If you’re making an early start to your Christmas shopping, then you might want to check out TheArsenale at City of Dreams, for some of the coolest toys on the planet. But you might also want to check the price tags first, because these ultra-luxurious items may not suit everyone’s budget!
Labelled as “The Most Insane Garage in the World” the first TheArsenale Showroom in Asia features some of the most exclusive and bespoke creations, specifically focusing on extreme ways to travel on land, sea and in the air.
Uniquely positioned at the crossroads between motion and art, tradition and technology, the impressively curated exhibit brings together a remarkable array of rare cars, private jets, submarines, custom motorcycles, exclusive branded boats, bicycles and graphic skateboards, timepieces, artworks and more.
“I am really passionate about creating one-off products. Objects are a way to communicate. The way you live can be expressed by the things you have,” says Patrice Meignan, Founder & CEO of TheArsenale. “When it comes to mobility, when you drive something like a tank, you are really saying something, so it’s a way to communicate. These objects really express something.”
The ‘tank’ he is referring to is the Rezvani Tank, the Hellcat-Powered SUV that had a starring role in the recently released movie Men in Black III. With a 6.4-liter V8 engine under the hood, the Tank features in impressive array of technology including a night vision system, ballistic armor, Kevlar armor, bulletproof glass and military-grade run-flat tires, and even an EMP protection shield to ensure all electronics work in the case of EMP blast.
Another highlight of the exhibition is the Centauri Valkyrie, one of the most sleek lightweight aircrafts in the world, offering unmatched luxury and ease of piloting with a cruising speed of 461 km/h. Seated comfortably within the Maserati designed interior, the pilot and passenger can enjoy incredible views through the widest cockpit canopy in the world, as they fly through the open skies.
“Our products are hand-made, they are artisan. It’s more about design, experience and relationships between our clients and the builders. There’s a lot of passion behind each story,” notes Patrice. “Sometimes people buy our products, not to use, but to have as a collectible, part of the history of the brand. We sell our products like a piece of art. When you buy a $25,000 BMX, it’s not to ride.”
With a background in media and magazine publishing, amazingly, Patrice started his now multi-million dollar garage collection as a digital media project on Instagram. He then upgraded to a website, with a vision to create an online marketplace to connect independent designers and exclusive clientele.
“We don’t want to be a mass market project. We have around one thousand clients. The maximum I think we could reach would be 10,000,” he explains. “Our three main clients are a prince in Saudi Arabia, also some clients in F1, and a billionaire from Mexico who is fascinated with racing machines. We go to see him every year to receive the brief and then we build an order for him. This is where our business is absolutely fantastic, it’s not just about selling stuff, it’s about curation, building one-off products and delivering the impossible.”
Today, TheArsenale has showrooms in Paris, Miami and Dubai. Their first in Asia, TheArsenale showroom at City of Dreams features more than 40 extraordinary modes of transport including BMX bikes created in collaboration with Dior, surfboards branded by Ferrari and Bentley, two highspeed Formula 1 and Formula E cars, and the AI-operated Roborace, the first pilot-less car ever to compete in racing events.
“We have made special orders for Formula One drivers Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. These guys are very young and make lots of money and drive crazy machines, and the products took around eight months of development,” reveals Patrice.
Of course, with such discerning customers, finding the right creative minds to build these amazing machines is critical.
“I am in the middle between the clients and the builders. There are maybe around 200 guys around the world building these crazy machines. They are crazy engineers, fanatics, independent artists,” shares Patrice. “I have a guy who spent 3,000 hours just building one motorcycle. Sometimes these builders are such extremists that they don’t want to sell to anyone. So I have to find the right client for the builders. My job is managing the creation process between these two parties.”
The name of the showroom was inspired by the Arsenale di Venezia in Venice, the major shipbuilding yards in the 14th and 15th centuries, often frequented by the famous explorer, Marco Polo.
“I’m really interested in the sociological aspects behind these tools of mobility,” Patrice explains. “We are in Macau, a land discovered by early travellers. I’m fascinated by explorers like Marco Polo and Magellan and Columbus, these guys that left their lives behind to go and discover new things. Elon Musk is my hero too. I’ve met him three times and he knows what I’m doing and I love this guy. All of my builders are descendants of these guys, they are people who try to reinvent and discover the world.”
On opening his first showroom in Macau, Patrice adds: “I’m extremely proud to be here in Macau. Asia is really the next market for us. I have a company in Hong Kong so I’ve come to Macau many times before. When I first discovered City of Dreams, I really loved the way they work. When they build a building they call Zaha Hadid, when they make a coffee they call Pierre Hermes, when they open a restaurant they call Alain Ducasse.”
“This exhibition is about freedom, adventure and pleasure. I’m not so interested in the power and performance. I’m more interested in the philosophical aspects behind mobility, the absolute freedom. I want people to be shocked and to smile, it’s all about the experience,” he concludes.
And yes, everything is for sale!
