We've seen the bag of tricks the exotic auto tuners have used on the brand new four-door Porsche Panamera - now how about a bulletproof version? An armored Porsche Panamera Turbo has just been listed for sale in Frankfurt, Germany via global online luxury marketplace JamesList for €295,000, or about $450,000. It comes equipped with armored steel in the doors, posts, overlaps and walls, and ballistic steel in the roof and floor; bulletproof glass; run flat tires; an armored fuel tank; armored battery and radiator protection; and more. Capable of stopping 9mm rounds as well as an assault from an M16 or .44 Magnum, the car's impressive performance is not hampered in any way by its added security measures.

Five years ago, contemporary art collector Frieder Burda opened a museum right in the heart of Baden Baden, Germany. As one of the world's original resort towns, tradition tends to trumps trendiness in Baden Baden, and this museum, in a building designed by Richard Meier, and the modern and contemporary art exhibits on offer, definitely set tongues a-wagging in town. When I visited this past Spring, the Burda museum was in the midst of an atypical show of 18th century art, including seven giant tapestries. I'd assumed that regular museum goers might be upset about the turn away from contemporary art, but was assured by a local that response was more like relief.

Short-lived, I suppose, since the Burda museum returned to its modern and contemporary art mission. Still horizons have been stretched, five years have passed, and more than a million visitors have passed through the museum's door, Now until November 8th, the museum is exhibiting "Blue Rider" movement paintings, which were first exhibited in early 20th century Munich. (These paintings are usually at the Lenbachhaus in Munich, which is now under renovation. See a few of the works on display in the gallery below.) Next up, starting on November 21st, is an exhibit of the work of German artist Georg Baselitz. The artist himself is involved in the curation of the exhibit, which will be shared with Baden Baden's museum Staatliche Kunsthalle. The Burda will exhibit Baselitz paintings, the Staatliche Kunsthalle will exhibit Baseltiz's sculpture.

Here is a traditionally nice timepiece with some less than obvious technical qualities that make it nicer than you'd suspect at first glance. At first you can appreciate the classic marine chronometer dial design that you can find these days on most every Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Dive watch. Glashutte Original has adopted the design nicely with a large subsidiary seconds dial and power reserve indicator up top. Aside from these basic functions, the watch also has a big date complication, as well as a small day/night indicator (small hole displaying light or dark, located in the bottom section of the power reserve indicator. The watch also contains a special second zero reset function that sets the seconds to zero when you are adjusting the time of the watch.

In addition to those useful features, this Senator Chronometer is apparently Glashutte Original's first COSC certified Chronometer timepiece. Movement is in-house made and beautifully decorated as is the case with all high-end watches that come from the region in Saxony. The Germanic style movement looks similar to those of competitor company A. Lange & Sohne. The Glashutte Original Senator Chronometer is in 18k rose gold (not sure on case size yet). While the watches are not strictly a limited edition, they will have limited availability until the end of the year, being located in only select stores around the world. It is hard not to like the classic looks of the watch that wed tradition with function so nicely. Very close to the modern ideal of what a luxury German made watch should be about.

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

At the moment it's only in the planning stages, but German firm E-Wolf's e-2 electric supercar concept (above) will be a real game-changer when it goes into production. The carbon fiber composite vehicle is the result of a collaboration between E-Wolf, the Saxony Lightweight Center and the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology at the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. The e-2, due in 2011, will feature four electric motors, one in each wheel, delivering a combined output of 544 hp and 737-lb.-ft. of torque in a chassis that is expected to weigh in at just 2,000 lbs., enabling it to hit a top speed of 155 mph - all without using a drop of gasoline.

We're a step closer to finding out who will win the biannual Hugo Boss Prize, which is bestowed for achievement in contemporary art. Vying for the $100,000 award this year are the finalists just announced by the Guggenheim: Cao Fei from China, Hans-Peter Feldmann from Germany, Natascha Sadr Haghighian from Iran, Roman Ondak from the nation formerly known as Czechoslovakia, Walid Raad from Lebanon and Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand.

