Entrepreneur makes world’s biggest Rolls-Royce order

WHAT makes a hotel truly stand out? A Rolls-Royce in the driveway? Or perhaps one for each day of the month? The owner of a Macau luxury hotel has ordered a fleet of 30 Rolls-Royce Phantoms in what will become the biggest single order for the luxury car maker in its 110-year history.

Rolls-Royce isn’t saying how much the deal is worth, but the list price of the long-wheelbase Phantom saloon in Australia is a minimum $990,000 plus on-road costs per vehicle. Try making this deal in Australia, though, and you’re easily looking at forking out more than $30 million for off-the-rack plebeian versions.

In contrast, the fleet of Macau Phantoms will be highly customised, including bespoke clocks crafted by the watchmaking arm of London-based Graff Diamonds, pushing their cost up even further to make two of the batch the most expensive Phantoms ever commissioned, according to the British-bred uberluxury marque.

The binge order, placed by Chinese entrepreneur Stephen Hung, will be used to ferry well-heeled clients to and from his Louis XIII hotel, which opens on Macau’s Cotai Strip in 2016. It’s further proof of the lure of iconic European brands in Asia, with the Goodwood-based car maker also helping design the driveways of the hotel to accommodate its flagship sedans.

While being honoured to be part of Rolls’ biggest ever pay-day, chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said Mr Hung’s commission “reaffirms Phantom’s pinnacle position as the motor car of choice for those seeking to experience the finest luxury the world has to offer”. It should also help the BMW-owned maker’s bottom line immensely so that it’s rollin’ in it (cough)…