Saturday night Supercar Speedway: How a fleet of Mustangs, Lamborghinis and McLarens reach speeds of 59MPH and hit TWICE the legal sound limit as mega-rich Arab playboys turn the streets of Chelsea into a deadly late-night racetrack

• The performance cars were kitted out to the max with oversized bodywork, widened wheels and nitrous oxide
• MailOnline recorded the beastly black Mustang blasting its way to speeds of 59mph down Lowndes Square
• The sport of it may seem fun for the mainly young, Arab men, who fly their supercars over for July and August
• But for residents who have to deal with the sound of engines wailing, the summer cannot end quickly enough
• On Sunday, one driver lost control and ploughed into a row of 11 luxury supercars in Moore Street, Chelsea
• Kensington and Chelsea Council wrote to government to try to get ‘acoustic cameras’ fitted to deter revving

Souped-up cars worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been blighting the wealthy streets of Chelsea, Belgravia and Knightsbridge during London’s supercar season.

A blacked-out Mustang, a vivid purple Lamborghini Aventador and a dark blue McLaren 540c are among performance machines kitted out to the max with oversized bodywork, widened wheels and nitrous oxide to help them race through the capital.

MailOnline recorded the beastly black Mustang blast its way to speeds of 59mph down the 200m straight in Lowndes Square, just a stones throw from the back of millionaires paradise Harrods.

The sport of it may seem fun for the mainly young, often Arab men, who fly their cars over from places such as Qatar for the months of July and August.

And the exclusive Sloane Street was littered with awestruck petrol heads, YouTubers and Instagram influencers taking selfies with the vehicles and desperately trying to talk to their affluent owners.

But for the residents who have to deal with the daily – and nightly – sound of exhausts popping, tyres screeching, and engines wailing, the summer cannot end quickly enough.

A navy McLaren pulls out on to Sloane Street to join a huge fleet of luxury vehicles being lauded over by Instagrammers, YouTubers and petrol heads

A blacked-out Mustang (pictured), a vivid purple Lamborghini Aventador and a lime green McLaren 540c are among performance machines kitted out to the max with oversized bodywork, widened wheels (shown) and nitrous oxide to help them race through the capital

As the sun set on Sloane Street, more flash cars appeared, with this rose McLaren overtaking traffic as it weaved its way towards Knightsbridge

The exclusive Sloane Street (pictured, a Ferrari on the road) was littered with awestruck petrol heads, YouTubers and Instagram influencers taking selfies with the vehicles and desperately trying to talk to their affluent owners

Not all the cars being paraded around west London were high-speed supercars, with this Mercedes G Wagon struggling to blend in despite its camouflage print 

MailOnline recorded the beastly black Mustang blast its way to speeds of 59mph (pictured) down the 200m straight in Lowndes Square, just a stones throw from the back of millionaires paradise Harrods

As the Mustang bolted through the 30mph-limit Lowndes Square, children watched in amazement from the balconies above the square’s gardens.

But they soon ducked their heads back into the luxury apartments – which are worth in excess of £5million – as the smell of rotten eggs filled the air as it belched out of the car’s modified exhaust. 

The Mustang was one of the most revamped cars on show on Saturday night, with rivets forming a line along its wings from where it has been customised.

It is not just the speeding which has riled up residents, but also the roaring noises created by these 600+ horsepower brutes.

The Mustang nearly broke the sound level metre when it revved – recording 126dB on the equipment with a limit of 130dB.

A red Pontiac Firebird was not far behind as it clocked 117dB, as was a heavily modified Mini Cooper (115dB) and a Range Rover SVR (114dB), both comfortably over 74-decibel legal noise limit for road cars. 

