For the man in your life who appreciates the finest in vehicles perhaps a pretty package of fine accessories from a premiere auto manufacturer would be the perfect present under the tree. Porsche's new Winter Gold Collection includes a stunning pair of shades, two timepieces and a pair of cufflinks. He can shield his eyes with the gold-toned P'8440, reminiscent of their 'Exclusive Sunglasses' from 1978. Then bejewel his dress shirt with the 18K rose gold cufflinks marked in onyx and crystals. Finally, two stunning watches, one is the Worldtimer P'6750 and the other is a choice from three of the timepieces from the Dashboard Series. I''m pretty sure he'll feel the speed and bling of Porsche in these gifts.
I'm not sure where the partnership of high-end vehicles met office furniture but these luxury desk chairs put you in the driver's seat of some pretty fine autos. From Ferrari to Pininfarina, Maserati to Lamborghini and even Porsche, whatever prime car brand you admire you can sit your rear on its premium leather and speed-seeking construction everyday. If you think the list below is tempting wait till you see the gallery.
Last month we mentioned the upcoming auction for the 1976 Lotus Esprit from one of the best 007 movies over the years. Recently, a private collector in the U.S. purchased the iconic car from the 1977 James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, starring Sir Roger Moore and Barbara Bach. Bond's car was expected to fetch up to £120,000. The bid for the 1976 Lotus Esprit was made over the phone during the Bonhams sale by a self-proclaimed Lotus and Bond aficionado in Atlanta, Georgia. If you never saw 1977 film it was the third of seven Bond films Moore starred in and his action-packed scene from land to sea in his amphibious Lotus Esprit is pretty impressive. Too bad Mr. Atlanta won't be able to use his new purchase underwater like Bond did.
With a December birthday I tend to receive winter-inspired gifts and yes, I've been given an ice-scraper in the past. But one look at Saab's Funk-Is Ice Scraper makes mine look pretty sad. Designed in Sweden, the scraper sports frosted plexiglass in an angular shape padded by a sheepskin edge for a comfortable grip and even includes a notch to accommodate cleaning of the all-important wiper blade. Leave the gas station, plastic-form ice scraper at the counter and keep this compact, luxe-looking scraper in your car this season. ($72.50)
Back in October it seemed the news from Rolls-Royce was just fine but now the Telegraph brings the news that the luxury car company will be cutting production. It has already extended the Christmas shutdown at its plant in Chichester, West Sussex from two weeks to three and is planning a number of f "non production" days. Also 40 of the company's temporary staff have been laid off but no permanent layoffs have been announced. There will be more production cuts planned for the new year but so far no comments from the company on whether or not orders have been cancelled or if the factory will be shutting down more regularly. Because Rolls-Royce vehicles are built to order they were insulated from the economic crisis for a little while but now the slowing down of orders from the dealers is starting to have an effect.
Someone in West Palm Beach, Florida needs a bit of garage space. You are looking at an Xbox 360 game console which is mounted on a Formula Ford race car which has been painted bright red and embellished with a Ferrari logo. The seller reports that the game works well but the console could be updated and that the opening bid of $3,000 is less than half of what he has invested in it. No bids last time I checked and the auction ends December 2.
This past summer we wrote about all the various books, auctions and so forth paying tribute to the King of Cool. The one we've long been waiting for has finally arrived, and it's without a doubt the best we've ever seen: Unforgettable Steve McQueen, edited by Henri Suzeau from Verlhac Editions in conjunction with Tag Heuer. This is the perfect gift for the enthusiast of classic men's style or really any connoisseur of cool.
It's a stunningly well-curated collection of McQueen photos, encompassing some iconic images but also plenty of rare and little-known pictures of the man Uma Thurman calls "Extremely sexy, extremely wild and extremely talented" in the introduction. Steve McQueen's rugged sportiness, authentic masculinity and innate good taste have inspired countless fashion designers, not to mention scores of other actors who followed in his wake.
Our sister site Autoblog has the just-released official images of Porsche's long-awaited and much-discussed Panamera, the marque's first four-door car (not counting the Cayenne SUV). Described as a four-door grand touring (GT) sports car rather than a coupe or sedan, Porsche's Panamera will likely share the Cayenne's range of engines. Production is slated to start next spring for a summer on-sale date, and the car is expected to be priced at around $175,000. The Panamera's styling, somewhere between a Carrera and scaled down Cayenne, is drawing decidedly mixed reviews. Last month we reported on Lamborghini's upcoming four-dour, the Estoque.
The latest tourist attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida is a treat for the grown-ups The Indy Racing Experience lets parkgoeers get behind the wheel of an Indy racecar that were used in past Indianapolis 500 events. The Walt Disney World Speedway is a one-mile, paved tri-oval located just outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom. that is also home to the Richard Petty Experience Participants are suited up in authentic driver fire suits and aafter being strapped in by the Indy Racing Experience pit crew, they get to feel the speed, g-forces, and the pressure that comes with IndyCar racing. Those who prefer not to drive can take a ride in a two-seater driven by an Indy Racing League driver. The driving experience costs $399 for eight laps. The passenger experience is $109 for three laps.
