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Vogard Radiator F1 Watch

New from one of the cooled indy active watch makers I know of is the Vogard Radiator F1. It takes the concept of the standard line of Vogard world time watches and gives it an F1 racing them. The "Radiator" part of the name comes from the skeletonized watch dial that looks like part of a car radiator. The cool watch allows you to adjust the timezone simply by turning the bezel. Open the latch located on the right side of the watch to unlock the bezel motion. The time changes easily without any loss in timing accuracy. There is of course also a 24 hour hand used as an AM/PM indicator - not sure if it is independently adjustable as a GMT hand.

The 43mm wide case is made from black steel and Titanium Carbide. The complex to make case is very hard and water resistant to 100 meters. Another part of the F1 theme are the replacement of the reference time city names on the bezel. They have been replaced by famous F1 tracks all over the world. The timepiece also makes it possible to indicate Daylight Saving Time (DST), when taking into consideration the differences between timezones. The movement is a Swiss automatic specially modified by Vogard. The watch is a difference style that the more conservative line of Vogard watches but is true to the brand's DNA. The watch is available with a number of straps, including a metal bracelet, rubber, or alligator (red or black). Available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2010, F1, Radiator, Vogard, watch, world time, WorldTime

Mercedes-Benz Shows Off SLS AMG F1 Safety Car

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG F1 Safety Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

Sometimes, speed equals safety. Perhaps nowhere else is that more true than on a racetrack when you're piloting the so-called safety car and you've got a pack of Formula One cars riding up your tailpipe. Good thing, then, that the newest safety car to be used for F1 duty is the 571-horsepower Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

Interestingly, that tailpipe is the only mechanical change made to the SLS AMG to bring it up to Official F1 Safety Car specs. Mercedes-Benz left everything else on the car, including the engine, suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes, stock. Not that you won't be able to tell the difference between the Safety Car and a standard Gullwing – a new carbon fiber hood with front-mounted camera, rear number plate with a camera and 700 LEDs and an "aerodynamically optimised roof light bar" (for the first time using all LEDs) ensure nobody can miss this particular SLS AMG.

For what it's worth, the SLS AMG replaces the SL63 AMG, which had been the Official Safety Car for the previous two seasons. Again, the F1 Safety Car will be piloted by former DTM driver Bernd Mayländer. Also, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate (that's wagon to us Americans) will serve as the Official F1 Medical Car. Let's hope that one doesn't see too much track time, eh? Click past the break for the official press release.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG F1 Safety Car

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Tags: f1, f1 safety car, F1SafetyCar, formula 1, formula one, formula one safety car, Formula1, FormulaOne, FormulaOneSafetyCar, mercedes, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz sls amg, Mercedes-benzSlsAmg, sls amg, sls amg gullwing, SlsAmg, SlsAmgGullwing

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World Champion's Father Establishes GP Prep Drivers Academy

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you want to get behind the wheel of a formula racing car, there is no shortage of advanced driving schools that would be glad to give you the opportunity. But at the top of the totem pole sits the new GP Prep Drivers Academy.

The program is being established by Anthony Hamilton, who as manager and father of 2008 Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, knows a thing or two about coaching aspiring drivers. The academy was born out of a need to provide new drivers with testing opportunities on their way up to Formula One, trying to get around the tight regulations that prohibit mid-season testing sessions.

Hamilton's in the process of leasing a fleet of retired 2009 F1 cars from various teams, starting with McLaren. The price for running one of GP Prep's test sessions, though, will reportedly approach the cost of campaigning a full grand prix weekend, which means millions of dollars for a bit of track time. Hey, nobody said F1 was cheap.

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Tags: anthony hamilton, AnthonyHamilton, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, gp, gp prep, gp prep drivers academy, GpPrep, GpPrepDriversAcademy, hamilton, lewis hamilton, LewisHamilton

The Ultimate F1 Chair

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Luxury Cars & Autos

We've seen our fair share of furniture designed to look like cars, but this one's got to take the cake. Created by Bulgarian interior designer Alexander Christoff, this chair was styled to look like a Formula One race car, but ergonomically shaped to cradle the contours of the human body instead of accelerate down straightaways and grip around hairpin turns.

It's made of fiberglass with chrome legs at the back and an adjustable, upholstered headrest. No word on availability, but as we've discovered, everything's available...for a price. And short of a megayacht in the Monte Carlo harbor, we can't think of a better place to watch the Monaco Grand Prix this year.

Gallery: F1 chair by Alexander Christoff

Source

Tags: alexander christoff, AlexanderChristoff, chair, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, furniture, lounge

Flavio Briatore Seeks His Day in Court

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Crimes and Misdemeanors

It's hard to feel bad for Flavio Briatore. The billionaire playboy is credited with expanding the Benetton empire around the world, and then went on to manage its Formula One racing team. When French automaker Renault bought the team, he became team principal, taking on a public role within the glamorous sport. Along the way he also started a handful of other racing series, acquired an English football club, opened luxurious resorts around the world under the Billionaire brand and proceeded to date some of the most glamorous models and actresses on the world stage, fathering a child with none other than Heidi Klum. But his career came to a grinding halt last year with the so-called "crash-gate" affair.