The sport of it may seem fun for the mainly young, often Arab men, who fly their cars over from places such as Qatar for the months of July and August. Pictured: A Rolls Royce from the Middle East, which has been modified with a gold bonnet

Some of the fancy fleet were given the VIP treatment, with railings set up to dissuade fans from touching the cars woth hundreds of thousands of pounds 

It is not just the speeding which has riled up residents, but also the roaring noises created by these 600+horsepower brutes. Pictured: A Ferrari driver rolls his window down to greet friends on Sloane Street

Supercars started revving their engines early Saturday evening, with this black Corvette pictured in Lowndes Square

The Mustang was one of the most revamped cars on show on Saturday night, with rivets forming a line along its wings from where it has been customised (pictured)

The Mustang nearly broke the sound level metre when it revved – recording 126dB on the equipment with a limit of 130dB (pictured)

A red Pontiac Firebird (pictured) was not far behind the Mustang as it clocked 117dB on the equipment that can only reach 130dB. The iconic car sits parked in the residential Lowndes Square

Among the collection of supercars was a heavily modified Mini Cooper, whose owner said he could not begin to guess how much he had spent on it since buying it as a stock model

The decibel metre shows the souped-up Pontiac hitting 117dB (left) in the square, despite the legal noise limit being 74dB. It was closely followed by a performance-enhanced Range Rover SVR (centre) and a track-ready Mini Cooper

The white Mini hit speeds of 58mph in the short 200m straight down the side of Lowndes Square on Saturday evening (pictured)

Earlier this week, Kensington and Chelsea Council wrote to the government calling for ‘acoustic cameras’ to be fitted to deter drivers from revving their engines.

One elderly lady, bent double over a walking frame, slowly made her way across Lowndes Square to the sound of thunderous engines around her.

And for Ali, 46, who lives just off Sloane Street, it is most annoying because the hypercars visit the city for two months, make a racket and clog up the roads while fans take pictures, before leaving without even paying their parking tickets.

He explained: ‘They are people who just come for a holiday, that is their only purpose. They just come to entertain themselves.’

Ali understands the economic impact some of the world’s wealthiest families can bring to the area, but adds ‘it just creates such congestion for the residents around here. There’s too many of them coming to take their holiday’.

He continued: ‘But it’s such an attraction for them, it’s London, it’s the number one city in the world. 

Ali, who lives in the area, said he understands the economic impact some of the world’s wealthiest families can bring to the area, but adds ‘it just creates such congestion for the residents around here. There’s too many of them coming to take their holiday’. Pictured: A Ferrari glides down Sloane Street

One elderly lady, bent double over a walking frame, slowly made her way across Lowndes Square to the sound of thunderous engines around her. Pictured: A traditionally yellow Lamborghini Urus sits outside a hotel in Sloane Square

Ali continued: ‘But it’s such an attraction for them, it’s London, it’s the number one city in the world.’ Pictured: A classic, navy Rolls Royce parked at the end of Sloane Street

Despite body kits and modifications doubling the price of some of them, local resident Julian branded vehicles ‘distasteful’ and only done for one-upmanship by the young men. Pictured: A red Lamborghini Urus with a carbon fibre black bonnet

Yet he added: ‘As a visitor you might see a Lamborghini or a nice Ferrari speeding down the road and you might like it, but as a resident you are definitely not liking it.

‘I think whatever rules that do come in, like people still won’t be able to come around here due to congestion and parking.

‘But the people who come here are so rich, they just don’t care, it’s not going to affect them unless the authorities really change the rules.’

Julian, 54, who also lives in Sloane Square, was more annoyed by the aesthetic of the cars strewn across the roads.

Despite body kits and modifications doubling the price of some of them, he branded vehicles ‘distasteful’ and done for one-upmanship by the young men.

He said: ‘It’s all bravado and ostentatious with the young fellows being gaudy and trying to outdo each other’, adding: ‘I don’t know where they get their money from but they seem to spend all of theirs on their souped-up cars.’ 

