Luxury Auto Toys

I have said it before and I will say it again: You have got to love an Aston Martin. All right, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to — but it is hard to believe the Aston Martin One-77 coupe wouldn’t turn you into a fan.

It is a collector’s edition that was recently revealed at the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance. It won first prize, receiving the Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes.

Everything about this car is quite dramatic, with a sort of edgy elegance. It features a V12 engine and is capable of reaching speeds over two hundred miles per hour.

It will officially go on sale in 2010 — but it is said that buyers have already signed up, perhaps claiming the mere seventy seven models scheduled to be built.

When you think about it – what is a luxury car?  Well, I have to say that the Bugatti 16C Galibier concept car is the best luxury car in the world.  This concept car … if it goes through mind you is going to be one of the best, best, best cars on the market.  The concept revealed a two-door car, mid-engine Veyron that is going to be much more conventional than a four-door, front-engine body style.

Now, you want to know about the specs on the Bugatti 16C Galibier?  Well,  according to autoblog.com: the the 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine would carry over, albeit detuned from its 1000+ hp output in the Veyron to “only” 800, while sources suggest that the Veyron’s purpose-built dual-clutch transmission would be replaced with a more conventional torque-converter eight-speed automatic.

With less power and a larger shape, the Galibier 16C is tipped to reach a 220 mph top speed – a good thirty less than the Veyron’s top end, but still miles ahead of even the fastest production sedans.

Sounds fantastic right?

You want to talk luxury cars? Okay, my friends and fellow car enthusiasts, then we are going to talk luxury cars.

Specifically, we are going to talk about luxury from a very surprising, very unexpected — by me, at least — source: Mazda.

You cannot take even the shortest glimpse at the concept for the Mazda Furai without admitting that this car is definitely luxurious. It just screams richness with the way it looks. It is an interpretation on the Nagare design, an award winning aesthetic named after a Japanese term known to mean “the embodiment of motion,” as well as “flow.”

Both terms most definitely apply to the Furai concept. This low slung beauty looks both powerful and high class, the kind of thing you expect to see in the next James Bond film.

LAMBORGHINI REVENTON ROADSTER

Lamborghini will be revealing yet another boast-worthy super car at the Frankfurt Auto Show coming up this month.  This Lambo will be sporting the same stealth fighter-inspired angular bodywork as the standard Reventón that was unveiled two years ago at the Frankfurt auto show.

The new topless Lambo will reportedly make use of its all-wheel drive system to help the run to 60 in just 3.4 seconds. Top speed is expected to be well over 200 miles per hour, as you’d expect from an Italian supercar with a mid-mounted 650-horsepower V12 powerplant.   The car, as a coupe model, redefines style and elegance with alcantara upholstery, carbon fiber trim and body panels and aggressive 18-inch wheels.  As well as unique aviation-themed LCD instrumentation.

There will only be 20 of these made at this time, making this an ultra exclusive car. WOW. end of story.

via – www.theposhreview.com

After five years in production, Ferrari are preparing to retire their F430 line, replacing it with their all-new mid-engined model – the 458 Italia. Set to be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September, the latest model to roll out of Maranello packs the same high performance into a fresh, head-turning design.

The two-seater berlinetta has benefitted from the expertise of the best and the brightest in the industry, with its Pininfarina-designed aerodynamic aluminum chassis, the latest technological innovations from the Formula One track, and input from race legend Michael Schumacher himself.

With its 4.5-liter V8 pushing out 570 bhp, the 458 Italia sprints to 60 mph (100 km/h) in under 3.4 seconds, with a top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h), making it the first Ferrari V8 to break the 200 mph speed barrier. Other improvements over its predecessor include a more direct steering ratio, more advanced traction control and ABS, and reduced emissions and fuel consumption.

With Ferrari’s name so intricately tied to Formula One racing, you would have expected Germany’s infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit to already sport one of the Prancing Horse’s souvenir shops.

