Blow the lockdown cobwebs away with a self-drive supercar holiday

Bored with lockdown? Don't want to fly? Why not go on a Grand Tour of Europe at the wheel of a supercar instead?

Fast cars on a mountain road
(Image credit: © Ultimate Driving Tours)

Successive lockdowns have left a swathe of shattered holiday plans and disappointment in their wake. Not surprisingly, frustrated well-heeled travellers, who have had to swap the airport lounge for their own lounges at home, have sought an alternative outlet for their wealth. That’s been a boon for dealers of second-hand supercars.

“We saw a significant increase in the sale of used cars in the region of not more than £150,000,” Ken Choo, chief executive of HR Owen, Britain’s biggest dealer of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bentleys, tells the Financial Times. “People said ‘I cannot travel to the Bahamas, so I will buy a used Ferrari or Lambo instead’.” Arguably, the trend was already under way before the pandemic arrived. In the year to the end of 2019, the number of supercars in Britain rose by 12% on the previous year, to 15,700, according to a new study by accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.