This is the secret supercar underground car park where rich owners pay thousands of pounds a year to park their Aston Martins, Bentleys and Mercedes worth millions.
Cars from the likes of Bugatti and Ferrari line Windrush’s two storage facilities – dubbed the ‘Bat Caves’ – in London and the Cotswolds, with the exotic cars concealed by soft covers dubbed ‘pyjamas’ by staff.
The motors are looked after by Windrush because owners want somewhere safe to store them – or to even hide them from their wife. All of the cars are photographed and given a condition report before being valeted.
The Porsche 911 GT3 is worth £110,000 new and can perform 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, along with a top speed of 198mph
A £155,000 Lamborghini Huracán which can travel at up to 200mph and has a 0-62mph acceleration of just 3.2 seconds
A cover lies over what is believed to be a 1974 Ferrari 365 at the Windrush storage facility in London known as the ‘Bat Cave’
Parts of the covers at the facility have been lifted to reveal a number of 1970s Ferrari Dinos worth more than £300,000 each
They are then allowed to be fully air dried for 24 hours before being transported to the air-controlled storage rooms.
Customers pay £110 per week to have the car stored in London and £62 per week to use the countryside facility in the Cotswolds – but many of the cars are rising in value more than the parking price their owners pay.
The photos from London give a glimpse of the cars being stored, with parts of the covers lifted to reveal a number of 1970s Ferrari Dinos worth more than £300,000 each.
There are a number of £1million-plus Bugatti Veyrons hidden beneath covers as well as Ferrari LaFerraris – which now cost more than £2million.
Cars are regularly checked – and, if the owner wants to take the car out, Windrush guarantee the car will be ready to go instantly regardless of the time it has been stored.
Some of the vehicles have been sitting there for years – with one concours-condition Jaguar parked up since 2010. Windrush is operated by Tim Earnshaw, who used to work in hospitality for the Ferrari F1 team.
One of the ‘pyjamas’ is lifted to show what is believed to be a 211mph Ferrari F12 Berlinetta (right) worth £239,000 new
The motors are looked after by Windrush because owners want somewhere safe to store them. A Porsche 911 GT3 is pictured
Customers pay £110 per week to have the car stored in London and £62 per week to use the facility in the Cotswolds
Mr Earnshaw is based in the Cotswolds at Windrush’s other facility where a further 100 cars are tucked away in the picturesque English countryside. He started Windrush 13 years ago and now deals with up to 300 cars at a time.
He said: ‘We look after some of the world’s rarest motor cars, from Ferraris and Jaguars to Lamborghinis and Bugattis.But it is a level field whether you own a Ford or a Ferrari. We provide one service level for all.
‘It is a service for people without the time to look after their car. It is a high security private area. Every car that comes in get a 360 degree check and is signed off by the owner.
‘It is then valeted before being put to sleep under a cover, which we call pyjamas, in a temperatures and air-controlled environment.
‘We’re looking after time-poor customers, many of which are high net worth individuals, and pampering their cars which are ready to be driven at any moment regardless of how long they have been stored.
‘Customers know the car will be delivered, collected, valeted, that we can service and repair it, take it in for an MOT and they get photo updates of the whole process.
A cover for the McLaren 720S, a £210,000 model which can perform 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of 212mph
An Aston Martin DB5. The model was produced in the 1960s and is known for appearing in the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger
Mercedes-AMG G-Wagen 63 worth £136,000 new, which packs a punch of a 544 hp (400 kW) from its AMG biturbo V8 engine
‘Maybe they don’t have the space or security in London or elsewhere to store their car. We provide a niche service and some people don’t know it exists.’
Mr Earnshaw’s customers include high net worth individuals and celebrities – although he is sworn to secrecy over their identities.
Some of his customers use the London facility because they have nowhere to park in the capital while others use it to hide cars from their wives.
And it isn’t just classic models and 200mph supercars which are stored by Windrush – there are a number of more mundane motors.
Mr Earnshaw said: ‘One of our clients drives a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser which he loves and we have an identical model in time capsule condition.
If the owner wants to take the car out, Windrush guarantee it will be ready instantly regardless of the time it has been stored
The photos from London give a glimpse of the cars being stored, with parts of the covers lifted to reveal a number of Ferraris
Some customers use the London facility because they have nowhere to park in the capital while others use it to hide cars
‘One day his Land Cruiser will die and he will call us up and ask for the model he’s been storing with us since 2011. Nostalgia and sentimentality is important to our clients. At one stage we had a very basic Austin Metro City.
‘They sold thousands in the 1980s but they are very rare these days. It was the same car as the one he learnt to drive in and we looked after it for a few years.’
Every day the storage areas are inspected at least twice, while the battery charger and drip trays are checked once a week. Fluids and pressures are checked every 60 days along with the engine and electrical components.
Mr Earnshaw added: ‘It generally tends to be cars which are appreciating in value. Some people choose to keep the car in storage over a long period as an investment.
‘We have a concours condition Jaguar XK120 which has been here for seven years. It might just be the person doesn’t have somewhere to store their supercar.
‘They spend the week in a normal car like a VW Golf and then, on Friday evening, they arrive in the Golf and swap it for their supercar which they enjoy over the weekend and then return on Sunday.’