The September sights and sounds of Knightsbridge are fast becoming a home away from home for millionaire Arab playboys.
In scenes formerly reserved for luxurious Dubai, top of the range supercars adorn the streets of the London district as foreign playboys descend to flaunt their wealth.
Owners fly their expensive and often highly customised vehicles over to the UK for a holiday, costing upwards of quarter of a million pounds.
Rich owners will happily pay a small fortune – in excess of £20,000 for a return journey – for their metal marvels to be flown around 3,000 miles, and often leave them parked in some of the capital’s most desirable spots.
But less-than-impressed neighbours have complained about excessive noise and poor parking by some drivers.
It led to the council imposing Public Spaces Protection Orders in Knightsbridge — which deal with ‘excessive level of noise nuisance, annoyance, danger or risk of harm or injury’.
And boy racers can be fined up to £1,000 for leaving their engines running while parked if they are causing a disturbance.
But the prospect of a fixed penalty notice and fine has failed to put off some wealthy drivers from flouting the law, with many still parking their pricey motors on double yellow and red lines.
MailOnline has contacted Kensington and Chelsea Council for comment.
A Lamborghini Aventador in Matte Black Avery Supreme Vinyl with a slightly revised ‘Tron’ orange trim is parked illegally across double red lines on a street in Knightsbridge, London
A sky-blue Lamborghini is parked in the London district last night. The supercar’s recommended retail price is upwards of £271,146
A top of the line Dodge Challenger parked in Knightsbridge, London. Rich owners will happily pay a small fortune – in excess of £20,000 for a return journey – for their metal marvels to be flown around 3,000 miles, and often leave them parked in some of the capital’s most desirable spots
In scenes formerly reserved for luxurious Dubai, top of the range supercars adorn the streets of the London district as foreign playboys descend to flaunt their wealth
Pictured, the Lamborghini parked on double reds. Complaints by neighbours led to the council imposing Public Spaces Protection Orders in Knightsbridge — which deal with ‘excessive level of noise nuisance, annoyance, danger or risk of harm or injury’
A silver Lamborghini, which cost up to £192,000, with red stripes and a Kuwait number plate is parked at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair
How Arab playboys fly their supercars into London on chartered cargo jets
The service includes pick-up and drop-off of the vehicle from its home and destination addresses, in addition to export and import customs clearance processes at both ends of the journey
Arab-owned supercars arrive in London having been flown distances of around 3,000 miles in planes – costing around £20,000 per vehicle.
Qatar Airways is one such airline that ships the luxury cars from Doha to Heathrow. Secured to the floor of one of their Airbus A330s, the precious cargo can either be accommodated in a single row or in a side-by-side configuration.
Using their main and lower deck, the airline offers 31 positions on each flight.
In November it was announced Emirates was following Etihad Airways in offering a door-to-door cargo and delivery service for vehicles as part of its freight division.
The service includes pick-up and drop-off of the vehicle from its home and destination addresses, in addition to export and import customs clearance processes at both ends of the journey.
A Rolls Royce with a United Arab Emirates number plate is parked outside Mayfair Park Residences, in central London
A blue and silver Rolls Royce, which costs around £225,000, with a United Arab Emirates number plate on show at the Grosvenor House Hotel
A camouflage Mercedes with a Saudi Arabia number plate in Mayfair, in front of a fleet of luxurious sports cars
A Mercedes 4×4, which costs around £135,000, with a United Arab Emirates number plate is parked in Mayfair, London, when London’s supercar season began in August
A blue Lamborghini, which for the popular Gallardo model costs around £140,000, with a Qatar number plate is seen in Mayfair, during the season when wealthy Arabs flee the scorching hot temperatures of the Middle East and cruise around the British capital in their ostentatious vehicles
The blue Lamborghini, pictured in Mayfair, is one among hundreds which have been flown into the UK from the Middle East
A yellow custom Bentley with Dubai number plates outside the Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel in London
A Mercedes with a United Arab Emirates licence plate (left) and a Rolls Royce with a United Arab Emirates licence plate (right) sit parked outside 45 Park Lane in Mayfair
A row of cars including a Brabus (right) and two Rolls Royce sit parked outside The Dorchester hotel
A Mercedes 4×4, which costs around £135,000, with a United Arab Emirates number plate is parked in Mayfair, London, earlier this month
A Brabus 4×4, which can cost up to £240,000, with a Saudi Arabia number plate is parked by The Dorchester Hotel as supercar season kicks off again
The arrival of the supercars has become a regular event in recent years, with rich Arabs seeking to out-do one another
A Range Rover with a Kuwaiti number plate is parked by The Dorchester Hotel, during ‘supercar season’, the period from July to August when some of the world’s richest descend on the capital’s most exclusive spots