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The triptyque designed for the 2010 Dakar on the territories of Argentina and Chile promises to each kind of driver a sequence adapted to their qualities. The long stay in the Atacama Desert will be the climax of a 9000 kilometres loop through the continent. But the global balance of the course with varied difficulties force all to be consistent and careful to the end.
source / dakar.com
Rare ... the Bugatti will be sold at auction
The rare Bugatti was dumped in the water in 1936 by a frustrated Swiss official because the owner had abandoned it without paying the import tax.
The value of the car was less than the money owed and the customs officer was compelled to destroy it.
He drove it over the Italian border to nearby Lake Maggiore — and pushed it into the deep waters.
Lifting gear ... legendary car sees daylight after seven decades
Legend ... the car was at the bottom of a lake for 73 years
In all its glory ... in this shape, a Bugatti can be worth up to £200,000
The story became part of folklore in the nearby town of Ascona as locals debated whether the car actually existed.
Thirty years on the truth emerged when a keen diver rediscovered the Bugatti lying on its side 160 feet down at the bottom of the lake.
From then on members of the local diving club regularly visited it and last year decided to raise it and sell it for a local charity.
Incredibly there was still air in the tyres and traces of the original Bugatti blue paint on the bodywork.
It is believed that 20 per cent of the vehicle is salvageable and collectors and museums are likely to be keen to buy it.
James Knight, of auctioneers Bonhams, said: “We’ve offered a few things in our time in the motoring department, but nothing like this.
“Sometimes we get cars that have been hidden in barns for years, but never have we had one that’s spent 70 years at the bottom of a lake.
“The story as we know it is that in the late 1920s or early 1930s the car was taken to Switzerland by its French owner.
“The import duties and taxes were not paid and the owner just left it. The car was ten or 11-years-old by then and not worth as much as the money owed.
“Eventually the customs official got fed up and pushed it into the lake. He was legally obliged to destroy it and rolling it into the lake seemed the best way.
“The story entered local folklore and in the 1960s a diver called Ugo Pillon decided to try and find it, and in 1967 he located it on its side about 50 metres down.
“From then on divers from the local club dived on it just as a curiosity.
“But recently one of the diver club’s members was attacked and died and a foundation was set up in his memory to help combat juvenile violence.
“The club decided to raise the car to sell it and donate the money to the Damiano Tamagni Foundation.”
The Type 22 Bugatti, built in 1925, had four cylinders, a 1.5 litre engine and reach almost 100mph. It was a touring two-seater with no roof and was very lightweight.
Later versions of the car were made in France, but this was known as a Brescia Bugatti, after the Italian town where it was manufactured.
The sale is on January 23 at the Bonhams Retromobile sale in France.
source / times
Steve McQueen’s magnificent 1940 Indian Chief motorcycle, one of the most prized among his collection, is being auction off on Nov. 14 during Bonhams & Butterfields‘ Classic California sale at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The King of Cool was pictured with the beloved bike on the cover of the book Steve McQueen: The Last Mile. The actor had the classic moto meticulously restored by Southern California’s Starklite Motors in the ’70s and used it to zoom around the Hollywood Hills. It’s estimated at an extremely reasonable $55,000 – $65,000. Also on offer is McQueen’s original condition 1949 Chevy pickup which he used to travel incognito around Beverly Hills, wearing sunglasses and a big cowboy hat to dodge the paparazzi; it’s estimated at $20,000 – $30,000.
source / duncanquinn.com
A limited edition Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita diamond-weave carbon fiber supercar (above), the first of only three being built for collectors worldwide, is for sale in South Africa with a whopping pricetag of $5 million, making it the world’s most expensive supercar – easily beating out the Bugatti Pur Sang. The Swedish supercar is a special version of the marque’s already exotic carbon fiber CCXR model, which goes for about $2 million. Both cars feature a 5.0 liter twin supercharged V8 engine producing 1,018 hp, and can do 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds with a top speed of over 250 mph. The Trevita’s unique diamond weave finish means that when exposed to sunlight it “sparkles like millions of silvery white diamonds infused inside the visible carbon fiber weave bodywork.”
source / koenigsegg.com
Any performance automaker worth its logo has got to have a wristwatch to match. And while a carmaker’s choice of wristwatch – think Panerai and Ferrari, Breitling and Bentley, Parmigiani and Bugatti – is meant to reflect the company’s image, in some cases (like this PVD titanium one) it’s more a reflection of the brand’s aspirations. Because Abarth has always been about punching above its weight and taking on vehicles twice its size and ten times its price. So it should stand to reason that, even though its performance hatchbacks sell for relatively modest sums, the Abarth chronograph goes for more than €4,900, or the equivalent of some $7,300.
