Abu Dhabi’s Ferrari World has been named as one of the inspirations behind an ambitious £3.5 billion (Dh19.42bn) property development in London.
The veteran British property developer Sir Stuart Lipton named the world’s largest indoor theme park dedicated to the Italian car maker as an example of how the “brand flagship pavilions” at his Silvertown Quays project in East London would look and feel.
"People are looking for these immersive experiences," Mr Lipton told The Sunday Times. "You're not going to a showroom, you're not going to a sales place. They will tell you all about the heritage. You might find some old cars, some experimental cars, some current cars. They're selling the brand."
Ferrari World, which opened in 2010, is the only Ferrari-branded theme park.
Attractions include a ride where visitors can travel through a mock-up of the factory in Maranello, trips on mini-Ferraris, memorabilia and the fastest roller coaster in the world.
Mr Lipton and his backers, The Silvertown Partnership, are hoping to create a series of mini-theme parks for some of the best-known brands across 3 million square feet around a derelict flour mill in Silvertown close to City Airport in London’s Docklands.
The Silvertown Partnership is a consortium of Mr Lipton’s developer Chelsfield as well as the housing company First Base, which is run by his son Elliot and the Australian investor Macquarie Capital. It hopes such a project would attract 13 million visitors a year.
The project, over 62 acres, would include 3,000 homes, offices and a Covent Garden-style piazza. Since its announcement two years ago, the Silvertown Partnership has not found the £500 million it needs from investors.
Ferrari World was sold by the Abu Dhabi property company Aldar in 2011, less than three months after it opened, to the Abu Dhabi Government for Dh10.9bn.
Other attempts at brand museums or parks include World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey.
“For a limited number of really iconic brands, we are already seeing attempts at creating attractions where you can draw people and entertain and inform them,” said Andrew Campbell, managing director at Brand Finance Middle East.
“These things are often very hard to execute. Ferrari World has struggled because the sort of people drawn to the Ferrari brand would be driving enthusiasts, while the theme park is more geared towards children.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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