Owning a piece of automotive history. The Carrera GT.
Ok so it has finally arrived. God knows how I paid for it. Ebay has really been a saviour for getting rid all my automotive memorabilia and special engines to pay for the car. It really better be worth it – and it is.
(Category: Blogs: CGT | Author: Arash Farboud)
Content Matching 'cars' in Blogs: Dion
Fantasy Garage
A conversation I have seen brought up dozens of times, in pubs, online motoring forums or in just idle chat is what cars would you have in your perfect garage. Peoples responses range from the inevitable Bugatti Veyron, (well why not – given a free range why settle for a garage full of Nissan Micras and Toyota Yaris’) to such ecliptic choices as a 1930 Blower Bentley or even a Ford Capri...
(Category: Blogs: Dion | Author: Dion Speak)
Vehicle Sorcerer
Experts come in many forms. When looking to purchase a home, whether it's to be a main family residence or a weekend bolt hole in the country, we employ the services of a surveyor. No matter how perfect the place may look in your own eyes, it takes the opinion of someone else to actually point out that although it may look quaint and rustic, the chimney stack leans at an angle to rival the Tower of Pisa...
(Category: Blogs: Dion | Author: Dion Speak)
First Date Cars
Now ladies you’re going to have to bear with me on this, being of the gene pool that is male I cannot speak with authority on what goes through your minds when preparing for a night out with one of us (male).
(Category: Blogs: Dion | Author: Dion Speak)
Greedy Eighties
The 1980s were a hedonistic time which saw self indulgence and greed reach levels not seen since Henry VIII held court and proclaimed, pre-lunch, that one hog-roast was sufficient for him whilst a barbequed hamster would suffice for his 250 guests, that included the infamous Go-Lightly family from Wales and the Robusts (pron – Rowboosts) from France.
(Category: Blogs: Dion | Author: Dion Speak)
Content Matching 'cars' in Blogs: Doug Richard
Moving Fast Under Sail
I am a dedicated monohull man. For the past thirty years I have progressed from being a delivery skipper (in my pre-resume days) to chartering a broad variety of bare boats all over the world.
(Category: Blogs: Doug Richard | Author: Doug Richard)
Content Matching 'cars' in Blogs: lusso
Farboud into Farbio?
It must be one of the strangest moves in recent automotive history; why would you name your company after what could easily be an Italian hair stylist off ITV's Footballer's Wives?
(Category: Blogs: lusso | Author: Lusso)
Content Matching 'cars' in Blogs: Range Rover
Famous, Flawless and a Drunk
It was VW owners that started waving at each other on the road; Campers, Beatles and Karmann Ghias, a party of one big happy family and the owners loved the fact that other people were driving the same car as them. Although the principle still exists with some cars these days, it certainly doesn’t exist when it comes to executive cars; you just wouldn’t see two XK owners wave to each other (classic Jags maybe but not new).
(Category: Blogs: Range Rover | Author: Daniel Sharp)
Content Matching 'cars' in Blogs: Unwin
Dave's Diaries
Dave Unwin, Lusso’s flight editor and the editor of Today’s Pilot magazine reviews his diary from over the previous four weeks... To Pall Mall and the RAF Club for an excellent luncheon at the CAA’s annual General Aviation Awards.
(Category: Blogs: Unwin | Author: Dave Unwin)
Content Matching 'cars' in Features
Drive the Best
The Ferrari 599 is probably the best GT car currently in production - fact. It has the stunning 600 bhp engine from the fabulously expensive Enzo, mounted in a chassis so communicative that you know what it’s about to do before it’s done it. It has shift lights and electronic differential controls on the steering wheel that make you feel like Michael Schumacher.
(Category: Features | Author: Ben Samuelson)
Watch This Space
We have been pretty vocal about our new found love affair with Bremont watches in the past few issues of Lusso Magazine, so imagine our excitement when we found out that our favourite watch brand had just become the official timers of our favourite summer event - The Goodwood Festival of Speed.
(Category: Features | Author: Kenneth Logintz)
Italian Stallions
Like every reader of Lusso, I can tell the difference between a Pouilly Fuissé and a Pouilly Fumé without inhaling. I can distinguish between Gucci and Pucci with my eyes closed. I am, in other words, so profoundly sophisticated and so preternaturally cool that it sometimes gives me a headache.
