At the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Italian luxury and sports car manufacturer Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A introduced the Lamborghini Veneno, an ultra-limited edition of its Aventador line. Priced at more than 3 million euros, the Veneno is the most expensive retail car available at this time, and news about its release has garnered significant interest in Costa Rica.
Could a Lamborghini dealership become reality in the near future?
As previously reported by the Costa Rica Star,
[quote]There are now about 100 individuals in Costa Rica whose net worth is more than $30 million, up from 85 a year ago;[/quote]
The number of super-rich in Costa Rica is actually low when compared to the rest of Central America. There are more individuals who have net worth fortunes higher than $30 million in Nicaragua than Costa Rica, despite the fact that the former country is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
It is interesting to note, however, that although Costa Rica does not have a high number of ultra-wealthy individuals, consumer culture is alive and well throughout the country, and the appetite for luxury cars and other “big-ticket” items is outpacing the rest of Central America:
[quote]The middle-to-upper income classes in Costa Rica spend a lot more on retail shopping than they do on groceries, rent or travel. They seem to be a refined bunch: Emerging brands in Costa Rica in the last 12 months include Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera, Cortefiel, Audi, and Lexus. The latter luxury auto purveyor is set to open a major showroom, Torre Lexus, in the upscale (and secretive) Avenida Escazu next year. Audi, for its part, is expecting a 30 percent increase in sales next year.[/quote]
Back in 2009, conversation threads on the popular forums Skyscraper City and Mundo Motorizado began to catalog sightings of luxury, exotic and high-performance cars in Costa Rica. What started with a small collection of classic Porsche, BMW and the odd Ferrari has grown into hundreds of reports that include a couple of Lamborghini models and even the powerful Ford GT.
Judging by the number of Audi and Lexus vehicles seen roaming the poorly-maintained roadways of Costa Rica, it would not be unreasonable to think that sales of Lamborghini models could increase in the near future. After all, both Audi and Lexus expect high demand in 2014. Considering the high import taxes on vehicles in Costa Rica, the new Lamborghini Veneno would end up costing about $5 million dollars.
Article by Costa Rica Star
