More affluent women splurging on high-end performance cars

More affluent women splurging on high-end performance cars
By Valarie Tan | Posted: 28 August 2011 0401 hrs
 
SINGAPORE: Forget designer shoes and handbags. More affluent women in the Asia Pacific region are splurging instead on high-end performance cars.

The world of hot wheels is no longer just for the men.

Meet business consultant Nguyen Tuyet, who drives a Porsche 911-GT3, a street legal race car.

She has even beaten men with her super fast timings on the Formula One Spa Track in Belgium.

Nguyen said: "I was always interested in driving fast. I would prefer to go for a driver training or go for a tracking in Europe than buy a handbag."

She also disclosed how fast a motorist can easily chalks up.

Nguyen said: "On a straight (road), you can reach 300. That's the thing about women. We don't check the absolute speed. We drive and we just want it to be smooth."

Rich women buying luxury fast cars is the latest trend throughout the Asia Pacific, especially China, where women make up one-third of Maserati sales.

And two in 10 Ferrari buyers are female.

In Singapore, women bought nearly 30 percent of the 300 Porsches sold in the first half of 2011.

Christer Ekberg, Managing Director of Porsche Asia Pacific, said: "Female drivers appreciate different things. We do a lot of collaborations and joint venture activities with other companies that cater to female customers.

"We even have customers who want their car, the interior leather of the car, in the same colour as their favourite lipstick or their favourite handbag."

Porsche expects the female market share to grow to 40 percent in the next 10 years.

- CNA/de

- wong chee tat :)