Ferrari launched its first dealership in India on Thursday, seven years after it entered China but with the same aim of satisfying demand for flashy cars from the growing class of Asia’s super-rich.

The full range of sports cars from the Italian manufacturer will be on sale, with the cheapest model, the California, priced at 22 million rupees (485,000 US dollars) after punitive import tariffs of more than 100 percent are applied.

“We decided that after 2010 India was ready for Ferrari,” group chief executive Amedeo Felisa told reporters at the launch of the dealership in central New Delhi.

French carmaker Renault marked its return to fast-growing India on Monday with the launch of a luxury sedan designed especially for the Asian market.

Renault India managing director Marc Nassif said the launch of the Fluence marked “the real first phase” of the carmaker’s entry into India.

Its earlier foray in the nation was the four-door Logan built with former local partner Mahindra and Mahindra, which was aimed at the mid-size segment.

In booming India, being rich is not enough. For the moneyed classes, it’s increasingly about flaunting their wealth in ways typical of the nouveaux riches in Russia, China or the Middle East.

India’s well-heeled used to be more shy about displaying their wealth in the decades after independence from Britain when a tightly-controlled economy and dominant socialist thinking limited the opportunities for showing off.

But many prosperous Indians are embracing conspicuous consumption, turning their backs on the mantra of frugality espoused by independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation who eschewed possessions.

Aston Martin on Friday announced its entry into India, one of the world’s fastest-growing automobile markets, with the launch of three models in the country.

The British luxury sports car maker joins Ferrari, Maserati, Bugatti and Lamborghini, whose vehicles are sold in India to a growing list of rich sports car enthusiasts.

“India represents a new opportunity for us,” said Michael van der Sande, chief commercial officer at Aston Martin.

The iconic carmaker will offer the V8 Vantage, priced at 15.5 million rupees ($348,341), the Rapide at 21.5 million rupees ($483,146) and the One-77 at 200 million rupees ($4.5 million), and will soon add more models, it said.

Luxury auto marque Maserati, which produces supercars such as the Maserati Quattroporte and GranTurismo, is to open its first outlet in India this year.

The top end brand, will open a showroom in Mumbai this year, followed by another dealership in the capital New Delhi in early 2012.

By 2015, the Italian automaker plans to have showrooms in seven major Indian cities, it said in a statement, although buyers in Mumbai and New Delhi are expected to account for three quarters of all Maserati sales.

W Hotels has just announced plans for the Namaste Tower, a new W Hotel in Mumbai that is due to open July 2015.

To follow the long tradition of great Indian architecture, the striking 984-foot-tall building will house 62 floors combined into a hotel, office, and retail space.

The design of the tower is actually meant to reflect the namaste yoga gesture where two wings of the hotel are clasped together like hands greeting the city of Mumbai.