CURTAIN CLOSES ON A RECORD BREAKING TOP MARQUES
TOP MARQUES MONACO 2014 broke all previous records when it welcomed more visitors than ever to the luxury supercar show this Easter. Approximately 36,000 visitors came to the show over the four days, with ticket sales increasing by more than 50 per cent. Top Marques Monaco is now officially the Grimaldi Forum’s « most successful annual show for the public ».
Other records to be smashed at the 11th edition include the number of sales carried out during the supercar show with up to 70 per cent of manufacturers confirming they had made sales. In addition, more test drives than ever before were carried out in an eclectic mix of supercars including the Lamborghini Aventador Hamann, the Ferrari 458 Italia and Mando Footloose, the world’s first ever e-bike.
Supercar enthusiasts from all four corners of the globe descended on Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum to attend the show, billed by The New York Times as « the world’s most exclusive auto show ». Organized in association with leading European private financiers the Edmond de Rothschild group, Top Marques was inaugurated by H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco who returned to Top Marques a second time that very same day to find out more about certain products.
Highlights of the show included the David Brown Automotive Speedback, otherwise known as ‘Project Judi’, one of six supercars to be launched at Top Marques in 2014. Designer Alain Mobberley said: “We have met an excellent clientele and it couldn’t have been any better for us. We chose Top Marques to launch our car as it is a wholly appropriate show for a vehicle of this standing.”
Other manufacturers to have initiated multiple sales at Top Marques include Lexus, Hamann, Tesla and Klassen, which was showcasing its luxury vans complete with 32” 3D LED TV, in-built PlayStation and conference video equipment.
But it wasn’t just on the supercar floor that records were broken. Luxury watchmaker Franck Muller is also said to have sold a number of important timepieces whilst antique dealers La Tibétaine, specialized in rare ethnic objects, sold a Buddha with a price tag of €50,000.