(Category: Features | Author: Oliver Walston)
David & Goliath
Once upon a time, long before the wristwatch was invented, the best clocks in the world came from England. The trouble was that they were rather big. This did not matter if their function was to act as a ship’s chronometer but it did get slightly awkward if, like all fashionable men, you tried to keep one of these clocks in your waistcoat pocket.
(Category: Features | Author: Oliver Walston)
The Boys of Bremont
For Giles and I, our interest in all things mechanical began as young children. Our weekends and evenings were spent with our father in his workshop, tinkering with balsa wood, cogs and wheels and any other ‘spare’ materials we could find lying around. Our father was an incredible engineer.
(Category: Features | Author: Nick English)
Unlimited Potential
Right now it’s an interesting time up at the top of the market – whether you are talking about supercars, private jets, luxury properties, investments or anything else on the radar of the super rich. Everywhere you look people are shouting out about the explosion of wealth, and how there are more people with more money than ever before.
(Category: Features | Author: Sam Elshafey)
The Maltese Falcon
The first time anyone lays eyes on the Maltese Falcon, you know they are going to be impressed, regardless of whether they are fans of big boats or not. Immediately you can see that there is something fundamentally different about it, but exactly what that is might not be so clear.
(Category: Features | Author: David Walston)
Southern Grace
There are two great things about South Africa. One is that it is in the southern hemisphere, and so it is one half of the perfect life – summer in England (OK, well maybe not this year), and winter 7000 miles further south. The second is that, unlike almost any other non-European travel hotspot, it is only one or two hours forward of GMT, so no jetlag. Get on the plane at night, go to sleep, and get off at the other end with no bizarre body clock malfunctions.
(Category: Features | Author: David Walston)
In Search of Perfection
As the sun rises a cacophony of bells ring throughout the whole of Florence, it was time to check out of our hotel set deep within the centre of the city. This first stage of our journey would be undoubtedly the most challenging, as my F430 and the other two cars accompanying us (a Ferrari 599 and a 430 Spider) had to navigate through busy, central Florence to the nearest petrol station.
(Category: Features | Author: Daniel Sharp)
The Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge
I had an argument with a fluid dynamicist the other night at my son’s Boy Scout barbeque. In recounting my recent, unforgettable, trip to see and sail some of the world’s finest classic yachts I asserted that they were living proof that yacht making is still an art not a science.
(Category: Features | Author: Doug Richard)
Buying a Bugatti Veyron
It is no wonder HR Owen is such a successful dealership; not content with selling me two Lamborghinis and a Carrera GT in the last year and a half, more recently they decided I was a prime target for an even bigger fish. It was not long after I had taken delivery of the CGT when another phone call came through from them.
(Category: Features | Author: Arash Farboud)
Taking the Hummer H3 to the Goodwood Revival 2007
Goodwood Revival is a must see event on any petrolheads calendar. The first weekend of September sees thousands of classic vehicles descend on the Earl of March’s land in the south of England.
(Category: Features | Author: Andrew Rixon)
Ecurie 25. Gallardo
Ok, I’ll admit it before any of you readers figure it out for yourselves. I am a snob. Not the sort of snob who prefers dukes to dustmen, but the sort of snob who feels that if you can’t afford to buy a particular car, then you’d better not drive that sort of a car. Which is a roundabout way of saying that I disapproved of those clubs which provide their members with supercars for the weekend.
(Category: Features | Author: Oliver Walston)
Something for the Weekend
gI’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the Jag XJ; it was the first car that gave me a proper James Bond moment. Traction control off, pull out of junction, glance in rear view mirror. I don’t think that there were any cars behind me, but I could never have known anyway – it looked like a forest fire had swept Cambridgeshire, and all the smoke seemed to have concentrated at my 6 o’clock in a pukka smokescreen.
(Category: Features | Author: David Walston)
A Noble Marque?
My story begins with a tale of a small request. You see, normally we would have a test vehicle delivered to us. However, after finding out it was an option, I asked Marque II not to deliver the Noble M12 I ordered for this weekend, because I wanted the opportunity to meet Alex Shepherd, Marque II’s founder.
