Next gear in car rental service: MyChoize to offer supercar experience on F1 track

Car rental and car leasing service provider Orix India launched a supercar rental service to offer its users the experience of driving an Audi R8, a Lamborghini or a Porsche sports car at the Buddha International Circuit.

Want to drive supercars at an international Formula 1 track? Orix India has heard you.

Orix India launched a supercar rental service to offer its users the experience of driving an Audi R8, a Lamborghini or a Porsche sports car at the Buddha International Circuit.(Company handout)

Car rental and car leasing service provider Orix India launched a supercar rental service in the national capital region on Tuesday, to offer its users the experience of driving an Audi R8, a Lamborghini or a Porsche sports car at the Buddha International Circuit.

When the service live on April 29, at 5pm, users will have to bid on the company’s self-drive car-rental website MyChoize for a 30-minute experience of a supercar of their choice at the circuit.

“It’s only an experiment at the moment. Since our roads are not really designed for these low-slung supercars, we are offering an experience under controlled conditions at the circuit,” Sandip Gambhir, MD and CEO of Orix Auto Infrastructure Service Ltd, said in New Delhi.

Based on the bid and the initial response, the company will decide further rounds of such experiences,” he added. When asked the cost of the project: “Such experiences are priceless,” he chuckles.

Pankaj Jain (L) with Sandeep Gambhir at the press conference on Tuesday. (Company handout)

Orix India, a fully-owned subsidiary of Japan’s second largest self-drive company Orix, has been in India for more than 15 years providing taxi fleets to over 1,000 companies across India. Last year, the company launched My Choize, a self-drive and car-rental service, which at present operates with around 300 cars in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

In the market of players such as ZoomCar, Myles, Revv and Voler, “the experience of a supercar is an aspiration and we are the first ones to offer it. This is not an economic project. It’s largely an experiment which will help the brand grow,” Pankaj Jain, Orix India executive vice-president, told HT.

The company has presence in car-leasing sector too, and in last fiscal provided around 7,000 vehicles to customers on a lease. “With higher taxes and maintenance costs, the car buyers are looking for options like rentals and lease. Also, with more youth coming to bigger cities for a temporary tenure, leasing a car is a practical option, which we provide,” said Gambhir.

Orix India will also enter affordable housing scheme business with the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana next year with an initial investment of Rs 20 Crore, Gambhir said.

The company posted Rs 3,369 million in revenues in FY 2011-12, Rs 7,600 million during the last fiscal and projects to breach Rs 10,000 million in the current financial year.