The timepiece is crafted by none other than Bernard Richards Manufacturer, a watchmaking atelier already known in motor racing circles for their inspiration from automobiles. To top the racing-themed design of the stock V12-T-44 chronograph, BRM has further differentiated the Abarth special edition with such custom touches as chrome hands and red stitching on the Nomex wrist-strap. Only 49 examples will be made available exclusively from BRM’s website, making this timepiece considerably more exclusive than the cars its made to accompany.
source / brm-manufacture.com
See that polo-sporting playboy climbing out of the Ferrari convertible? Look at his shoes. They’re probably made by Tod’s. The Italian shoemaker has become synonymous with the exotic automaker, and not just because the chairman of the latter sits on the board of the former. Now the two kindred spirits have come together for a special line of driving mocs made by one for the other.
The Tod’s for Ferrari line consists of three models – the Leccetto (with laces), the Laccetto Tubi GT (with tassels) and the Mascherina Griglia (with a special emblem styled after the grille of the iconic 250 GTO). The latter two are available in black and brown suede, with the former also available in red and blue (in true Elvis style). Each feature insoles ribbed like the seats of a Ferrari sportscar, and are made in the same time-honored tradition that makes any pair of Tod’s loafers indispensable for the playboy lifestyle. They sell for 290 to 320 euros, and are available directly from Ferrari’s online store.
source / store.ferrari.com
If you’re wealthy, you can buy a Ferrari. But if you’re truly wealthy, you can commission your own. Coachbuilt examples of Maranello’s finest have a deep history that has come up to the present date with such examples as Zagato 550 GTZ and this, the Sbarro Lista Office.
Based on the 80s-era Ferrari Testarossa, the strangely-named Lista Office is the fourth in Swiss designer Franco Sbarro’s Alcador series, and the third iteration of the modern Alcador GTB. Commissioned by a Swiss car collector by the name of Lienhard, the Lista Office was unveiled this past weekend at the Essen tuner show in Germany. No word on how much Lienhard had to pay for the privilege, but you can bet it cost a fair bit more than stock.
source / topspeed.com
South Florida’s concentration of wealth and climate-on-steroids weather patterns makes it good practice for both Revelations and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Ft. Lauderdale’s RoboVault, opened earlier this year, casts itself as protection for the locals’ valuable baubles both from sticky fingers and Mother Nature’s bad days.
RoboVault is a wholly enclosed robotic retrieval and storage system much like you’d find at most shipping ports, without the bilge pumps and catcalls. Drive inside the concrete-and-steel-reinforced building that can withstand Category 5 hurricanes and 200-mph winds, and place your car on the pallet. Once the system has identified you with retinal scanning, heartbeat detection, and biometric recognition an automated arm will remove your vehicle to your assigned container.
RoboVault also houses a climate-controlled wine cellar for 4,000 bottles, and safe deposit boxes. Another touch: a business center and wine-tasting lounge if you’ve parked your car before heading to the airport and have time to spare, and a valet service that will retrieve your car if you call ahead.
When the region is tested by the inevitable hurricane, a large scale power outage will be neutralized by RoboVault’s back-up generator. It maintains 100% of the building’s electrical operations for two weeks, including the motion detectors and infrared alarms, so there’ll be no Die Hard antics here. Tucked in its steel mesh unit, your Ferrari will be prepared for the Second Coming, and that might make the Rapture all the more rapturous.
source / www.robostorage.com
With a deep connection to functionally themed luxury sport watches, IWC rejects an approach to watch making that focuses on form over function. In recent years according to one poll, IWC, has risen to be considered the top luxury watch brand among wealthy Americans. Frequently sighted on the wrists of athletes to actors and bankers, the wide adoption of IWC watches proves that watch lovers want timepieces with utilitarian roots.
IWC watches are split between two major styles, with activity themed offerings such as Pilot or Aquatimer diving watches, and classic “thinking person” styles such as the mega popular Portuguese or Ingeniuer timepieces. Equally proficient in steel or gold, IWC is also known to offers excellently finished movements of in-house design and manufacture. IWC is also known for offering luxury watches for a wide array of budgets from mid level luxury to the ultra high-end.
While a name like “International Watch Company” might sound universal, the brand is totally Swiss in design and quality. IWC watches have little trouble being recognized in most circles and benefit from a distinct lack of pretentiousness in their brand image. Owning an IWC luxury watch typically communicates that you buy nice watches for your own enjoyment, not merely for others to see.
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