German car tuning specialist, Mansory, has collaborated with custom phone designer Golden Dreams to create a limited edition, 24ct gold iPhone5..
Limited to 50 (numbered) pieces, at $6300 each, the phone was launched at the recent BaselWORLD watch and jewellery exhibition in Basel, Switzerland.”
Mansory has form with outrageous gold editions. It’s custom ‘Renovatio’ version of the McLaren SLR supercar in 2008, was available with gold finish, engine upgrades, and an outrageous body kit.
McLaren has released details on the prodigious output of its new P1 hyper sports car, as well as pics of its carbon-rich interior.
Due to go on sale worldwide later this year, the P1’s petrol-electric hybrid powertrain is claimed to produce 673kW/900Nm. Enough to propel the ultra-lightweight two-seater from zero to 100km/h in 2.8sec, and on to a vmax of 384km/h.
The mid-mounted 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8 alone produces 542kW/720, with the electric motor bolted directly on top, channeling its extra power through the seven speed, dual clutch gearbox to the rear wheels.
A dramatic interior design is dominated by carbonfibre weave, with a simple digital dash dominating the driver’s view. Although, comforts like climate-control and sat-nav are included.
For details and more images of the McLaren P1 look out for the April issue of MOTOR magazine: on sale Wednesday, March 13th.
Volkswagen has confirmed it will build the world’s most fuel-efficient production car, the ultra-lightweight, two-seat XL1, that consumes just 0.9L/100km.
Set to go on display at next month’s Geneva Motor Show, and begin assembly at VW’s Osnabruck plant in Germany later this year, the XL1’s claimed economy figure makes it around six times more miserly than even today’s fuel-sipping crop of micro city cars.
It’s teardrop, aerodynamic shape has been honed in the wind tunnel, the car recording a drag-coefficient (Cd) number of 0.19, while the current Holden Commodore registers 0.33.
The plug-in hybrid is powered by a mid-mounted, two cylinder, turbo diesel engine, supplemented by an electric motor, both driving the rear wheels through a seven speed dual clutch gearbox.
Thanks to extensive use of carbon composites and lightweight alloys in the chassis and body the XL1 tips the scales at 795kg; about a third lighter than the already featherweight Toyota 86.
It’s also tiny, measuring 3.9m long, 1.7m wide and only 1.2m high.
John Moore, director of ‘A Good Day To Die Hard’, estimates 132 cars were wrecked in filming the main chase sequence of the Die Hard franchise’s lastest installment, with the damage bill coming in at approximately $11 million.
According to Moore, in the film, again starring Bruce Willis, “There were 132 (cars) that could never be used again. Another 518 required a lot of work…”.
He adds, “Someone showed me the numbers on the car chase, and soup to nuts, you put it all together, it was like an $11 million sequence.”.
It’s worth noting that figure doesn’t include the 70 cars, 4WD’s and light trucks supplied free of charge by the movie’s major sponsor Mercedes-Benz..
This time Willis’ character, New York City cop John McClane, finds himself in Moscow, working with his estranged son Jack, to stop the Russian mafia from controlling nuclear weapons.
The film opens locally on Thursday, March 21st.
What do you think the fragrance of Bentley is? For some, it will be the smell of fine leather trim and thick pile carpeting inside the latest Mulsanne or Continental GT. While others will imagine a whiff of gear oil from a classic 1920s Le Mans winning racer.
Well, now Bentley is offering a third option, the ‘Bentley for Men’ fragrance, created by top French perfumer Nathalie Lorson, from the perfume house Firmenich.
“I chose cedar because of its powerful unadulterated scent and patchouli for its sensual depth and natural elegance,” explains Lorson.
As well, Bentley has collaborated with famous French crystal maker Lalique to create the ‘Lalique for Bentley Crystal Edition’.
Adorned with a crystal version of the legendary ‘Flying B’ Bentley mascot, this eau de parfum is composed by Mylene Alran, from the French perfume house Robertet.
The price for the 40 ml Lalique special edition … if you must ask, is $4500, while the ‘Bentley for Men’ Eau de Toilette, in 60 ml size, costs ‘only’ $75.
His engineering philosophy was to ‘add lightness’, and now 30 years after his untimely death, Colin Chapman CBE, one of motor racing’s greatest innovators, has been inducted into Motor Sport magazine’s prestigious Hall of Fame.
Chapman founded Lotus Engineering in 1952, and the company went on to win seven Formula One Constructor’s Championships, six Drivers’ World titles, as well as the famous Indy 500 in the United States.
He is credited with numerous design breakthroughs, including the fully stressed ‘monocoque’ chassis, ‘ground effects’ aerodynamics, and use of lightweight carbonfibre construction.
For the third consecutive year Rolls-Royce has booked a record global sales result, with 3575 well-heeled customers slotting a sparkling new Roller in their garage during 2012.
Although that production total is a tiny drop in the ocean of roughly 60 million passenger cars produced worldwide last year, it reflects the iconic luxury brand’s on-going push into emerging markets, including Latin America, China and the Middle East.
The marque’s two model range, consisting of the Ghost, a mere snip in Australia at $645,000, and the top-shelf Phantom, the Drophead Coupe version of which retails for $1.35M, is now offered in 40 countries, with the United States accounting for the bulk of sales.
The 108-year old maker claims 2012 also marked a record for its ‘Bespoke’ program, with 95percent of Phantoms and three out of every four Ghosts featuring some element of custom personalisation.
Aston Martin, the iconic and quintessentially British sports car maker, is celebrating 100 years in operation this year, and MOTOR has put together a highlights gallery of its amazing century.
Like any long-standing business it’s endured financial ups and downs, but the marque’s defining characteristic has always been brutally powerful (as well as stunningly beautiful) GT’s and sports cars.
Motor racing has also been a consistent theme with varying degrees of success in Formula One and sportscar competition. The DBR1 secured the 1959 World Sportscar Championship by winning races such as the Nurburgring 1000km race and 24 hours of Le Mans.
A Toyota dealer in the Russian city of Perm has created any icy version of the Landcruiser 4WD, complete with very cool interior.
Perm, the Eastern-most city in Europe, gets a bit chilly in winter, and its main event each year is an ‘Ice Sculpture Festival.
Ice artists from all over the world descend on Gorkovo Park in the centre of the city, and transform it into a dream-like ice village.
Accurate down to the badgework details, the frozen SUV features a real windscreen for frosty drivers’ viewing pleasure, and fluoro highlights.
One of the world’s most famous film cars, the original Batmobile, built by legendary California customizer George Barris, for the 1960s TV series ‘Batman’, is being offered for sale for the first time this January.
Much copied in the last 45 years, the genuine Batmobile, based on the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept show vehicle, has been in Barris’ personal collection since he bought the base car from the Ford Motor Company (for one dollar) in 1965.
The iconic crime-fighting machine is being offered with a reserve price in place, although action house Barrett-Jackson is tight-lipped on the figure.
