When the going gets tough ... go faster

By Paul Si and Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 – Do you get the feeling that a revolution is in progress? The kind where heads roll, as one of the headlines on The Malaysian Insider screams out today? Or the kind where you hear someone say “Let them eat cake”. (Apparently, she who was famously said to have said it did not actually say it since she was only 10 at the time it was written down. But that’s another story.)

Amid all the doom and gloom, there’s some cheery news on the automotive front. While the American Big Three are still panhandling in Washington, DC, and can’t-go-wrong Toyota is about to post its first-ever loss, Malaysians will be pleased, I'm sure, to know that Maserati is picking up speed here.

Could we interest you in a Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S? It’s a “sports thoroughbred touted as the “Most Powerful Luxury Car” that was recently unveiled at the North American Auto Show 2009, and is about to go on sale here.

Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S

“This luxurious four-door sports sedan houses a 4.7- litre V8 engine with a power increase to 433 horsepower; a new management software for the gearshift, single rate-dampers for the front and rear suspension, the springs are stiffer and it has a lower ride height, and a new sports exhaust that creates a captivating, deep and throaty sound.” That’s what the release says.

“Styling cues include a new black grille with a Trident logo, metallic titanium finish headlights, new side and rear ‘shadow line’; with black finishing around the doors, body-coloured door handles and black twin oval exhaust pipes, new M-design seats with perforated Alcantara and leather upholstery, and ‘titanium coloured’ composite material trim.”

“It is truly a car that carries the statement of individuality and subtly hints to the world that one has indeed arrived!”

How much? If you need to ask … Okay then, I’ll take two.

Meanwhile, Lamborghini is reported to be “looking to expand its dealer network, especially in China and Latin America, even as the global economy continues to sputter”.

In an interview at the North American International Auto Show, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann did concede that the super-luxury car maker is feeling the fallout from the credit crisis and the economic slowdown.

“We are not unaffected by the global crisis,” Winkelmann was quoted as saying. (And we are not unimpressed.)

How about a Lamborghini LP 560-4 for just over RM2 mill?

Lamborghini, whose cheapest Gallardo model starts at around RM2 million here, has seen cancellation of some orders for its hand-made vehicles.

If you can't quite scrape together the RM2 million plus change for a Gallardo LP 560-4 any time soon, try looking for some Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.shares.

While nearly all other automakers have seen their sales accelerate downhill, Lamborghini, posted a record 2008 global sales figure. Around the world, the Italian exotic builder sold 2,430 cars in 2008, up from 2,406 the year before.

While “the order banks are shorter,” Winkelmann said, Lamborghini plans to add 10 more dealerships this year to cater to its patrons in emerging markets, such as China, after expanding its network by 15 dealers in 2008.

Winkelmann said the company would continue to launch a new model every year despite the downturn in the auto industry.

The company, part of Volkswagen AG’s Audi group, had to close its sole factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, for eight extra days because of the weakness in the auto industry.

Also, just for the billionaires who are now millionaires, BMW Malaysia is launching the all-new, all-singing, all-dancing 7 Series today.

The fifth generation 7 replaces the previous eight-year-old model, which had boosted the German automaker's in the Malaysian premium saloon market by 253 per cent over sales of its predecessor.

The 5th generation 7 Series.

Despite a sharp increase in price from the outgoing models, BMW Malaysia managing director Geoffrey Briscoe believes that customers will pay for this car even if they have to hold off their purchase initially.

“It represents the top 3-4 per cent of our sales. Those who buy this car may hold off for awhile but they are still there and will pay for this car, not because they need this car, but because they want it,” he said.

The model is available in two variants, the 740Li and 750Li, both long-wheelbase models, which increase wheelbase by 140mm.

The 740Li, equipped with BMW's most powerful six-cylinder engine, developing 326hp, retails at RM848,800 before insurance. The 750Li, claimed to possess the world's most efficient V8 petrol engine, generating 407hp, goes for RM1,138,800.

These represent a sharp increase over the outgonig models, which sold for RM748,000 and RM948,000 respectively.

But, even at the new prices and in these interesting times, a millionaire can eat his cake, and still have it.