In addition to the cash – and possibly more valuable in the long run – the Hugo Boss Prize winner will also get a 2011 exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York. The winners are selected by a panel of art professionals that includes Ysmil Raymond, curator of the Dia Art Foundation; Udo Kittelmann, director of Berlin's Nationalgalerie and Tirad Zolghadr, an independent writer and curator.

Last year, the honor went to Emily Jacir. Previous winners include Matthew Barney, Douglas Gordon, Pierre Huyghe, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Tacita Dean.

Unlike most art prizes, this one stipulates has no age, geographic or medium-specific qualifications. It is as open as open can be.

We've written before about the allure of vintage luggage, expressing the glamour and decadence of a bygone era when journeying to a foreign land involved adventure, romance and style. While certain pieces do turn up at auction from time to time, the Germany-based Vintage Luggage Company has now amassed the world's greatest collection of classic travel items made by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Goyard, which they can have professionally crated and shipped worldwide. Among the prizes in their inventory are an amazing selection of bespoke trunks, including a 1920s Vuitton desk trunk which converts to a writing table complete with a typewriter. Another trunk from 1925 houses a full set of plates, cutlery and cooking equipment, each with its own bespoke leather case. Others contain a long evening's worth of champagne, a complete collection of hats, a portable library - pretty much anything you could wish for while on the road.

[via Duncan Quinn]

Maybach is well known today as a modern ultra-luxury marque, having been revived by Mercedes-Benz in 1997; even more exclusive however are the original models made between 1921-1941. Less than 2,000 Maybachs were built during this period, of which fewer than 150 survive today, all in the tight grip of collectors. An ultra-rare 1938 Maybach SW 38 Cabriolet with coachwork by Spohn of Ravensburg (above) has now surfaced for sale in Germany via global online luxury marketplace JamesList for €690,000, or about $1 million. The elegant 5-passenger convertible, finished in two-tone red and aubergine, was exhibited at the 1938 Berlin motor show and sold right away to her first owner, Baron von Mylke. At the the end of the war the car was allocated to the Chinese military mission in Berlin and was acquired many years later later by a German architect who commissioned a meticulous restoration.

Last month we wrote about the famed "Star of India" 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II convertible custom made for an Indian Maharaja, slated to be auctioned off by a German collector. Now the incredible car has been listed for sale via online global luxury marketplace JamesList for £8 million, or about $13 million. If it fetches that price, the one-of-a-kind Rolls could capture the world's most expensive car title (in terms of confirmed sales), beating out the 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa that recently sold at auction for $12 million. The 40/50 HP Continental "All-Weather Convertible" features polished aluminum bodywork and saffron paint evoking the Indian spirit of Hindutva. The car is being sold off by famed Rolls-Royce collector Hans-Günther Zach, who's liquidating his private museum dedicated to the marque.

Hard (for me) to pronounce German Business magazine Wirtschaftswoche has recently rated watch maker A. Lange & Sohne as the "Top German Luxury Brand." The magazine does a regular ranking (each two years) of Germany's most well known luxury brands which combines everything from fashion houses, to car makers, and of course watch makers.

A. Lange & Sohne beat out companies from every other segment to be the top luxury brand, not merely the top luxury watch brand. The ranking was done through interviews with over 150 industry professionals and participants, and conducted via the Munich based "Brand Rating" agency.

A. Lange & Sohne's highest marks came in the category of "brand appeal." Meaning that people indicated that they personally wanted one, or could see others wanting them (as I speculate the questions to have been like). It should be obvious that when presented with the question, "do you want an A. Lange & Sohne watch?," people were going to say "yes of course." Though, they responded in the affirmative even more so than to questions about Porsche cars, etc... A. Lange & Sohne doesn't need an award like this to be a top luxury brand, but it sure helps remind everyone else.

