Supercars lured by NC 500
SUPERCARS are becoming an increasingly common sight on Caithness roads thanks to the marketing of the North Coast 500 route.
Over the past week, there has been a spate of expensive high-performance sports cars and vintage vehicles on the A9 and A99 with specialised car hire firms now offering packages to people looking to complete the 500-plus mile route at the wheel of blue-chip marques such as Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches. There have also been sightings of a McLaren P1, one of the most expensive road cars, with the 3.8 litre V8 car carrying a price tag north of £1 million.
The traffic is being attracted by the promotion of the NC500, which takes in the three coasts of the Highlands, as one of the top driving routes in the world.
Midlothian-based supercar hire company Performance Portfolio is launching its first NC500 tour this weekend. Customers are due to set off from Inverness today on the three day tour – the first of five scheduled for 2016.
A spokesman said: "We have three customers signed up and they will have the chance to drive cars such as a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and an Audi R8 V10.
Caledonian Classic Hire is in talks with NHI about becoming an associate member of NC500 and is looking at the possibility of arranging NC 500 packages.
Company owner Alex Stewart said: “Customers are asking us to hire our cars to go on the NC500 due to the huge press it is getting and we’re scheduled to have a couple of honeymooners driving our Morgan 4 for a week on the route.”