Over the last decade, fueled by a righteous fan base of supercar-lovers and increasingly known as a spring and summer playground for Russian and Persian Gulf state expats alike, London has become the global parade ground for extreme and extremely tricked-out methods of conveyance. The “wrapped” and/or customized Paganis, Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis are cheek-by-jowl in the town pretty much year round by now, amassing millions in parking fines to the delight of the traffic wardens and the police, but otherwise appearing in such numbers that it has become quite difficult for the owners to find a way for their beloved automobiles to stand out from the flock.
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At the risk of gilding the lily, that problem seems to have been solved by crystal aficionado Daria Radionova, whose newest effort of having some two million Swarovski crystals applied to her $300,000 Aventador—in effect, wrapping the Lambo in crystal—is going to be hard for the boys to top. That car, with its eponymous license plate referencing its owner, went public in Knightsbridge, London, a few days ago.Ms. Radionova, known in London as a “Russian Instagram model” and as a “millionaire student,” is a well-practiced serial offender in bejeweling supercars, having already had her Lamborghini Huracan and her Mercedes CLS done up. The elite car-customizing body-shop chosen for the Aventador work, the aptly-named Cars In Cloaks, was only too pleased to put in the approximately 700 man-hours over two months to apply the tiny crystals to the sleek outer surfaces of the rare Italian stallion. This Aventador is a Superveloce version of the V12, just 600 of which were built.
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Once Ms. Radionova took her Aventador public last weekend, they—Cars In Cloaks—issued the following gender-blending statement to the London tabloids, whose paparazzi were breathlessly following Ms. Radionova on her shopping rounds through the obligatory Sloane-Ranger neighborhood of Knightsbridge: “If Bruce Wayne were a girl, this would be his car.”
While at first glance it’s just the possessive pronoun that seems to be badly executed, the deeper haste and total confusion of the statement can be chalked up to the fact that Cars In Cloaks employees, though well paid, will arguably now be suffering life-changing migraines and varying levels of blindness—much like the lacemaking seamstresses in the Middle Ages—as a result of the microscopic intensity and delicacy of their amazing handiwork.
Whether Britain’s beleaguered National Health System can handle the sudden spike in afflicted formerly-elite bodywork men remains to be seen, but for now, as Brexit looms to consume the British polity, not to mention its prime minister, London resident Daria Radionova seems only too proud to fly the flag of British craftsmanship, enterprise, and what legendary WWII prime minister Winston Churchill might have called pluck.
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