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

We've been worried about the fate of German fashion brand Escada for a while. Now the brand is filing for bankruptcy following an unsuccessful push to obtain financing. Escada made a series of last ditch efforts to save itself include a pitching a debt restructuring plan to its creditors which was rejected. Escada has its own shops and franchise shops in over 60 countries and employs around 2,300 people. The court has chosen Christian Gerloff as preliminary insolvency administrator. The company carries around $100 million in debt and has struggled over the past year as the market for luxury goods has declined.

The news came as official data showed Germany had emerged from recession in the second quarter. There are hopes that Escada will continue onward. It has a global reputation as a designer label selling not just clothing but also fragrances, handbags and children's apparel. Bloomberg says that Russian millionaire Rustam Aksenenko owns 20.9 percent of the stock and German billionaires Wolfgang and Michael Herz hold 12.45 percent each. No one seems to know what the fate of the brand will be but I'm sure many loyal fans of the brand's understated elegance are hoping for the best.

Back in May we reported that a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa had sold at auction for $12 million, setting a new world record and becoming the de facto most expensive car in the world. Now that record is quite possibly about to be shattered by a bespoke, one-of-a-kind 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II 40/50 HP Continental "All-Weather Convertible" custom made for an Indian Maharaja. The incredible car (above), known as the "Star of India", is being sold off by famed Rolls-Royce collector Hans-Günther Zach, who's liquidating his private museum dedicated to the marque in Germany. It's expected to fetch as much as €10 million or $14 million, beating the Ferrari by a wide margin. The Star is just one of classic and collectible 24 Rolls-Royces Zach is accepting bids for until Sept. 15th.

[via JamesList]

Check out a video of the Star of India after the jump.

Ferrari may have started out as a racing team, but today its operations are clearly divided into three areas: the Scuderia racing department, the road car division that makes those irresistible sportscars, and the merchandising operation that produces all those baseball caps and scarlet electronics that have grown to be so popular. And to sell them, Ferrari has a growing network of dedicated stores in locations around the world. During this past weekend's German Grand Prix, the team's drivers cut the ribbon on the company's latest retail location right on the site of the famed Nurburgring race track in Germany.

The store covers 240 square meters of space at the new track-side complex and includes retail space, a business conference room and lounge space overlooking the track, along with an actual F1 car on display in full view. It's one of 40 new locations which Ferrari is planning on opening over the next three years in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia, but is the first location situated next to a racing track and the first in Germany.

When I first planned my trip to Stuttgart, I certainly didn't expect to see anything like the scene above. I'm pretty famous for envisioning places all wrong before I travel (which is probably why I find myself boarding planes so often) but what I imagined was something like Bayonne, New Jersey.

So when Anselm Vogt-Moykopf, the architectural tour guide I'd engaged for the afternoon, took me up to the Württemberg Mausoleum up on a hill, and we drove past all these vineyards within city limits, I was pretty astonished by the scene. But it turns out that Württemberg is the largest red wine region in Germany (a country mostly known for its whites) and in fact, there's a vineyard right behind the city's main train station.

Beyond wine, Stuttgart is best known for these little car companies you might have heard of: Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche, which all together make for a who-knew luxury itinerary.

1. Mercedes Benz Museum: This giant museum is The-Guggenheim-meets-Mercedes-Commercial, but if you're a fan of the brand (or something of a history geek), you'll love it there. You take pod-like elevators directly to the top of the museum, which is of Dutch design and is impressive on its own. Then, work your way down. The exhibit traces the history of Mercedes from the time when Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft delivered its first car on December 22, 1900, to around about 2006, when the museum first opened. (And it doesn't gloss over the difficult stuff, the museum is straightforward about its use of Jewish slave labor during World War II.) On each landing, there are shiny examples of Mercedes vehicles, from trucks to race cars, about 160 vehicles in total.
   
