How Can You Tell It's Summer in Londonistan? That's When Uber-Pricey Cars Belonging to Uber-Rich Petro-Arabs Show Up

Call it conspicuous consumption, oily Emirates-style:

From a chrome Mercedes-Benz McLaren to a silver Lamborghini Aventador, the stunning vehicles are among hundreds which have been flown into the UK from the Middle East for the summer.

The car owners, many of them from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait, will happily pay a small fortune - in excess of £20,000 for a return journey - for their metal marvels to be flown around 3,000 miles, and often leave them parked up on the streets of Knightsbridge and Chelsea.

Qatar Airways is one such airline that ships the luxury cars from Doha to Heathrow. Secured to the floor of one of their Airbus A330s, the precious cargo can either be accommodated in a single row or in a side-by-side configuration.

Using their main and lower deck, the airline offers 31 positions on each flight.

The supercars can already be seen lined up outside designer shops, such as Versace and Fendi, in the upmarket neighbourhoods of south-west London.

Wealthy: yes. Classy: not so much.