(Category: Features | Author: Daniel Sharp)
Dogfighting over the Baltic Sea
The tension conducts like sheet lightning through the pit crews and spectators as the drone of horsepower rumbles ominously above. The calm before the storm is suddenly broken by the crackle of the VHF radio “Pole leader, this is Air Boss...you have the green flag. Start the race.”
(Category: Features | Author: Jeff Zaltman)
Marrakech Express
Typical, I thought, as the pilot came on the tannoy and informed us that “we’ve hit a thunder storm six miles from Marrakech” I had been looking forward to a February week in a converted Palace in the warm sun of the North African continent.
(Category: Features | Author: Charles Bagshaw)
Discovering Samoens
Departing by Eurostar one Friday evening in February, the first leg on our journey to the Alps would take us to Paris. Arriving at Waterloo only an hour and a half before our train was scheduled to leave, the check in was swift and we were able to sit and enjoy a drink together before setting off. A couple of other members of the party had chosen to fly, leaving the day before, whilst we were delighted to be spared the plague of queues most airports were suffering from at the time following the terrorist scares and security step-ups.
(Category: Features | Author: Dennis le Borg)
From Greenville to Greenville
The junction signs here are split up into three sections; lodgings, gas and fuel... there’s a Waffle House every 3 exits and there are probably more “hotels” along this stretch of freeway than there are in all of central London. We can only be the ‘deep south’ - America’s southern states.
(Category: Features | Author: Daniel Sharp)
Lux500
The luxury market is full of concierge companies who offer their services to the masses, or specific clubs which concentrate their efforts on one particular product such as cars or yachts. However consumers of such luxury services invariably have penchant for a wide range of such services, which can ideally be seamlessly interwoven.
(Category: Features | Author: Charles Bagshaw)
Excess Speed
Life insurance, along with theology and acid rain, is not a subject which normally occupies much of my brain. However, after accepting this particular assignment, I did give it some thought. Consider the following. The XSR48 can reach speeds over 100mph. This is about one third the velocity of the world speed record on water, which has stood since Ken Warby, in Spirit of Australia, achieved 317mph back in October 1978.
(Category: Features | Author: Peter Rear)
Aero GP: F1 Takes to the Skies
Imagine that you are standing on the roof terrace of a bar in the Mediterranean, Malta to be exact, looking out over the ancient harbour. Whilst holding an ice cold beer, you look out to sea and see a small dot on the horizon. The dot grows larger, you hear a low rumble coming from the same direction, it gets closer and soon its apparent it’s an aircraft.
(Category: Features | Author: Andy Rixon)
V International
Fractional ownership is a simple concept to understand but not so easy to appreciate. That is, of course, unless you have already been through the process of buying a brand new super-car, using it 4 or 5 times a month and then selling it 10 months later, only to take a colossal kick in the wallet, thanks to insurance, depreciation and maintenance.
(Category: Features | Author: Daniel Sharp)
Segway: An Early Adopter
I am what the high tech marketing men call an “Early Adopter”. In other words I am the sort of idiot who patrols Tottenham Court Road in search of the latest anything. I spend hours scanning the internet looking for gadgets which have been released in Taiwan or Cupertino but are not due in England for another six months. I am, in other words, a rather sad nerd.
(Category: Features | Author: Oliver Walston)
A Swiss Adventure
The destination was the Grand Hotel Bellevue in the centre of Gstaad to experience the ‘out-of-season’ activities and then relax in the hotel’s spa, reputed to be one of the best in the country.
The adventure began at The Rockwell – a funky boutique hotel on London’s Cromwell Road.
(Category: Features | Author: Al Fox)
Gastro Lombardia
The words ‘fly-drive’ are seldom associated with luxury and comfort. Instead they conjure up images of thrill seeking students braving the desert in a beaten-up Ford Taurus or a family of five cramped into a minivan smelling of nappies and baby wipes.
(Category: Features | Author: Brett Gregory-Peake)
Bjorn Slippy
“You’ll be picked up from the airport by a sleigh pulled by huskies”. Some things really stand out when you read a travel itinerary and this was certainly one of them.
(Category: Features | Author: Al Fox)
Glorious Goodwood
Another year, another trip to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I’ve been going for years now and, as each Festival passes, I slowly hone my skills and plans in order to reach the point (which I believe is now upon me) where I can have the perfect Festival experience. I think it’s only fair that I share it.
