Bahamas Private Island Ups Its Price

A Bahamas private island last listed for $121 million in 2018 is back on the market for approx. $142 million.

Known as Little Pipe Cay, the roughly 40-acre island is one of around 365 islands in the Exumas, a 209-km-archipelago in the Bahamas, according to listing agents Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes of Douglas Elliman. They are marketing the property with Edward de Mallet Morgan of Knight Frank.

The island was developed by the late Michael Dingman, an industrialist and the founder of Shipston Group, an investment company based in the Bahamas, according to a person familiar with the project. Mr. Dingman died in 2017. His family didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Eklund said the price increase is justified by surging luxury home values, particularly in places like Palm Beach and Miami, which is around 270 miles away and accessible by seaplane. “It’s a stronger market than we’ve ever seen,” he said.

In Miami Beach’s luxury market, the average sale price for a single-family home was 25.3% higher in the third quarter of 2021 compared with 2020, according to research and appraisal firm Miller Samuel. In Palm Beach, the average luxury sale price rose 79.4% during the same period.

Mr. Gomes said the Bahamas has become a popular tax haven, as well as a centre for cryptocurrency. Last year, the Bahamas became the first nation to issue its official currency in digital form. “The Bahamas is having a moment,” he said.

According to Mr. de Mallet Morgan, the owners spent more than a decade developing the island. He declined to speculate how much they invested. “Effectively, it was a 15-year labour of love,” he said. “This was very much a passion project for the family.”

The island has 22 structures, including living areas and outbuildings that house the island’s power and water systems. The main residence measures approximately 5,300 square feet, with three bedrooms and a covered veranda. There is a separate house for entertaining, called the Refectory, which spans roughly 8,900 square feet with a dining area, pub, gym and spa. The island also has four guest cottages, each with two bedrooms, as well as a staff house.

Island in the Stream

The island is in the Exumas, a roughly 130-mile long archipelago. PHOTOS: LIFESTYLE PRODUCTION GROUP(2); BRETT DAVIES PHOTOGRAPHY(2)

The homes are Bahamian Colonial in style, with copper roofs, Mr. Gomes said. Each home is decorated with colourful prints, he said, and all of the furniture and art is included in the offering, except for a handful of personal pieces.

The owners invested heavily in the island’s infrastructure, including a water filtration plant, freshwater storage and power station, as well as an underground power grid. “It’s like a small town,” Mr. Gomes said. Outbuildings on the island house a workshop, laundry facility and equipment storage. The owners also stockpiled replacement parts for all of the machines and appliances.

In general, the market for private islands is small, but demand, prices and the number of deals have shot up over the past two years, Mr. de Mallet Morgan said. “The pandemic has put a huge extra value on privacy, health and wellness,” he said. There are currently around 75 islands in the Bahamas that are for sale, ranging from an acre to several hundred acres in size and priced between US$495,000 and US$62 million, according to Private Islands Inc., a marketplace for private islands.

Little Pipe Cay is unique in that it is a freehold island, Mr. de Mallet Morgan said, meaning the buyer will own the land and property outright. Most islands in the area are leaseholds.

Mr. de Mallet Morgan said it costs roughly US$1.5 million a year to operate the island. Recently, after getting requests to charter the island for short stays, the family has made it available starting at US$75,000 a night, he said.

He said the family has turned down several offers to purchase the island because they were too low or had unfavourable terms. “There’s no undue pressure for the family to undersell it,” he said. “If you look at what people are paying US$100 million for in other parts of the world, Little Pipe Cay all of a sudden looks pretty reasonable.”

There are Corvette fans for whom the base US$68,300 car is plenty powerful enough. After all, it produces 495 horsepower and can reach 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. But hold on, there’s also the approximately US$115,000 Z06—with 670 horsepower and able to reach 60 in 2.6 seconds. These split seconds are important for busy people—and for marketing claims. And if that’s not enough go power, there’s the even more formidable 900-horsepower ZR1 version of the Corvette, starting around US$150,000. The hybrid E-Ray, at US$104,900, is pretty potent, too.