One of the numerous purple Lamborghinis sits outside the Valentino store on Sloane Street as a crowd stands around the car admiring it

A matte-black McLaren rounds the bend which circles Lowndes Gardens as it gets stuck behind less performance-enhanced cars 

The hotter months sees wealthy people from Arabic countries flee the scorching temperatures of the Middle East and cruise around London, with rich Kuwaitis, Saudis and Emiratis seeking to out-do each other over who can own the most fancy sportscar (pictured, a purple Lamborghini on Sloane Street)

The hotter months sees wealthy people from Arabic countries flee the scorching temperatures of the Middle East and cruise around London, with rich Kuwaitis, Saudis and Emiratis seeking to out-do each other over who can own the most fancy sportscar.

The cars’ owners tend to ship their machines over in the months leading up to the summer, so they are here when they arrive in July and August.

The rich offspring of sheikhs and oligarchs pay small fortunes – in excess of £20,000 for a return journey – for their vehicles to be flown around 3,000 miles, and often leave them parked in some of London’s most desirable spots.

But the move does little to stem the despair from the west London residents.

Mohsin, 30, who often visits his cousin on Lowndes Street, said: ‘All the super and hypercars they bring here are all noise man, so much noise. 

The cars’ owners tend to ship their machines over in the months leading up to the summer, so they are here when they arrive in July and August. Pictured: A Rolls Royce in Knightsbridge

The rich offspring of sheikhs and oligarchs pay small fortunes – in excess of £20,000 for a return journey – for their vehicles to be flown around 3,000 miles, and often leave them parked in some of London’s most desirable spots. Pictured: A black Ferrari

‘It’s always noisy but then that’s why they bring them here, to make the noise you know and show off to their friends.

‘Keep in mind it’s a city you know too, all cities are like that in a sense. You know people splash money and show off, all cities are like that.’

A mother and her two young children who were crossing Cadogan Place, which is near the Hermes store, aggreed, adding: ‘It’s the noise, it’s crazy. I don’t think they should be allowed to do it.

‘But it seems to be the same everywhere, it doesn’t matter what city you’re in.’

She said, as a Bentley raced, past: ‘The smell doesn’t really bother me because it’s just like a city smell, the same as everywhere else.’

And a porter at an upmarket hotel in Sloane Square, who asked not to be named, added: ‘It’s just a lot of noise. The smell can be a lot, but it’s more the noise that bothers me when I’m having to work outside.’

As well as the upset caused by the supercars’ noise and smell, the safety of the local population has been called into question after £1million worth of vehicles including a McLaren, Porsche and a Bentley were totalled in a crash compared to a scene from a ‘Fast and the Furious’ movie.

The driver of an Audi Q7 4×4 lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into a row of 11 luxury supercars in Moore Street, Chelsea at just after midnight – but has not yet been arrested because he is in hospital.

Astonishing footage obtained by MailOnline shows two cars speeding along a street near Sloane Square just moments before the crash.

This is the moment an Audi chasing a Porsche slammed into parked cars in Chelsea in an extraordinary high speed crash in the early hours of this morning

The boy racer sent the parked cars flying and car wheeled down the road before coming to a halt

Police survey the carnage in Moore Street, Chelsea overnight where 11 cars worth in excess of £500,000 were written off or damaged

The Audi Q7 chases after a Porsche but loses control and slams into a row of parked cars, flipping over at high speed and cartwheeling down the road.

Summer Haider rushed outside her home and said: ‘I really thought there had been some sort of explosion, like a helicopter coming down’.

She added: ‘The driver got out. There was blood coming from his head and he started to say he was being chased. Having seen some CCTV we now know that was a lie’. 

Witnesses estimated that 11 luxury cars worth a total of £1million were smashed into.

They said the carnage had caused at least £500,000-worth of damage with many of the cars written off.

A McLaren worth around £300,000 was destroyed along with a Porsche Cayenne worth £100,000, a blue Bentley Bentayga worth £200,000 a Porsche 911, two Audi Q7 model and another Porsche.

A resident told MailOnline that the street – which is a wide road where the average home costs £4.5million – has a big problem with boy racers speeding along the road late at night, particularly in the summer months.

