Fractional Life Editorial 28/11/07 14:48 Page 159
provides information, articles and reviews on all aspects of the club with Damon Hill, spoke to us about what makes P1 OPPOSITE: Lamborgini Murcielago
fractional ownership and asset-sharing. a continuing success “As the originators of the supercar club
BELOW: Gulfstream Jet
In terms of the broad concepts let us look first to fractional concept, P1 is ahead in development terms. We offer the
ownership, this is the concept of dividing an expensive asset largest choice of cars with over 45 of the greatest drives on the
into percentage shares and selling those shares to individual planet available to the largest membership base of any of the
owners. Each person who owns a fractional share then gets a car clubs. Our longevity and experience in this sector should
relative percentage use of the asset, with a management make potential members feel secure in their choice – both in
company handling the asset and fractional owners paying terms of financial and enjoyment potential.”
fixed fees for this management, sometimes in addition to This will be severely tested over the next few moths as the
variable fees for usage. Fractional owners can benefit from supercar club 'bar' will be raised yet again with the launch of the
capital appreciation, although, on the flip side, they may suffer Segrave Club. Chief Executive Nick Hancock let us in on the
from depreciation. company outlook: “The new club has been created to answer
Although there are companies which offer actual fractional the fundamental problem with existing supercar clubs – that 80
shares in specific car’s, motoring is not a market that per cent of their members only want to drive the top 20 per cent
traditionally lends itself to straight fractional ownership – mainly of the cars. As such our lowest group of vehicles is equivalent
due to a cars inherent nature of depreciation. As costly assets of the top tier of the other clubs.”
to maintain, car clubs tend to adopt the asset-sharing model – So how do such clubs operate? The standard format is one
the shelf-life of individual cars is relatively short in order to keep of membership costs covering points and mileage values that
fleets fresh, resale values as high as possible (the market for can then be 'spent' throughout the year across the fleet, with
high-mileage Lamborghinis is near non-existent!) and the points of each hire being dependent on the grade of car,
maintenance and consumable costs to a minimum. Also, it time of year and weekday or weekend use. How your points
allows for a greater range of models to be purchased by the are used is down to you, but generally between 35 to 50 days
club. Such a club structure generally involves a membership use per year is the norm, obviously less if you want the top- How much would it cost to do 4,500 miles in your
fee and, sometimes, a further usage fee, allowing the member ranked vehicles only for weekend use during the summer and own Ferrari F430 Spider F1?
access to the use of the assets, in this case – a fleet of more if you opt for off-peak weekdays in lower band cars.
supercars. There are no ownership links between members Erik Fairbairn, Managing Director of ecurie25, talks about the
❥
Cost of finance (£138,500 at 7% APR): £9,695
and assets, so there is no investment potential but on the philosophy behind his own supercar club, ecurie25: “Ecurie is
❥
Insurance (35-year-old, clean license): £4,200
flipside it can be argued that it is the greatest investment one French for stable and we aim to be like your own personal
❥
Yearly service: £2,500
will make – an investment in ones own enjoyment! groom. At the end of your driving experience, you can simply
❥
Set of tyres: £970
Although as car enthusiasts we all have our own fantasy drop off your car and we'll clean it and take care of it and make
❥
Depreciation: £19,920
garages – five, ten maybe even 20 cars that, in an ideal world, sure it's ready for the next member's outing.”
would be residing in a purpose-built hermetically sealed On the one hand, some may suggest that such Total: £34,384 or £6.88 per mile.
garage, a mental selection of classics and supercars linked by arrangements only gives you a fraction of the experience –
their desirability and high cost. The problem is that for, most of where is the sense of achievement and satisfaction in owning FIGURES COURTESY OF ECURIE25
us, these fantasy garages remain just that – a fantasy. Even your own supercar that you know you worked so hard for?
with the funds at your disposal, it is unjustifiable on economic
grounds to tax, insure and maintain more than a few cars at a
time. Also, when you think about it, how many truly memorable
journeys do you really make? Of course, it would be great to
take a Ferrari to the local supermarket, but when you finish your
weekly shop, you have very little boot space in which to store
your purchases and someone will have left an expensive dent
in both your door and your wallet. It is around this point of
contemplation that one realises that there is not necessarily a
want to own such a fleet but merely to experience the thrill of
driving them.
Which brings us back to car clubs, the next best thing to
owning your very own slice of classic or supercar motoring. For
a relatively nominal sum, a club will give you the keys to a
whole fleet of some of the most coveted metal, without having
to spend months on a waiting list or wasting hours trawling the
classifieds for that perfect classic motor.
Chris Burbidge of Club GT, who offer a range of desirable
vehicles from the latest Lamborghini Gallardo to classics such
the Honda NSX and the Lancia Delta HF Intergrale, explains
further: “Asset-sharing is a great way to experience some of the
finer things in life that you may not get a chance to if you had to
buy them all outright, but it's not just for those that can't afford to
buy, it's also much more convenient and cost-effective if you
don't need the asset all year round.”
P1 International provided the template for many a car club,
having pioneered the concept of shared access to supercars
when launched in October 2000. Michael Breen who founded
torque | 159
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164