But just last weekend, Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen took some time off Sunday’s Grand Prix to officiate Ferrari’s first-ever store in Germany, overlooking Nordschleife.

The 240 sq m Ferrari store is developed by Studio Iosa Ghini, and is a shrine to all things Ferrari. And the store is just a piece of the jigsaw to expand the Nürburgring complex into a Ferrari wonderland, with hotels, shopping centers, lounges and even conference and events centers in the pipeline.

Plans are also afoot to bring the number of Ferrari stores to more than 40 over the next three years, with several lined up for China and Southeast Asia.

The Fight Motorcycle sounds aggressive, but a glance at the bike itself makes its name rather self explanatory. Direct from a Blade Runner fantasy, the Fighter is a sci-fi dream with an industrial carbon-fibre, titanium and aluminium chassis packing 190mph of performance.

With only 46 of these metal monsters created by Confederate Motor Company®, the Fighter features the 62″ wheelbase, 27″H seat, integrated braking system and 1966c.c. engine among other high-tech goodies.

Price $110,000.00

The second leg of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo competition recently wrapped up in Germany. Once more, Blancpain President and CEO Marc A. Hayek put on his racing best and took to the track himself.

As title sponsor, every Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 was deckled out in the brand’s colors but the most remarkable thing about this competition is the participation of Hayek, who joins the ranks of professional drivers such as Peter Kox as he lines up against them.

Also leading from the front is the exceptional watch the manufacture has created, the Super Trofeo Chronograph. With its alcantara strap, brushed steel case in black, blackened flyback chronograph movement and a black dial, one might fairly call this piece a horological dark horse. We will be bringing you more on this watch in due course, as well as more on the race, the next leg of which runs 23-25 July.

With Gucci announcing big plans for China, another Italian luxury brand has also made bold claims about the communist state.

Italian sportscar marque Lamborghini has tipped China to overtake its native country as the second biggest market after the United States in the next three to five years, according to its chief executive Stephan Winkelmann, speaking at the Reuters Global Luxury Summit.

While U.S. and Europe both registered steep declines in auto sales, China posted a 21 percent increase in the first five months of this year, Reuters reported.

In fact, China has overtaken U.S. as the world’s no. 1 auto market in January, while the latter

China’s huge potential for growth amid global slumps in auto sales have prompted Lamborghini to send its executives to China to oversee its business development there.

Winkelmann is confident the sports car culture will grow in China, as road infrastructure improves and Chinese consumers lap up more European luxury brands.

He told Reuters: “They (referring to the Chinese) change so fast. They change in a year like we changed in two decades in the past.

“They have such a knowledge about the brands and what is going on in Europe. They love what is coming out of Europe. What is European is something for them which they want to possess.”

If you are looking for luxury in 2010, you are definitely in for a surprise, for the 2010 Jaguar XK-R is definitely going to be right up your alley.  This car is absolutely incredible all the way around and to be honest, the supercharged engine, sleek look and absolutely fashion-forward sex appeal of this car is absolutely impeccable.  The 2010 Jaguar XK-R actually features a 5.0 liter V8 engine and it is definitely the choice among all sorts of sport car lovers.

The inside is absolutely incredible as well and while I am not usually a Jaguar person, I would actually indulge myself a bit and get this beautiful, luxury car.  After all, it can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 5.2 seconds and that is extremely impressive … at least to me!

So if you want luxury and class, take a look at the 2010 Jaguar XK-R!  This car is going places … seriously!

Coinciding with the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, Steve Saleen who’s name has been equated to anything ‘Stang came up with a vision for the auto classic.

Saleen’s new firm the SMS Supercars recently released a concept sketch of the go fast Mustang. It was released during the Mustang anniversary party in Birmingham, Alabama. The versions of the Mustang will come as a 460 and a 460X.

To customize the new Mustang, the car designer gave special attention to the details of the diffusers, splitters, fascias, and the air induction system of the 2010 model. The sketches also emphasized on the architecture of the suspension and the brakes of the car.