(Category: Features | Author: Daniel Sharp)
Phantom of the Opera
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars kindly invited Lusso to its HQ at Goodwood in Sussex to tour the factory and take out a Rolls-Royce Phantom for the afternoon. Hey, who were we to refuse?
(Category: Features | Author: Al Fox)
Gentleman's Relish
They say that, at the point of drowning, a person’s entire life flashes before their eyes. Which singularly fails to explain why, at the very moment I resign myself utterly to the inevitability of death by motoring accident, the one overriding image Blu-Tac’d to the petrified pinboard of my mind is that of Bob Monkhouse at full smirk.
(Category: Features | Author: Anthony ffrench Constant)
Wild Rover
Recently knocking the spectacular 'Birmingham International Railway Station' off the top slot ("Die retoorn to Naples, pleurse"... I think not), the entirely splendid 'Fun Run' is currently my all time favourite oxymoron. The very idea of running for pleasure rather than the simple expedient of winning a race strikes me as every bit as absurd as making a shoe called a 'trainer' in which nobody ever actually trains.
(Category: Features | Author: Anthony ffrench Constant)
Content Matching 'cars' in Lusso Magazine Media Center: Profiles
Arash Farboud
In addition to designing, building and unveiling the Farboud GTS sports car, Arash has managed to build up quite a collection of super cars. His passion for cars and racing lead him to develop his own marque which became so promising that Chris Marsh of Marcos agreed to work with Arash to put the GTS into production.
(Category: Lusso Magazine Media Center: Profiles | Author: Arash Farboud)
Content Matching 'cars' in Lusso Magazine Media Center: Testimonials
Dock 'n' Roll with Alpine
Most luxury cars have navigation and entertainment systems that are bettered by a £100 system bought off the high street. Even some mobile phones have better devices. Companies such as Alpine have capitalised on this and produced solutions for the luxury car owner looking for a suitably luxury entertainment and navigation system.
(Category: News | Author: Andrew Rixon)
Lamborghini meets Versace... again
Lamborghini and Versace are not a new pairing in the supercar world, having collaborated together since 2006. Closely following the release of the new Gallardo LP560-4, Lamborghini have released the LP640 Roadster Versace, a limited edition model.
(Category: News | Author: Andrew Rixon)
Luxury Treatment at the British Motor Show
The British International Motor Show starts in London in late July, and VIP tickets are now on sale for the exclusive opening day on the 23rd July 2008. This ensures priority entrance to the show which will see a number of automotive debuts. The show is being held at ExCel London from the 23rd July to 3rd August.
(Category: News | Author: Andrew Rixon)
From Car Boot to Harvey Nichols
To make a change from the usual luxury drinks such as champagne and high end Russian vodka, we've sampled a lager, which is imported from Peru and gaining huge popularity on the UK scene. Is this another drink from a multinational aiming to cash in on the summer drinking season? Not at all, this one is imported by two friends who enjoyed it on a trip to Peru and went one better than bringing a couple of bottles home with them.
(Category: News | Author: Andrew Rixon)
Lamborghini Reventón takes to the air
The Lamborghini Reventón takes Lamborghini's usual extragence to a new level, with its fighter jet inspired carbon fibre body and 1 million euro price tag. But that isn't enough for the Italian car builder, and it chose Turin as the location for a fantastic publicity stunt.
(Category: News | Author: Andrew Rixon)
It's new Lamborghini time!
Lamborghini have released a new Gallardo called the LP560-4. Following on from the beautiful and excellent to drive Gallardo, comes the LP, which has the to be expected power increase but also a few tweaks which will make this an even better car.
(Category: News | Author: Andrew Rixon)
The Maddest Caterham
Not content with building some of the fastest accelerating cars in the world, Caterham has recently announced that they plan to fit a supercharged 500 bhp 2.4l V8 engine into a 520kg car. Performance has not been tested yet, but as the power to weight ratio is double that of a Bugatti Veyron at over 1000bhp per tonne, there is no doubt it will be one of the quickest cars ever made.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine News Desk)
New Mercedes SL Released
Two top of the range models are the first to be released – both of them from the tuning arm of Mercedes – AMG. Both the SL63 and SL65 will offer performance reaching into true supercar territory. The SL63 features a 525bhp 6.3l V8, and comes with the latest iteration of the famous 7 speed gearbox, now updated with Multi-Clutch Technology.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine News Desk)
New Ferrari 799 Mugello
During the last 20 years the car industry has seen an injection of SUVs from marques that, before, had spent their time honing sports cars and family cars. If you wanted a luxury 4x4 there was really only one place to look: the Range Rover. It still tops my ‘sought after’ list. However, a gap in the market was found and began to develop into a gaping chasm.
