Supercars line up at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temples

People look at supercars taking part in the Gumball 3000 rally, a motoring event founded by British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper where participants drive their vehicles some 3,000 miles (4,828 kms) across multiple countries, parked in front of the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province on September 17, 2024. (Photo by Suy SE / AFP)

Siem Reap, Cambodia — The centuries-old temples of Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat played host to a parade of Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis Tuesday, although drivers were banned from revving their supercharged engines.

The event was intended to promote the environmentally sensitive Unesco-listed World Heritage site, where the ruins of the Khmer empire’s greatest monuments are surrounded by lush forests and giant trees.

Tourism is vital to the Southeast Asian country and received around 6.6 million visitors a year before the Covid-19 pandemic, when numbers nosedived to below 200,000 in 2021.

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Visitors rebounded to nearly 5.5 million last year, netting more than $3 billion in revenue, but remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Asked about the apparently incongruous nature of the occasion, Cambodia’s tourism minister Sok Soken told AFP that strict guidelines had been imposed, with engine-revving banned “in terms of disrespect to our heritage here”.

He spoke a few metres away from a Bugatti Chiron, some models of which reportedly have list prices of more than $3 million.

“The display of cars is an art of technology, an inclusion of technology and a modern way of travelling,” he said, adding Cambodia “will be ready to provide hospitality to all forms of travellers”.

An attempt by organisers Gumball 3000, a British lifestyle brand, to set a record for the number of supercars and hypercars at a World Heritage site fell short.

However, the vehicles saw high traffic from locals and tourists taking pictures and selfies.

“This is the first time I have seen such modern cars at Angkor Wat,” said university student Kuy Tola, 19. “It is amazing.”