Inside Mumbai's First Ferrari Showroom

Ferrari hasn’t exactly been lucky in our subcontinent. When the premium car brand first tried to sell here back in 2011 (led by Shreyans Group’s Ashish Chordia) their partnership contract was terminated by Ferrari due to an unseemly rise of customer complaints.

Of course, this wasn’t the first accusations leveraged against Shreyans Group on grounds of malpractice. Ducati got their first a few years prior, with Gautam Singhania--India’s best known supercar enthusiast--leading the tirade against them on twitter. Still, it’s never expected that a brand like Ferrari would accept defeat and stay down on its luck. Four years later, they’re here to try again, and this time, things definitely seem to be looking up.

This time around, they tied up with Navnit Motors who have long since built a good reputation for bringing luxury vehicles to India, minus the controversy, right from elite Rolls Royce to the more accessible BMWs. No wonder then that everybody who’s been waiting for this day sees exactly how opportune this moment was for Ferrari to make its much awaited entrance.

The average spending on luxury goods is rising at a substantial rate (as Wall Street Journal illustrates below), with even the appetite of the average upper middle class Indian to spend on premium products is larger than it has ever been.

So we decided to polish our boots and trek over to the new state-of-the-art Ferrari showroom with nothing but a camera and some stars in our eyes. It spreads over 4,000 sq.ft. and will showcase all the current models, including the California T, 458 Spider and the F12 Berlinetta with prices ranging from Rs. 3.30 crores to Rs. 4.72 crores (ex-showroom, Mumbai).

They even let you customize your seats, wheels, steering wheels and inner fabrication, amongst other details. And till you can afford your own supercar, you could design one for free here.

Of course, there is the little matter of infrastructure we’ve been trying to put out of our minds. We may be ready for Ferraris, but Mumbai’s roads certainly aren’t. Are they better off sticking to Delhi and Bangalore, then? And is there a point in having a Ferrari if you can’t drive it anyway? You could always head out to the 3 race tracks our country has to offer, the Buddh International Circuit in Delhi, Kari Motor Speedway and Madras Motorsports Club in the South. You could either rent out the track entirely for your self, like Mr. Gautam Singhania does, or find a way to partake in the various track days hosted by companies like RaceTech.

Whatever you decide, take your time with it. First, scroll on to get a glimpse into the brand new showroom, and start whetting your appetite.