The interiors of the Mustang will be pimped out too with leather and Alcantara. The panels will be finished with hand stitching.

The 460 version of the Mustang will boast of V8 4.6L engine that roars a whopping 470 horsepower and a 427 lb-ft torque. The powerful engine will be paired with an automatic or manual five speed transmission. I’d probably take it over the Ford Mustang GT 500 too!

Roland Gumpert, formerly the engineer dynamo of  Audi, is now at the global list of manufacturing with his Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmBH, the renowned performance magnanimous and high-dollar Apollo Supercars. This time, Gumpert is expected to get the spotlight at this month’s auto show in Geneva as he unveils a new line of his cars with Apollo Speed.

Apollo Speed features sleeker aerodynamics and a lower height that makes this model beat others with the top speed of 224 miles per hour. It can also deliver an amazing 800 horsepower.

The Speed’s power is derived from the 4.2 Audi V8, which has been engineered dramatically to be able the Apollo reach an extraordinary horsepower figure. Aside from that, twin turbo chargers are installed to ensure a 664 pound-feet torque available at an approximately low speed.

When it comes to acceleration features, it can reach up to 60 miles per hour in just 3.0 seconds, and it is difficult to break, regardless of the horsepower, because of limitations in rubber to asphalt adhesion. Records has it that the Apollo Speed can only take 8.9 seconds to reach 124 miles per hour, and the hike continues to go all the way to 223 miles per hour.

Looking at the car exterior, the Speed has the latest front fascia, enormous air intakes, a modifiable wing on the rear, kneaded wheel arches, latest from the tail lamps, innovated wheel designs that is installed with a dual-clutch transmission for six-speed and a distinguishing two-tone paint outlook.

As part of the Centenary celebrations of the company, Morgan has announced a special edition Aero SuperSports model.

While Ferrari offered up its lat production F430 (with a special silver and gold livery) for charity at the RM Auctions over the weekend, it was another classic that stole the show at the 3rd annual Ferrari Leggende e Passione auction in Maranello.

The vintage Ferrari in question – a 1957 Ferrari 250 TR, chassis no. 0714TR – went under the hammer for more than $12 million, eclipsing the previous record set by a 1961 250 GT California Spyder last year for the most expensive motor car ever sold at auction.

Fully restored in its period race-correct black livery and red nose, this 250TR was one of only 22 Testa Rossas ever built from 1957 to 1958 that featured the Scaglietti-designed ‘pontoon-fender’.

The Ferrari 250 TRs are recognized by discerning collectors as one of the most desirable and competitive racing Ferraris ever built, having raced and won in 10 of 19 international championship races from 1958 to 1961.

0714TR was no exception, and according to Ferrari, was the most campaigned of the 250TR cliente series cars, with its own proud ownership and storied racing history to tell.

The car’s first owner, Italian racing driver and coachbuilder Piero Drogo took it to a fourth placed finish in the 1000 km Buenos Aires in January 1958, competing alongside legendary names like Phil Hill, Peter Collins, Wolfgang von Trips and Olivier Gendebien.

Since then, 0714TR has gone on to compete in the Grand Prix of Cuba and Portugal, followed by a string of triumphs on the 1959 North American racing circuit before bowing out at the Elkhart Lake 500 in June 1963.

The car’s new owner, whose name was not disclosed, has no doubt not only scored a precious collector’s item but also a slice of Ferrari’s racing history.

By Lawrence Tan

The economic downturn has not spared luxury car marques from the inevitability of announcing cuts to their workforce, but at least, one luxury marque is bucking the trend.

With the recent introduction of its latest model, the Rolls-Royce Ghost, the company plans to double its manufacturing workforce, mainly in the wood, leather and paint shops, and the Ghost’s own dedicated assembly line. This translates to almost 400 new jobs and bringing its Goodwood workforce to 900.

Production of the Ghost begins this autumn in an all-new expanded facility with deliveries expected in early 2010.