She said that people are often walking along the street late a night following an evening spent at the bars and restaurants, adding it was a ‘miracle’ no one was killed.

Parked cars were sent flying into eachother like dominoes with almost a dozen vehicles damaged

‘It was very lucky no pedestrians were around,’ she said. ‘If any other vehicle had been coming down the street they would have been history.’

The woman said the Audi driver emerged ‘dazed and in shock from the vehicle covered in blood with flesh exposed on the right side of his head all the way down to his skull. He also had some hair missing. 

‘He was clearly in shock and had no idea how badly injured he was. He was saying he was chasing a car that had previously bashed into him. I didn’t believe him at the time but looking at the CCTV, there appears to be two cars in the footage.

This blur of metal is the Audi striking the McLaren, Porsche and Bentley Bentayga belonging to one resident 

‘I made him sit on a bench until paramedics arrived,’ she added.   

Another wealthy resident told MailOnline: ‘It’s very dangerous. We’ve lived here for two years and have had to deal with this for a while.

’11 cars were damaged – my three cars, the blue McLaren, the Porsche Cayenne and the navy blue Bentley Bentayga were all damaged. We feel lucky [not to have been hurt].’

Residents said super cars racing along the deserted streets around Belgravia and Sloane Square has become an increasing problem.

They say most of those racing Arabs visiting London for the summer and the driver of the car involved in the crash is believed to be from the Middle East.

And this is the scene this morning at the same spot where the cars were towed away by police 

For years residents of Chelsea and Knightsbridge have complained about drag-racing of supercars through their streets, especially during the summer months.  

Neighbours told MailOnline how they ran outside fearing the worst and found the driver staggering around with blood pouring from his head.

He was taken to hospital where he remains with a serious head injury that is not considered life threatening.

Eyewitnesses described the aftermath as something out of the Hollywood film ‘Fast and the Furious’ that involves spectacular car chases and crashes.

Summer Haider rushed outside her home in Moore Street after hearing what she thought was a helicopter crashing in the street.

Police an fire crews dealt with the aftermath after the Audi smashed into several luxury parked cars in Moore Street, Chelsea, West London

‘I really thought there had been some sort of explosion, like a helicopter coming down,’ she said.

‘There was just carnage. A Porsche that had been parked in the road was pushed up on the pavement and was in the metal railings.

‘I went over to the car and the driver got out. There was blood coming from his head and he started to say he was being chased. Having seen some CCTV we now know that was a lie.

The driver of an Audi Q7 4×4 lost control of his vehicle and ploughed into a row of 11 luxury supercars in Moore Street, Chelsea at just after midnight

‘He was taken away in an ambulance and the other car just disappeared.’

‘It is terrifying to think of what could have happened’.

Vicar’s wife Elizabeth Neville said she too was woken by the sound of the collision that involved a total of 10 cars.

‘There was lots of shouting a swearing from guy after the crash. It was mayhem.’

‘There have been cars racing down here before. What worries me is that around the time the crash happened my daughter is sometimes walking home. It is just awful.’

The Audi Q7 slammed into a McClaren sports car, Bentley and two Porches. Two of the cars belonged to a resident who was on holiday at the time.

Debris from one of the super cars smashed into is strewn across the exclusive London street 

One of the Porches remained parked in the street with its front bonnet caved in while the others had been towed away.

Glass and other debris from the wrecked cars still lay on the pavement and in the front garden on the £3million home where the front railings were damaged.

Viola Pemberton-Pigot, whose front black railings were destroyed was at her basement kitchen sink when the crash happened.

She said: ‘Luckily I was behind curtains and did not see it, but I certainly heard the crash. It was a terrible noise.

‘All the neighbours came out. I don’t think they could really believe but we are all just grateful that no one was hurt. It could have been so much worse.

Police, fire and an ambulance attended the crash which is understood to have been captured on CCTV cameras.

