A RED FERRARI is a powerful symbol of wealth and achievement and there are plenty of them on the streets of Asian cities these days as the newly rich get the right boy toys to go with their rising status.
However, the Italian sports car has been in the news for the wrong reasons in Asia in the past few months.
Red is, of course, the colour of the Chinese flag, and is the most communist of hues, but is also a popular choice for drivers of Ferraris.
In Singapore, a rich Chinese expat from Sichuan province travelling at high speed ran a red light and ploughed into a taxi, killing himself, the taxi driver and the passenger, while a woman passenger in his car survived with a broken leg.
It caused a major stir in Singapore, where mainland Chinese can be a source of resentment for their brash manners and flashy ways.
Rumours that the driver was the son of a powerful Communist Party leader have not helped his case. Online footage of the crash has been a big hit.
Then there was the red Ferrari that Bo Guagua, the son of the purged Chongqing Party boss Bo Xilai, allegedly drove to pick up the daughter of Jon Huntsman, the former the US ambassador to China.
The Wall Street Journal mentioned the Ferrari in a story it wrote about Bo Guagua’s spendthrift and profligate ways. The newspaper has since had to apologise for the story, although it is sticking to its guns on the red Ferrari claim.
One of the last comments from Bo Xilai before he was ousted was a denial that his son had ever driven a red Ferrari, and Bo Guagua repeated this.
However, the 458 Spider that went zipping off the ring road in Beijing in March, killing the driver, was a big hit on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, before it was blocked. Interest was further aroused when it was blocked and soon there was speculation that the man had party links.
Then the company that sells Ferraris in Nanjing decided to do a publicity stunt on the ancient city walls of the one-time capital of China.
One handbrake turn later and the promotional event left black tyre marks on the ancient walls, earning accusations of cultural insensitivity.
Ferrari’s reputation in China took another blow last week when the country’s quality watchdog the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said the luxury sports car manufacturer would have to recall 56 imported vehicles because of a defect crankshaft.
However, the allure of the Ferrari remains.
Last year drivers in Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, took delivery of 777 cars and the company is expanding its network of dealerships to meet the additional demand.
