Aptera motors is gearing up to bring you the hovercraft you've always wanted. It's amazing, no? The way the wheels are positioned (using the same sophisticated technology that once brought you the tricycle), it appears to just glide down the road--or rather, above the road. Fascinating!
The best thing about the hovercraft (sorry, the Aptera) is its efficiency. This vehicle, though its appearance may be somewhat smoke, mirrors, and Back to the Future, gets 230 miles per gallon. That's pretty darn good, and you don't have to run it on trash or even power from the clocktower when struck by lightning.
The hybrid Aptera will begin production in 2009 and cost about $30,000. That's just around 8,500 gallons of gas!
Globe-Trotter, a British company specializing in luxury luggage since 1897, has teamed up with J. Crew to bring you a beautiful line of travel cases.
Pictured at right is the Globe-Trotter Centenary, a 21" case at $18,000. The Centenary is made from the finest materials, including leather trim and straps and a Vulcan Fibre® shell.
The line also includes suitcases in other sizes and a vanity case. Don't miss the 26" suitcase in black!
All connoisseurs of beautiful design and objects, be they motorcycle enthusiasts or not, will appreciate The Art of BMW: 85 Years of Motorcycling Excellence, just out from Motorbooks. There over 100 of them in the stunning volume, as lovingly photographed as any assemblage of supermodels by Henry Von Wartenberg. Though the book covers the whole of the marque's illustrious history - all 85 years - author Peter Gantriis focuses on BMW's incredibly gorgeous pre-World War II models, many from the incomparable Peter Nettesheim Collection, such as the awesome R32 from 1925 (above). These are bikes of almost sculptural beauty - but don't take our word for it, see for yourself in the gallery.
The Blue Resort in Miami is currently in the soft open phase. The 240-suite resort is located in the heart of Doral surrounded by palm-speckled greens, oaks and lakes. The Blue is surrounded by 144 holes of golf and each suite offers fairway views Suites have fully-equipped kitchens, private verandas and marble-tiled five-fixture bathrooms with rain shower and stand-alone Jacuzzi bathtub accompanied with a flat screen television. Amenities include plush terry robes, 42" flat panel high-definition LCD televisions, in-room coffee/teamakers, wireless internet access, sound systems with DVD players and iPOD docking stations. The resort will also include the 5300 Chop House restaurant, a poolside bar and grill and the Spa Azul. Now through Dec. 20, you can get a "Sneak-A-Peek" rate of $189 per night.
A new Hawaiian vodka has hit the market and uses Maui Gold pineapple juice as its base. The Pau Maui vodka is 80-proof and the pineapple taste disappears during the filtration process. It is only the second Hawaiian vodka. Ocean Vodka, which launched a couple of years ago features organic grain from Idaho and desalinated deep ocean water from the Big Island. Pau Maui vodka is currently only available in Hawaii.
Four Chimneys on the island of Nantucket was built in 1835, long before Nantucket was a thriving tourist destination and was still a community based on the whaling economy. Like many of Nantucket's older houses, this grand four-story home has since served as one of the island's many bed and breakfast inns. The home was renovated in 2003 and with new electrical and plumbing systems. The first floor includes the stairway with a decorative painted floor and two parlor rooms with high ceilings and fireplaces. There is a large kitchen and a dining area with wide, plank floors, fireplace and a window seat. There is also a bedroom on the first floor and a large covered porch. The second floor includes more bedrooms and a master bedroom with access to a large deck which provides ocean views. The basement includes a two-bedroom ground floor apartment with an open living and kitchen area. This home listed at $6.495 million.
ArtCarved has gotten into the limited edition engagement ring business. They have announced a partnership with 100 authorized retailers to sell the individually numbered series of 250 rings. The ring's design, which has been nominated for several design awards, features tapered baguettes and pave diamonds that cascade down the shank. The shank of each ring is engraved with its own sequential number. It will come in platinum but it will also be available, by special order, in 18k gold or palladium.
Prince Charles has recently focused his efforts beyond Buckingham Palace to communities throughout the UK and as far reaching as Rose Town, Jamaica and Freetown, Sierra Leone. He's done so as part of his efforts to promote "sustainable urbanism" (the same concept known as New Urbanism in the U.S.), a model developed in the early '80s to encourage ecologically sound development that would create diverse, walkable neighborhoods.
His Foundation for the Built Environment is the charity through which he's able to spread this message and attempt to teach others the values of sustainable design, which he believes will lead to affordable housing -- in ever higher demand in the UK -- and improvements in public health.
The foundation is one of several the Prince of Wales oversees and which receives some of the estimated £110 million he raises annually for his charities.