A police spokesman said: ‘Police were called to Moore Street, SW3 at 0031hrs on Monday August 5 following a collision between a car and number of parked cars. A male driver and passenger from the car involved were taken to hospital for the treatment of head injuries. Their condition is not believed to be life threatening. The driver however continue to receive treatment for serious head injuries. All of the parked cars were empty at the time of the collision. No arrests have been made. Enquiries into the full circumstances continue.’

Cllr Johnny Thalassites, Lead Member for Transport and Planning, Kensington and Chelsea Council said: ‘Dangerous driving is never acceptable and we hope the police will quickly investigate and prosecute those responsible.

‘We continually review our roads to make sure we have appropriate traffic calming measures in place and constantly strive to make our roads even safer, for example by trialling 20mph zones around the borough.’

Following the horror crash, Kensington and Chelsea Council wrote to the government calling for ‘acoustic cameras’ to be fitted to deter drivers from revving their engines.

Cllr Thalassites warned the situation is reaching ‘crisis point’, writing to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to ask for the region to be included in a UK trial of the cameras.

Many of London’s most exclusive streets become ‘race tracks’ for the wealthy in the summer as millionaires bring their expensive vehicles out (pictured: A supercar seen in Mayfair earlier this month)

Mr Thalassites told the Evening Standard: ‘Powerful cars need careful handling and, unfortunately, our borough has seen and heard how certain drivers mistake our streets for a car show. This has been going on for years and it’s reaching crisis point.

‘Acoustic cameras would give us a powerful new tool to catch drivers flouting the rules of the road.’

He added that the council consistently hears from residents who are ‘blighted’ by the noise, explaining that drivers set the high-performance car to race mode and rev the engines while stationary in crowded areas.

The cars’ owners pay a small fortune – in excess of £20,000 for a return journey – every year for their metal marvels to be flown around 3,000 miles to England with them. Above: A silver Porsche 911 looks imposing in this London street

The cars are flown over so their owners can enjoy weeks of fun in the capital and avoid crippling heat back home. Above: The rear of the pricey BMW shows its Qatari number plate and enormous spoiler

The council have handed out 148 fines of up to £1,000 to drivers since they were introduced in 2015, but this does not seem to have been an effective deterrent. 

In June the Department for Transport said it would trial the noise-detecting cameras over a seven-month period.

WHAT ARE ACOUSTIC CAMERAS?

As speed cameras are designed to discourage fast cars, ‘acoustic cameras’ will discourage loud ones.

Technically, all vehicles must comply with noise regulations to legally use the road.

These rules can be difficult to enforce in practice, however.

Acoustic cameras will be fitted with microphones to detect the noise levels of passing cars.

When the camera hears a vehicle breaking the noise limit, it will take a picture of the licence plate.

This will then be used to issue a fine—much like a regular traffic camera would for a speeding ticket.

At the moment, the legal noise limit for road cars is 74 decibels. 

The cameras have microphones that detect vehicles breaking the legal noise limit, and if the car exceeds 74 decibels the camera takes a picture of the registration number to send the owner a fine.

The less-than-impressed neighbours often complain about excessive noise and poor parking by some drivers.

In June it was revealed that the ‘noise cameras’ would to be used on Britain’s roads to catch boy racers revving their engines, with an initial trial commissioned by then-Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

The move was a response to growing concerns from police about noise pollution from car and motorbike engines. 

Noise cameras are already in use in Canada, Singapore, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, but they are new to Britain. 

Mr Grayling had said: ‘Noise pollution makes the lives of people in communities across Britain an absolute misery and has very serious health impacts.

‘This is why I am determined to crack down on the nuisance drivers who blight our streets.

‘New technology will help us lead the way in making our towns and cities quieter, and I look forward to seeing how these exciting new cameras could work.’

In 2017 it emerged that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had levied more than £10,000 in fines and legal costs from drivers who revved their engines in Knightsbridge.

They were fined for breaching a legal order after residents of the affluent area complained about noisy supercars.               

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