Fanty

Fanty Soenardy is a permanent fixture on the VIP lists of some of the world’s leading fashion houses. The youthful 47-year-old is quite the trendsetter, with her global sartorial exploits well documented in the pages of multiple luxury titles.

What is little known, however, is that she took a little trip down a back road about four years ago that launched her on a journey of an entirely different sort. At the urging of friends, she test-drove a supercar around the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia and was instantly bitten by the speed bug.

Her epic journey on the fast lane led Soenardy to take delivery of a Lamborghini Urus in December last year. Packing a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that can deliver 641bhp, this SUV has the power to drive its occupants to a different dimension.

“I enjoy supercars and wanted my family to experience this with me,” says the mother of two. “The Urus has all the trappings of the type of car that I love to drive.”

It is her second purebred speed pedigree. The first is a pre-owned Ferrari 458 husband and property developer Douglas Ong gave her as a birthday gift not long after her Sepang test drive in a supercar.

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“He was initially uncomfortable that I wanted a very fast car and tried convincing me to opt for something else,” says Soenardy. “He doesn’t drive such cars and it took my friends who own supercars to assure him that it was reliable before he relented. Now, he likes the car, too, and drives it every now and then.”

Soenardy admits to being partial to Ferrari but says Lamborghini is on par with it. No other sports car maker, she claims, offers a four-seater with all the key characteristics of a topnotch supercar like the Urus.

“What I particularly like is the sound of its engine,” she adds. “It is more refined. Douglas has become a Lamborghini fan and it was he who chose the Urus.”

While the Urus is for family trips, Soenardy prefers a two-seater for her speed fix. She has been honing her driving skills with her Ferrari and is now ready for the even faster and more powerful new F8 that she has ordered and is set for delivery at the end of the year. With that, she will have three supercars in her possession.

Surprisingly, despite keeping tabs on the supercar industry and taking note of new models from every marque, she doesn’t see herself as a petrolhead.

“Just as with Louis Vuitton, Gucci or Van Cleef & Arpels, I take a good look at their new collections, see whether they meet my expectations and then decide if I should add any to my collection.”

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