According to accusations, Briatore ordered his driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, helping his team-mate Fernandlo Alonso win the race. Briatore was both boss and manager to both drivers, and when Piquet blew the whistle, Flavio was kicked out of the sport by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the international governing body that supervises the sport.

Briatore has since won an appeal against the FIA in French courts, but says he'll never manage another F1 team again. Instead, he's suing the FIA again for damages caused to his reputation and to his driver management business. He may be cleared to race again, but Briatore's out for blood.

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Tags: billionaire, briatore, crash gate, CrashGate, f1, federation internationale de lautomobile, FederationInternationaleDeLautomobile, fia, flavio briatore, FlavioBriatore, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, renault, renault f1, RenaultF1

BMW Reportedly Defrauded in Formula One Sale

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Back in 2005, BMW shocked the Formula One racing world by announcing it would leave its longtime partner Williams F1 in order to acquire its rival Sauber. But after four years of racing, the economy tanked and the coffers ran dry. BMW announced it would withdraw from the sport, leaving Sauber to look for a new investor.

A new investor was found, but reports now indicate that the deal could have been an elaborate fraud. The buyer was identified as Qadbak Investments, a mysterious Swiss firm that had recently acquired a football club in England and which was supposedly backed by wealthy Middle Eastern investors who preferred to keep a low profile. After an exhaustive chase of paper trails and dummy companies, it now appears that Qadbak is nothing but a front for one Russell King, a British national based in Dubai previously convicted of fraud.

According to the report, King was planning on using Sauber as a means to tap into the revenue sharing scheme in Formula One, worth tens of millions of euros.

Source

Tags: bmw, bmw sauber, BmwSauber, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, qadbak, qadbak investments, QadbakInvestments, russell king, RussellKing, sauber

Mercedes-Benz Acquires World Champion Brawn GP Team

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports

Mercedes-Benz has a long history in grand prix racing. In the inter-war period, it competed with the famous Silver Arrows. After the war, the German automaker returned briefly, only to withdraw again after just one year. It wouldn't be until decades later that they'd come back to the scene, supplying engines first to the Sauber team (later acquired by arch-rival BMW) and then to McLaren, the championship team with which Mercedes has been tied – including a part-ownership and collaboration on the SLR McLaren supercar – since 1995. McLaren and Mercedes won several world championships throughout their fourteen-year history together, but now the two companies have gone their own separate ways. McLaren is building their own supercar – the MP4-12C – and Mercedes the SLS AMG, and now the two have announced a separation on the race track as well.

Although Mercedes will continue to provide McLaren with engines, the automaker has sold its stake back to the racing team. In its place, Benz has acquired a 75% stake in the Brawn GP team – which was previously Honda's, which in turn took over from British American Racing and Tyrrell before that. In its inaugural season, Brawn won both the constructors' title and the drivers' title, and will now be rebranded as Mercedes Grand Prix for the upcoming season. Eager to demonstrate German talent, the new Mercedes team has already signed Nico Rosberg – one of the youngest and most promising talents on the grid – and is preparing to announce its second driver shortly before returning for the 2010 championship in an effort to repeat this year's success.

Tags: f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, mclaren, mercedes, mercedes grand prix, mercedes-benz, MercedesGrandPrix, silver arrows, SilverArrows

F1 Champion Kimi Raikkonen Could Be Paid 17 Million Euros Not to Race Next Season

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports, Wealth

There are few sports figures paid as highly as Formula One drivers...world champions especially. With the 2009 season already wrapped up, teams are preparing for their assault on next year's championship, with an unprecedented game of musical chairs taking place in the off-season.

Among the changes, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is moving, at long last, from Renault to Ferrari. Trouble is, the Italian team already has two world-class drivers on contract. So to make room, Ferrari is willing to pay its 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen not to race.

According to reports, Raikkonen will be paid a whopping 17 million euros next year just to vacate his seat. He's free to move to another team, but if he does, Ferrari will only owe him 10 million euros. For his part, Kimi says he'll only consider McLaren, and knowing full well of the conditions of his contract, the British team (for whom he drove previously) is offering him only 5 million – a fair bit less than he'd be worth on the open market. The bottom line is that Raikkonen stands to make more money if he sits out next season than if he races.

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Tags: f1, ferrari, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, kimi, kimi raikkonen, KimiRaikkonen, mclaren, raikkonen, scuderia ferrari, ScuderiaFerrari

Brawn GP Racing Chronographs by Graham-London

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos

The correlations between high-performance racing machines and high-precision timepieces hardly need any elaboration, and the examples are plenty. It seems every premium automaker and every top-tier racing team has its own line of watches, usually crafted by Switzerland's finest watchmakers. And now Brawn GP has joined the fold.

If you haven't heard of Brawn GP, it's been a while since you've watched a grand prix. The team – headed by strategic mastermind Ross Brawn – that took over when Honda packed up and left Formula One racing last year is leading the world championship with only two rounds to go. But they've run most of the season without the sort of multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals you'd expect of the rookie race winners. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this year, however, the team announced a new deal with Anglo-Swiss watchmakers Graham-London, which lays claim to the first chronograph in timekeeping history. Graham has debuted a small line of timepieces custom made for the team, including the Chronofighter and the Silverstone, featuring Brawn GP's signature colors and individually numbered. Only 250 will be made, so you'd better be faster than a Brawn racer to get your hands on one.

