Fast Lane: Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix weekend edition

World premiere of special-edition GT car

The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Pro “Motorsport Collectors Edition” was launched at Gardens by the Bay on Sept 19, ahead of the Formula One night race weekend.

Just two of the total production of 200 units are allocated to Singapore. The car features a hand-painted star pattern livery on the exterior with details inspired by Petronas, the title and technical partner of the brand’s Formula One race team.

Also launched at the event was the standard Mercedes-AMG GT 63. Both models use a 4-litre bi-turbo V8 engine. In the Collectors Edition, the engine makes 612hp and 850Nm of torque, compared with 585hp and 800Nm on the standard version.

The standard GT 63 is priced at $1.2 million with certificate of entitlement (COE), while the Collectors Edition is expected to cost in the region of $2.5 million with COE.

‘Papaya’ parties in Singapore

Six out of the 500 McLaren Senna supercars produced are kept in Singapore. On Sept 22, they will be on display at Millenia Walk from 6pm.

Named after the legendary racer Ayrton Senna, who raced for the McLaren team between 1988 and 1993, the Senna is a 778hp supercar with a top speed of 335kmh.

The ultra-rare LM is the road-legal version of the GTR, which is a track-only car built to mark the brand’s success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995. Just 20 LMs have been built, and the only one in Singapore will be among the six gathered for the appearance on Sunday.

In 2018, the “standard” Senna was estimated to cost $4.5 million before COE and options.

The spokeswoman for McLaren Singapore, the brand’s local representative, said the gathering is “probably the only chance to see all the Sennas in Singapore at the same time”.

The event on Sunday comes after McLaren owners in Singapore got to meet race driver Lando Norris on Sept 18. The team – with outfits in a distinctive “papaya orange” colour – is competing in the Singapore leg leading the constructor’s championship. They overtook the reigning champion Red Bull Racing

at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Alpine at Velocity

Formula One race driver Esteban Ocon and Singapore’s own Formula 4 racer, Kabir Anurag, were at Velocity @ Novena Square on Sept 18 to meet fans of the BWT Alpine F1 Team. The French sports car brand has an A110 on display at the mall until Sept 22, along with team merchandise for sale.

Alpine Singapore, the brand’s distributor, is giving away food and beverage vouchers to visitors who upload photos of themselves taken at the car display.

Daniel Ricciardo’s road trip

Tourism Western Australia has enlisted Visa Cash App RB Formula One team driver Daniel Ricciardo for a short film called

Drive The Dream

to promote its beaches, coastlines and food. Ricciardo, 35, was born in Perth.

The film is about a road trip that Ricciardo took with his friend through west Australia, from Perth to the wine country of Margaret River and beyond.

Singapore is the second-largest group of international visitors to Western Australia in 2024, according to Tourism Western Australia.

Go to

str.sg/zEwX

for the route and itinerary.

Ferrari V12 launched

The Ferrari 12Cilindri, the latest two-seater 12-cylinder sports car from the Prancing Horse, was launched on Sept 19 at the Pasir Panjang Power Station by the two Scuderia Ferrari Formula One drivers – Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Powered by a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine with a peak power of 830hp achieved at 9,250rpm, the 12Cilindri is available as a coupe at $1.9 million before COE and options; and Spider form, at $2.1 million before COE and options.

Delivery of the 12Cilindri is expected to start in the second quarter of 2025.