RM Auction returns to Hershey, Pennsylvania this week for the second annual Vintage Motor Cars of Hershey auction. On October 10th at Hershey Lodge, the auction will coincide with the AACA Eastern Division Fall Meet. The star attraction is a 1933 Duesenberg La Grande Phaeton, shown above, which is considered one of the rarest and most desirable of the open bodied Duesenbergs. It is estimated to sell for$1.8 to $2.4 million. Other cars on the block include a 1938 Packard Twelve Series 1608 Collapsible Touring Cabriolet by Brunn and a fully restored 1913 Locomobile Model M-48-3 Four-Passenger Baby Tonneau. The auction event will also present a series of individually customized pedal cars by some of today's leading automotive restorers and designers. The series of miniature classics have been specially handcrafted for the Hershey auction and proceeds from their sale will support the Antique Automobile Club of America.
At the Paris Motor Show, Maybach announced it was taking orders for its new open-topped Landaulet at $1.4 million a pop. The car, first floated as a concept at last year's Middle East International Auto Show, seems calculated to appeal to oil-rich sheikhs. In Paris the company displayed its one-off example in Gulf-friendly white with a two-tone Grand Nappa leather interior - black for the chauffeur's compartment and white for the passengers, reinforcing the fact that this car is made for those who do not have to drive themselves.
The hand-built to order Landaulet, ready for delivery later this fall, harkens back to the open-topped limousines that popes and kings used to be driven around in. It's based on the Maybach 62 S, billed as the world's most powerful series-produced luxury saloon. At $1.4 million, the Landaulet, Maybach's fifth model, is second only to the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport in terms of the world's most expensive production cars. No doubt they're hoping the economy improves so they can sell some of them.
Over the past couple of years Russia's new wealthy have made some big moves in the art world. Most recently, as my colleague Jared Paul Stern reported that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich will be bankrolling a major Francis Bacon exhibition at his girlfriend Dasha Zhukova's new Moscow art gallery in 2010. Now auction house Phillips de Pury has been sold to Mercury, a Moscow-based luxury goods group. Phillip's founder Simon de Pury will still remain as chairman and will have a share in the company. This isn't Phillips's first spin with a luxury conglomerate, it was was briefly owned by LVMH. For Phillips, the new owners will provide a big influx of capital so that Phillips can continue adding to their contemporary art auctions and it will also likely bring some important auctions to Moscow.
Christie's has announced it will offer one of the two Lucian Freud portraits of Francis Bacon in its Post-War and Contemporary Art auction in London this October. Pilar Ordovas, Christie's Head of Post-War and Contemporary art, calls it an "intimate portrait" that is a testament to the relationship between arguably the two "most important British artists of the 20th century."
The piece is estimated to reach bids of up to £7 million, though if last May's sale of Freud's Benefit Supervisor Sleeping is any indication, it might go for more -- that painting sold for $33 million.
A luxurious villa in St. Barth's has just been sold by the local affiliate of Sotheby's Int'l Realty for $39 million, setting a new record for the swank French West Indies resort. Villa La Grande Maison des Etoiles, situated in an exclusive gated mountaintop community, sets a new standard in luxury for the famed getaway. The seven-bedroom, seven-bath estate features panoramic views of the ocean, neighboring islands and incoming megayachts, as well as multiple in- and outdoor living and dining areas, several pools and lush gardens, all bordered by magnificent stone walls handcrafted from volcanic rock. There are Louis Vuitton and Hermes-themed guest suites with views as well. If you missed out on this elegant property, don't despair; the villa will be available for rent a few weeks out of the year for pre-qualified individuals, at a cost of $193,550 per week during peak season.
Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, 58, the richest man in Europe and the 4th richest man in the world, can now be known as the world's biggest loser after his net worth plummeted by a whopping $28 billion over the last four months due to the global financial crisis. Mittal, a London resident who paid a record $200 million for a Georgian mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens earlier this year, still has $17 billion left, the London Timesreports. We don't yet know how Mittal's stunning loss - which equates to $240 million / day or nearly $10 million per hour - re-positions him on the world's rich list as several other plutocrats have also suffered reversals, but it's safe to say he'll end up much further down unless the stock market recovers soon.
New Yorkers and those visiting the city might want to leave their Tuesdays free for a unique dining opportunity. "Top Chef" star and celebrity chef Tom Colicchio is opening a new small restaurant inside the private dining room of his Craft restaurant at 47 E. 19th St. His TOM: Tuesday Dinner will open on October 14 and will seat just 32 and be open only every other Tuesday. The important part is that Colicchio himself will do the cooking in the open kitchen. He has said that he is doing this for fun and to get himself back in the kitchen. Like many other celebrity chefs he has found himself busy overseeing his chain of restaurants, putting out books and doing a variety of personal appearances. He has cleared his schedule for a year to make sure he will be there to cook. The tasting menu will start at $150 and go as high as $250 per person for a seven to eight course meal. You can call for reservations at 212-400-6495.
Globe-Trotter, a British company specializing in luxury luggage since 1897, has teamed up with J. Crew to bring you 
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