The famed British motorcar marque Jaguar began life as a different species altogether; in 1922 a company called Swallow began manufacturing motorcycle sidecars, building its first automobiles under the name SS in 1927; in 1945 the name was changed to Jaguar, and the rest was automotive history.
Jaguar: The Complete Story, a new book by Heiner Stertkamp, is a lavish visual history of the world-famous car maker, from its "ascension to fame with the postwar XK series cars," followed by the introduction of the iconic E-Type in 1961, the XJ series, and most recently the high-tech XF.
The book includes racing vehicles and prototypes as well as production models, all presented in sumptuous, large format photographs. With Jaguar beginning another chapter under new owner Tata Motors, this is a fitting time to review the rich history of one of the world's most enduring symbols of speed, style and beauty.
The one-of-a-kind gold and platinum plated, diamond studded Aston Martin DB7 (above) that my colleague Laura Malesich wrote about earlier this month has been put up for sale in London with a pricetag of £95,000, or about $140,000, the UK Auto Traderreports. The car was originally created for Prince Francesco Ruspoli of Italy by London-based company Alchemist, and took six craftsmen one month to complete. In addition to its precious plating, the Aston, conceived in homage to James Bond, has a black and grey leather interior and golden burr walnut dashboard.
The Detroit Auto Show in January was once the place to see all the hot cars for the next model year but things are changing. This year three marquee brands, Land Rover, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce have opted out of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January. Why the change? Partly it may be because these brands don't sell a lot of cars in the Midwest. While the show offers a chance to impress journalists from around the world, they can probably pick up many of those same journalists at the Los Angeles show or in Europe. Not that Los Angeles is immune either. It is said that the L.A. show will have nearly 20% fewer exhibitors than it did last year. Exhibits are also less lavish and automakers are cutting back on the perks they offer for dealers as well as for those in the automotive media industry such as dinners, parties and sometimes hotel rooms for the shows. The Chicago Auto Show will also shrink in size by 15,000 square feet for its 2009 show and there are cutbacks planned for the New York show as well.
Last year, the Gap offered a brightly striped holiday Vespa. This year they are going even greener, selling blue argyle-printed Electra bicycle. The bike comes two sizes, the adult version for $499 and a kid's version for $299.
The bike is part of Gap's holiday campaign that includes the usual crop of celebrities looking adorable in sweaters and scarves (this year's cast includes Jon Hamm, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Hudson, Rainn Wilson and Mary-Louise Parker). The ads feature ttaglines centered on the theme of "your own." Each individual in the campaign provided a handwritten response to various fill-in-the-blank taglines about the holiday season. Twilight's Cam Gigandet's tag-line reads "Fulfill Your Own New Years Resolutions," Actor Rainn Wilson wrote, "Merry Your Own Naughty Elf," and Actress Milla Jovovich's simply says, "Celebrate Your Own Gift."
The Gap has also created a series of videos with actors, musicians and comedians in holiday attire performing remixed versions of traditional holiday carols. The videos include Selma Blair and Rainn Wilson singing "Baby It's Cold Outside," Jon Heder and Janelle Monáe performing a unique version of "Winter Wonderland," "Jason Biggs, Romany Malco and Freddy Rodriguez sounding bells to "We 3 Kingz," The Dixie Chicks and Sandra Bernhard belting out "Deck the Halls," Flo Rida and Trey Songz remixing "Jingle Bells" and a performance of the entire holiday cast performing a never-before seen remix of "Jingle Bells" led by Flo Rida and Trey Songz which is embedded after the jump.
Maybe I have 007 on the brain because of the new Quantum of Solace movie but this Limited Edition Fighter Motorcycle certainly strikes me as something Bond-worthy (I'm sure the photo above has something to do with that impression too). The raw, bare-bones design in nothing but silver steel and black rubber makes for a minimalistic but still "bad ass" look, which the bike backs up with an exciting array of high-tech features and the ability to fly down the highway at speeds up to 190mph.
Available exclusively from Neiman Marcus as part of this year's Chrismas Book, $110,000.
We've seen the Hermes Bugatti, now here's a Hermes edition that many more people can afford. Hermes has designed a set of Hermes-lined Smart Cars to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Smart Fortwo. The cars come in 10 colors including gold, indigo, and the Hermes orange. The exterior hasn't been touched but inside there are leather-wrapped steering wheels and gear-shift covers and an interior covered in the Hermes' signature canvas "toile H." It sells for €38,000 (around $48,500) through the Como dealership in Paris.
_thumbnail.jpg "Driving his Ford AC Cobra, 1963")