Gallery: Brawn GP series by Graham-London

Tags: brawn, brawn gp, BrawnGp, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, graham, graham london, graham-london, GrahamLondon, grand prix, GrandPrix

$2 Million Supercar Catches Fire in California

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The internet is rife with reports of wealthy motorists – evidently possessing more money than driving skill – completely wrecking their six- or seven-figure exotic sportscars. But this one's a special case. What you're looking at here is the burnt-out husk of a McLaren F1, one of only 100 ever made and even fewer imported by the grey market to the United States. Its owner reportedly likes taking his prized possession on long journeys, but evidently hadn't started it up in a while – six months, according to reports – before taking a drive through Santa Rosa, California, where the engine burst out in flames last week on Airport Boulevard. Ordinarily that kind of damage would be cause for an insurance write-off, but considering that the car is said to be worth $2-2.5 million and is insured for $3 million, and that the repairs surely wouldn't come anywhere near that amount, the insurance actuaries decided to pack it up and send the vehicle back to England where it was made to be repaired.

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Tags: burnt mclaren f1, BurntMclarenF1, california, f1, mclaren, mclaren f1, MclarenF1, press democrat, PressDemocrat, santa rosa, santa rosa california, santa rosa press democrat, SantaRosa, SantaRosaCalifornia, SantaRosaPressDemocrat, supercar, wrecked exotic, WreckedExotic

F1 Drivers Line Up for Virgin Galactic Space Flight

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

You'd figure that after winning grands prix and driving the fastest cars on the planet, an accomplished F1 driver would have had his fill of extreme Gs and rapid acceleration, but these are speed junkies, and they're always looking for a new adventure. That could be why two seasoned F1 pros are lining up, among the myriad celebrities and billionaires, to experience a low-orbit space flight with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

Sponsoring the winning Brawn GP car at this past weekend's race in Bahrain, Virgin Galactic announced their two latest recruits: Rubens Barrichello and Niki Lauda. Barrichello, who is second in the standings for the F1 world championship this year, has already paid the $200,000 for his ticket on one of Virgin's space flights, which Branson delivered in person at the race. Three-time world champion Niki Lauda, however, is planning to take it even further by undertaking training, at age 60, to pilot the Virgin spacecraft and take other paying tourists up into space. Lauda already owns his own airline and sometimes pilots the flights himself, but even for the driver who's been to hell and back, this should be a new adventure altogether.

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Tags: branson, brawn gp, BrawnGp, f1, f1 drivers, F1Drivers, formula one, FormulaOne, lauda, niki lauda, NikiLauda, richard branson, RichardBranson, rubens barrichello, RubensBarrichello, virgin, virgin brawn, virgin galactic, VirginBrawn, VirginGalactic

McLaren Hits the Ground Running with New Footwear Collection

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Shoes

McLaren spends all their energy chasing Ferrari around the race track. And as often as not, they catch them. But the British racing team is going after Ferrari off the track too, with new sportscars coming out to follow the departing SLR to take the fight to Ferrari in the road car market where the Italian team has been king for decades. In the meantime, Ferrari has come to dominate another area as well, with a vast empire of licensed merchandise on the market. So its arch-nemesis will fight it on that ground too, and to that end has launched its latest footwear collection.

Bearing construction and design inspired by its Formula One cars, McLaren shoes boast hi-tech materials and fashion-forward lines evocative of the technology-driven image which McLaren projects. Realized by Spanish licensee FasionVentures 21, the collection includes both casual and more formal models, recently supplemented by the collection's latest Spring/Summer 2009 line which you can see in the gallery below. Prices start around $200, available from McLaren's online shop and various retailers worldwide.

Gallery: McLaren footwear Spring/Summer 2009

Tags: f1, formula one, FormulaOne, mclaren, mclaren footwear, mclaren shoes, MclarenFootwear, MclarenShoes

Renault F1 Team Collection

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Napkin rings from gearbox hubs, a mirror made from a disc brake and a bottle coaster made from a wheel speed sensor are just some of the unique offerings of the Renault F1 collection.The collection includes items made from the car which took the Renault team to F1 championship victory in 2005. My favorite piece is the glass and titanium table which includes a wing element from the car. It is for sale for 5,520 euros.

[Thanks, Michael!]

Tags: cars, decor, design, f1, furniture, race, renault

F1 Chess Set

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

I had no idea that F1 racing fans were also chess lovers, but there must be at least a few of them out there. And for those who read Luxist, this chess set is for you. The Renault F1 Team Collection Chess Set is made from parts of real F1 cars - not big parts, mind you, but parts nonetheless. Materials used include aircraft-grade aluminum, stainless steel, carbon fiber, titanium, sterling silver and leather, all from various parts of the suspension, hubs, wings and cockpit. Price: £21,000 ($39,000).

[via Sybarites]

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Tags: chess, chess set, expensive chess set, f1, f1 team

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