We’ve all had that dream: driving down the California coast in an exotic piece of machinery. Supercar fantasies are behind the work ethic of so many individuals, but it feels like only the 1-percenters actually get behind the wheel. Envus Motorsports wants to change that.
The luxury car rental company set up shop in the heart of Orange County, California with the vision of offering supercars to the masses. It’s obviously on the right track, because in the 10 months since opening, the company has built out a fleet of elite performance cars and has expansion plans in LA and Miami.
I stopped by the new showroom in Costa Mesa to chat with Sammy Lakhany and Ali Hojat, the two-man team behind Envus. Before we even got to chatting, I was impressed by the blend of ornate graffiti, white walls, and tall glass panels that housed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of automobiles. With a welcoming smile and hand shake, the two gentlemen welcomed me inside.
“How did this all get started?” I asked.
“It all started with as a fun idea to borrow friends supercars and rent them to others,” said Sammy. “By offering peers in the finance industry half of every rental, we soon were able to gather a bunch of cool cars. Word got out quickly and it wasn’t long before we were buying our own vehicles and getting the attention of other people in the industry.”
M: “What kind of cars are for rent?”
S/A: “We have over 20 exotics, including the Ferrari 458, Lamborghini Huracan, Maserati GranTurismo, Rolls Royce Ghost, Audi R8, Nissan GT-R, Porsche Panamera Turbo, and Bentley Contintinental. If you see a custom supercar in the OC area, there’s a good chance it’s one of ours.”
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M: “Who is your competition and what sets you apart?”
S/A: “We don’t have much competition in Orange County, but as we move to Los Angeles, there are more players. When we first started, Enterprise had just one or two luxury car rentals, but the attention we got pushed them to create a whole fleet. The thing about Envus is that none of our cars are stock. Brand new, untouched supercars just look like they’re rentals, but modified cars look like owner customizations. We’re different because our customer service experience is top notch. Our Yelp reviews tell a good story.”
M: “Who are your customers? Are they all affluent?”
S/A: “Some have money, yes, but others have worked hard to afford this experience. We get so much joy out of seeing customers get the drive of their lives. It’s just so unique. That’s something we didn’t forsee when we started this: the reward of making people’s dreams come true. There are also customers who own these cars and come to OC for vacation. They want to continue their exotic experience and we can fill that need. OC is also different because people here want fast cars; they don’t really care about plain luxury cars.”
M: “What’s maintenance like for these supercars?”
S/A: “Honestly, not that bad. New supercars are pretty reliable and all they need are tires, the wraps, oil changes, and gas. It helps that our customers take even better care of these cars than we do!”
M: “What car do you like driving the most?”
S/A: “Definitely the Lamborghini Huracan. It just looks so amazing and sounds incredible”
Ali (left) and Sammy (right)
The price tag to drive off with or have an EnVus exotic car delivered to your driveway range from $400 to $1,200 per day, depending on the vehicle. EnVus also offers a “Supercar Driving Experience” package that is very popular among exotic car enthusiasts. For $399 drivers get to choose their exotic car, driver safety instruction, 1-2hours behind the wheel, a video of the experience and EnVus swag.
Check out the Envus Motors site to learn more.