2. Württemberg Mausoleum: From there drive up through the vineyards (hire a car if you plan to stop along the way at the wineries, usually law-abiding Germans are not much for speed limits.) There's not much to see inside -- it's the burial place for Katharina, wife of King Wilhelm, who had it built for the purpose in 1819, and whose earthly remains are also in there. Across the front it says "Love Never Ends", but rumor has it that this may be a bit of guilt trip. Katharina died of pneumonia, apparently contracted after riding on horseback in bad weather to catch Wilhelm with his mistress. Naughty royals.
   
3. Viniculture Museum: Next, hit a small museum dedicated to the area's wine. It's helpful to have someone who speaks German with you, but it's fun to see the old barrels, with their small doors that children would once crawl into to clean. Even more fun: sidle up for a wine tasting at the museum's bar. These wines aren't often available for export, so you may find a hidden treasure.
   
4. Porsche Museum: This brand new museum opened in January of this year, and if you really needed an explanation of the difference between Porsche and Mercedes you can feel it by visiting their museums back-to-back. Mercedes museum visitors are having an intellectual experience, while at Porsche, it's an emotional experience. (Dare I say, even sexual?) There's some history here, but what you've really got are hot, hot cars. There are about 80 of them, including the Porsche 356, 550, 911, and 917.
   

Click Wine Group, a privately held, Seattle-based company that owns and imports wine from around the world, features a great selection of recession-friendly vintages with average prices of between $10 - $13. Their Global Wine Collection consists of signature varietals from world-class appellations with easy to pronounce (and sometimes amusing) names and appealing, consumer friendly packaging aimed at taking the intimidation out of wine. They have something for virtually every palate and summertime occasion.

Fat Bastard Chardonnay:

To craft Fat Bastard Chardonnay, grapes are sourced from all over France's Languedoc-Roussillon region. The golden yellow wine with pale-green tints has expressive stone-fruit aromas with soft floral undertones and well-balanced citrus and acacia notes. Soft oak gives warmth and balance to the palate. Serve with fresh crab or shrimp, or with a roasted pork tenderloin and vegetables. Try also: Rosé.

2 Up Shiraz:

Named for a popular game of chance in Australia, 2 Up is an elegant, intense and exceptional quality Shiraz that is hand-crafted from a blend of grapes carefully selected from highly prized local vineyards. According to Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate, 2 Up represents "the type of wine value that simply can't be found in California." Goes well with Italian dishes, ribs, and grilled meats such as aged beef and lamb.

Root: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon:

Chile is one of the very few grape growing regions in the world where original European rootstocks have survived, producing the intense fruit flavor and authentic varietal character of Root: 1 wines. Rich ruby color with aromas of ripe berries and soft plum are followed by tastes of black cherry, soft vanilla and dark chocolate characterize their Cabernet. Artfully accompanies grilled meats, ripe cheeses, Italian and Mediterranean cuisine and chocolate. Try also: Chardonnay.

Earlier this year we reported on two ultra-exclusive $3 million Bugatti Veyron Pur Sangs, the world's most expensive production vehicle of which only five were built, being put up for sale. The first of the special edition cars with exposed carbon fiber and aluminum bodywork, which sold out within 24 hours of their original announcement, was offered up in Abu Dhabi. The next one surfaced a couple of weeks later in Frankfurt, Germany where the car was originally unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Now a third Pur Sang has been listed for sale via global online luxury marketplace JamesList in Munich.

With the other two Pur Sangs already on the block as previously noted, only two of the cars seemingly remain in private hands. Also back in April we noted that 18 Veyrons were on offer via JamesList; that number has now swelled to 23, or nearly one-fifth of all Veyrons built to date. The cheapest is a 2005 model with 29,000 miles on it offered at €789,000 or about $1.09 million. Obviously the pitiful economy means many people are having to try and unload these agonizingly expensive automotive status symbols.