My other car's a FUR-rari: The annual parade of supercars covered in velvet, chrome and even china flown over to London by mega-rich Arabs is more vulgar than ever

• 'Ramadan Rush' sees a flurry of Middle Easter owners flaunt their wealth
• Park Lane and Knightsbridge set to be clogged with Lamborghinis and Bugattis this weekend
• Bugatti Veyron estimated to be worth ?1.6m and has a top speed of 250mph

By Guy Adams

PUBLISHED: 16:01 EST, 5 July 2013 | UPDATED: 03:00 EST, 6 July 2013

A Ferrari 599 sits outside a designer clothes store near Sloane Square in London. These powerful supercars, which go from zero to 60mph in 3.7 seconds and can reach 205mph, are designed to turn heads.

But this one is a real attention-seeker: its bodywork has been wrapped in black velvet.
Perhaps you could call it a Furrari.

As a statement of untrammelled wealth, this motor takes some beating. Normal 599s start at ?212,000, but customised versions cost hundreds of thousands more. And when that black velvet gets spattered with dirt or mud, you can?t take it to a car-wash. Instead, every inch needs to be shampooed and hand-brushed by a team of flunkies.

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Ramadan racer: This Ferrari is bound to grab attention with its velvet-covered roof

Touchy-feely: Passers-by in a posh part of London were stunned when they saw a 205mph Ferrari which had been wrapped in velvet

But for the Middle Eastern owner seen helping his leggy girlfriend and her luxury shopping bags into the passenger seat this week, the motor, with its customised vehicular dinner jacket, is exactly what he needs to keep up with the Joneses.??

In recent years, around the time of Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, and the Lord?s Test, the streets of Central London have played host to an extremely modern addition to the time-honoured calendar of the summer social season. To those in the know, it?s called the ?Ramadan Rush?.

In the weeks before and after the Muslim holy month of fasting, which this year begins on Tuesday, thousands of young and spectacularly wealthy residents of oil-rich Gulf states flock to our capital, seeking an escape from the oppressive heat and (whisper it quietly) conservative laws and social customs of their home countries.

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And unlike other holidaymakers, they don?t turn up with a couple of suitcases and a carrier bag full of duty free. Instead, the glamorous ?Gulfies? charter entire cargo jets to fly over their collection of customised supercars.

Costly: A ?1 million Qatari registered Pagani Huayra and an orange Lamborghini

Shimmering: A ?2 million Bugatti Veron car that has been flown over to London by rich Arabs who spend June in London shopping ahead of Ramadan

Speedster: A ?1 million Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport

This weekend the streets around the luxury hotels of Park Lane and the posh shops of Knightsbridge will be clogged with bespoke Lamborghinis, Bugattis, and McLarens, along with rarer brands of high-octane sports cars with names such as Koenigsegg, Pagani and Saleen.

You can spot the Ramadan Rushers from their overseas number-plates, often in Arabic. Most come from Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and are in the UK for just a few weeks at a time (any foreign vehicle in Britain for longer than six months must be registered with the DVLA in Swansea, and carry British plates).

Their arrival draws supercar enthusiasts from across Britain and Europe, along with a tribe of photographers and videographers known as the ?Carparrazzi?, who run websites carrying footage of the most outrageously-designed vehicles.

Among the extraordinary cars catching the Carparrazzi?s eyes this year has been a customised blue-and-white Bugatti Veyron from Saudi Arabia worth an estimated ?1.6?million and known by the nickname L?Or Blanc, or White Gold.

The ostentatious 250mph vehicle, which was also in London last year, has bodywork inlaid with delicate, highly polished white porcelain.

Watch for the ticket! A Dubai registered Bugatti Veyron, the fastest and most expensive production car in the world

Another world: A ?1.6 million Saudi-registered Bugatti Veyron L'or Blanc

Take your pick: Two Qatar-registered Hamann-tuned BMWs with a Lamborghini Aventador sandwiched in the middle

Also making waves is a Pagani Huarya which is believed to be owned by a twentysomething member of Qatar?s ruling Al-Thani family. The vehicle, which retails for ?880,000, is one of a small fleet imported this year by the Al-Thanis, whose affection for London appears to be un-dented by a headline-making incident three years ago when their turquoise Lamborghini and a Koenigsegg were clamped outside Harrods.

Yet the Arab invasion isn?t good news for everyone. As the Ramadan Rush has grown in popularity, so too have tensions between the Rushers and locals. The problem is noise. Specifically the sheer volume of the roar that visiting supercars make on quiet backstreets ? day and night.

?Even when they are stationary, revving their engines, we get woken up,? complained Panda Morgan-Thomas, the chairman of the Knightsbridge Residents Association, when we spoke yesterday. ?Last night I was woken at 3am. I get inundated with complaints from neighbours at this time of year. It?s difficult to live a normal life when you are deprived of sleep for weeks on end.?

Residents are also concerned by the allegedly dangerous manner in which many ?Gulfies? drive. YouTube contains clips of, among other things, a Lamborghini Aventador performing a full-throttle ?power slide? at speeds of around 80mph, around the corner of a leafy Belgravia street last year.

In 2010, another car, also a Lamborghini, wrecked four parked cars in Lowdnes Square, Knightsbridge, after spinning out of control. Its driver and passenger, both from Abu Dhabi, were arrested.

?At some point,? adds Morgan-Thomas, ?someone is going to get seriously hurt.?

Hey big spender: A ?500,000 Qatari-registered Mercedes McLaren SLR 'Mansory Renovation'

Colourful: A Lamborghini Aventador, which was seized on Wilton Place in Knightsbridge by police for being driven illegally without insurance

Concern over noise and dangerous driving by Arab visitors inspired the Channel 4 documentary Millionaire Boy Racers earlier this year. It raised an interesting conundrum: for while Gulfies provoke criticism, they are increasingly important to London?s economy.

During the Ramadan Rush, roughly 80 per cent of guests at London?s top hotels are from Arab states. They are crucial to the restaurant and nightclub trade, and make a huge contribution to the bottom line of high-end retailers. Figures from the tax-free shopping firm Global Blue suggest they spend an? average of ?1,000 per transaction, more than visitors from any other region.

Yet no one, however wealthy, is above the law. In response to complaints, the Metropolitan Police tells me that officers are instructed to ensure overseas vehicles are insured and carry legal number plates.

The policy made the news on Tuesday when a purple Aventador from Qatar ? which boasted glow-in-the-dark orange stripes inspired by the film Tron ? was seized in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, after it was being driven illegally without insurance.

It spent 24 hours outside New Scotland Yard, before being returned to its owner, who had presumably paid a hefty fine. By Thursday night, the vehicle was parked outside a bar in Mayfair.

This time, it got a ?120 parking ticket. But to its lucky owner, that?s small change.

Green with envy? A Qatari-registered ?350,000 Lamborghini Aventador

Costly: A ?250,000 Kuwaiti-registered Rolls-Royce Ghost gets towed away after not having the correct documentation

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