Environmental groups in Britain reacted angrily to reports today that an unnamed sheik from Qatar had his Lamborghini luxury sports car flown to London and back for an oil change.
The Sun reported that the 10,450km round trip on Qatar Airways and the oil service would have cost around STG23,000 ($A48,258.5).
The Italian-built super-luxury model arrived in Britain last Friday and was flown back Monday, the paper said.
"This horrifies me," said Jenny Evans of environmental group Plane Stupid. "It is another example of how rich people exploit and pollute the planet because of their money."
A spokesman for the green group Friends of the Earth said: "The pollution from driving a Lamborghini is bad enough, but flying one thousands of miles for a service is taking climate-wrecking behaviour to new heights."
But a spokeswoman for Lamborghini in Britain said: "This sort of thing is not unheard of."
David Price, of Britain's Lamborghini Club, said: "If an owner wants to service his car in that way, it is his choice."
