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They call it the super car club. Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis driven by China's super wealthy.
"Well, let's just say, my father is very rich. That's all I can tell you." The son of an iron & steel magnate and a self-made media tycoon are among the princes and princesses of China’s industrial kings.
"Most girls drive automatic" this woman says, "but I think manual is more interesting."
"So cars are their toys and this is where China’s millionaires come out to play on this race track. They can go up to 160 kilometers per hour."
They’re part of a growing class of young elites writing the miracle of China’s economic growth. China now has more known billionaires than any country besides the United States. The average age is dropping and their tastes becoming more refined. China is now the second largest market for luxury goods in the world. This one of a kind Ferrari sold for 1.8-million dollars at auction in Beijing. It was painted in Song dynasty style porcelain to woo a Chinese buyer.
"This is a young market. Average age of Ferrari customer world wide is 45, 50 years old. In China, it's 34 years old."
Other luxury car brands are revving up in China too, thanks in part to government stimulus. Sales of BMWs, Audis and Mercedes are all way up. Including China's hefty luxury and import taxes, these cars cost up to three times what they would in other countries.
"What they're doing is they're displaying their wealth, they’re displaying their social level within society, but also they want to just have fun and they believe they've earned it."
"All right, now, it's our turn. Needless to say this is my first time in a Lamborghini, let alone an orange Lamborghini. Here we go."
"When people see us in these cars, they think we’re cool." says this man, "When I am driving, I feel cool."
Showing off? Maybe. Shifting into high gear? Definitely. For better or for worse, this is life in China’s fast lane.
Emily Chang, cnn, Beijing.
Vocabulary:
1. rev up: if you rev up a system or organization, or if it revs up, it becomes more active