But if they’re still too slow, fans of American-engineered muscle can consider the exclusive Texas-built Hennessey Venom F5, a limited-edition carbon-fibre hypercar. Ten years ago, the Hennessey became the world’s fastest production car, defeating the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, with a top speed of 270.49 miles per hour.

That world title is much sought after, and is currently held by the Sweden-built 1,600-horsepower Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, with a two-way average top speed of 277.8 mph. But Hennessey is still very much a contender. The company is hoping the 1,817-horsepower F5 (with 1,192 pound-feet of torque) can exceed 300 mph on the track this year.

The Hennessey Venom F5 coupe is sold out, despite a more than $2 million price tag.
Hennessey photo

Hennessey’s previous Venom GT model (introduced in 2010) was based on the Lotus Exige, with a GM LS-based engine, and was built by partner Delta Motorsport. Spokesman Jon Visscher tells Penta , “The new Venom F5, revealed in 2020, is a 100%bespoke creation—unique to Hennessey and featuring a Hennessey-designed 6.6-litre twin-turbo V8 engine boasting 1,817 horsepower, making it the world’s most powerful combustion-engine production car.” Leaps in performance like this tend to be pricey.

This is a very exclusive automobile, priced around US$2.5 million for the coupe, and US$3 million for the F5 Roadster announced in 2023. Only 30 Roadsters will be built, with a removable carbon-fiber roof. The 24 F5 coupes were spoken for in 2021, but if you really want one you could find a used example—or go topless. In a statement to Penta , company founder and CEO John Hennessey said that while the coupe “is now sold out, a handful of build slots remain for our Roadster and [track-focused] Revolution models.”

Only 24 Revolutions will be built in coupe form, priced at US$2.7 million. There’s also a rarefied roadster version of the Revolution, with just 12 to be built.

The Venom F5 Roadster has a removable carbon-fibre roof.
Hennessey photo

The Venom F5 coupe weighs only 3,000 pounds, and it’s not surprising that insane speeds are possible when combined with a hand-built motor (nicknamed “Fury”) created with power uppermost. The V8 in the F5, installed in a rear mid-engine configuration, has a custom engine block and lightweight forged aluminium pistons, billet-steel crankshaft, and forged-steel connecting rods. Twin turbochargers are featured. The F5 can reach 62 mph in less than three seconds, but top speed seems to be its claim to fame.

The driver shifts the rear-wheel-drive car via a seven-speed, single-clutch transmission with paddle shifters. The interior is not as spartan or as tight as in many other supercars, and is able to handle very tall people. The butterfly doors lift up for access.

“With 22 customer Venom F5 hypercars already delivered to customers around the world, and a newly expanded engineering team, we’re focusing the Venom F5 on delivering on its potential,” Hennessey says. “Breaking 300 mph in two directions is the goal we aim to achieve toward the end of this year to claim the ‘world’s fastest production car’ title.”

Hennessey says the car and team are ready. “Now the search is on for a runway or public road with a sufficiently long straight to allow our 1,817-horsepower, twin-turbo V8 monster to accelerate beyond 300 mph and return to zero safely.” The very competitive Hennessey said the track-focused Revolution version of the F5 set a fastest production car lap around Texas’ 3.41-mile Circuit of the Americas track in March, going almost seven seconds faster than a McLaren P1.

The Revolution features a roof-mounted central air scoop (to deliver cool air to the engine bay), a full-width rear carbon wing, larger front splitter and rear diffuser, tweaked suspension, and engine cooling. It’s got the same powertrain as the standard cars, but is enhanced to stay planted at otherworldly speeds.

Bahamas Private Island Ups Its Price

Little Pipe Cay in the Exumas is now listed for approx. $142 million.

Island in the Stream