about one minute, but it’s a minute that I’ll remember forever. What a way to start 2017.

The Ferrari F50 was first produced in 1995 and is the successor to the legendary Ferrari F40. The engine of the F50 is a 4.7 Litre naturally aspirated V12 engine developed from the 3.5 Litre v12 engine that was used in the Ferrari 641 Formula 1 car. When the F50 came out, it was criticised for being slower than the F40 and was deemed quite ugly (some people beg to differ). From 1995 to 1997, Ferrari produced 349 F50s, only two of which were right hand drive. Interestingly, one of those rare right hand drive models previously belonged to the Sultan of Brunei, but is currently being kept somewhere in Hong Kong by its new owner.

Some of you are probably wondering how this car can be driven here, seeing as it’s left hand drive and has no number plate. As the car’s over 20 years old, the owner was able to secure a “Classic Car Movement Permit”, which allows him to enjoy it on the road instead of having it locked up in a garage like most exotic cars in Hong Kong.

To see more photos, check out the Instagram page Morgan and I share: www.instagram.com/exoticsofhongkong