Inside The Secret Chinese Supercar Subculture Of Southern California

'The Chinese government does not like its country's ultra-rich to show off their wealth. But their reach doesn't seem to cover Southern California, where the children of China's elite get to show off. How? With Lamborghinis and Maseratis, of course.7

Chinese elite send their children to study in the United States. When they do, their parents give them enough money to buy as nice a car as they want.

Since flaunting your wealth is still frowned upon, these young, rich students organize private meets to see each other's rides.

Vocativ went to one of these meets and found a secretive car culture straight out of a movie.

"Why did you pick this car?" asks the interviewer of a student who picked up a $270,000 Ferrari California. Here's the guy's response, which is indicative of the spending power these kids command.8

I just study in California, and this car's name is California. Very romantic.91011

This is not altogether different from what you find in many areas with rich Chinese students.Vancouver has a bit of a reputation for this. And China isn't the only country exports its wealthy kids to lead to supercar booms elsewhere. London is known for its Supercar Summer, where the wealthiest children of the Gulf states ride Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and everything else.12

Watch the full video above to get a sense of why these kids drive Audis to school, but keep their top-of-the-line Maserati in the garage.