It was a day for diplomats, supercar lovers and Anglophiles who turned up for the unveiling of the new Bentley Flying Spur at the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.
The Inthraphuvasak family welcomed the guest of honour. From left, Vutthisak Inthraphuvasak, MR Malinee Chakrabandhu, and Anusak and Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak.
The event was hosted by Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, president of Bentley Thailand by AAS Auto Services, Thailand's official importer and distributor of these luxury high-end cars, at the Grand Ballroom of Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.
The ballroom had been set up for an exclusive afternoon high-tea to introduce the Bentley Flying Spur, currently the most powerful of the company's models.
Among the guests were MR Sorut Visudhi, MR Malinee Chakrabandhu, Monlahcha Skulthai, Gen Pairoj and Kleddao Panichsamai. They sampled the traditional English afternoon tea, which included scones with jam and clotted cream, apple and cinnamon crepes, raspberry crumble, dark chocolate ganache tart, blue swimmer crab cake with cucumber dip, long sausage roll with tomato chutney and peach pie.
For those who preferred something closer to home, there was also an assortment of dim sum.
Besides being among the first to witness the beauty of the all-new Flying Spur, guests were entertained by renowned mathematical fortune-teller, Ajarn Kaewta, who foretold the lucky number of celebrities' car licence plate numbers, and by ''portrait corner'', where artists Navee Ruangrabiab and Praseart Buddhason were kept busy by guests who wanted their portraits drawn on the spot as a souvenir of the night.
Finally, the long-awaited highlight of the night arrived, with the unveiling of the Bentley Flying Spur in dark cashmere colour. If dark cashmere is not exactly your favourite or auspicious colour, then you can also choose from a range of 17 exterior colours.
It boasts an incredible top speed of 320kph and 616bhp, although very little of that power will put to use on Bangkok's choked thoroughfares.
Apart from speed, you are also offered a sophisticated and handcrafted interior with state-of-the-art technology for your driving and entertainment pleasure.
For 19.99 million baht, you get nothing but the best, but that also ensures the Spur won't be flying out of the showroom quite like the government-subsidised ''first cars''.