(Category: News | Author: Graham Ballett Young)
Lusso Film: Armoured Cars and Evasive Driving
Chris West, a regular contributor to Lusso Magazine heads to an undisclosed location in the middle of the country to meet up with ex-special forces officer Dave Thomas for lessons in evasive driving. Dave, MD of Spy Games and a private security company talks us through the manoeuvres, his opinion on the new Cadillac SRX4 and the Hummer H3. Fred Smith, an evasive driving expert runs us through the technique for the perfect J-Turn, a move that allows the car to move from a fast reverse to normal, forward motion in one continuous swing.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso News Desk)
The Segrave Club is launched
The supercar club has been redefined. On 9th October, the Segrave Club was officially unveiled with a taster of their fleet in the windows of Harrods, where a Segrave Ferrari 599, Mercedes McLaren SLR and Lamborghini Gallardo can currently be seen. The new club has been created to answer the fundamental problem with existing shared access car clubs - that 80% of their members only want to drive the top 20% of the cars. This translates into a realistic ratio of truly interesting metal to members of 18:1 for even the best known of the other clubs. The Segrave Club starts where the others end.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine News Desk)
Jaguar reveals new generation X Type
The Jaguar X-TYPE gets a fresh new look for 2008, along with a host of new features inside and outside the vehicle and a new automatic transmission in the acclaimed 2.2 diesel. With significant revisions including nearly 500 new components, the new generation X-TYPE retains all the original car's strengths, and adds some new ones of its own.
(Category: News | Author: Daniel Sharp)
Ferrari 430 Scuderia
The standard Ferrari 430 is one of Lusso’s favourite sportscars of the moment. Its predecessor, the 360, had never been so high up on our lists, at least not until the special edition 360 Challenge Stradale was released late on in the model’s lifetime. This time around, Ferrari have chosen to release the equivalent model significantly earlier - we guess that the CS was a real money spinner for them.
(Category: News | Author: David Walston)
ATG Javelin available for delivery in first quarter of 2011
Leather seats, GPS and excessive amounts of power; it is so simple to see why the Javelin can be compared to some of the more exotic cars on the market today. With a price tag of just under $3m it’s not a million miles away from some of those vehicles either.
(Category: News | Author: Daniel Sharp)
Cannonball 8000 with a Cause
Following the huge success of Cannonball 8000 over the past four years, and the massive 2.3 million TV audiences who tuned in to watch the ITV show of last years Rally, Cannonball 8000 now returns for its 5th Year Anniversary Event. With tickets long Sold Out for the 2007 entry, Cannonball 8000 is geared up to see 260 drivers in 130 of the worlds most amazing cars, rev their engines for the start line at London’s Earls Court on Friday 14th September 2007.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine)
Stage Stars Rally Around Goodwood Festival of Speed
A wealth of rally stage stars past and present – including Petter Solberg, Colin McRae, Stig Blomqvist and Paddy Hopkirk – will be in action on the demanding Forest Rally Stage on the hillside above Goodwood House at this year’s Festival of Speed, being staged from 22-24 June.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine News Desk)
New Top End Villas Available in France
Sanctuary Villas and Apartments has added two new properties on the Côte d’Azur to its portfolio of European rental villas. The new villas differ in style, with one offering unashamed opulence and the other cutting-edge, minimalist design, but both still fit with Sanctuary’s core product philosophy by combining individuality, luxury and comfortable living.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine)
Anna Loucah shortlisted for Kayman Award
Bespoke jewellery designer Anna Loucah has been short-listed for the Kayman Award 2007. The national competition held annually in memory of UK jewellery manufacturer Gerald Kayman, aims to highlight the amazing talent of our designers within the UK jewellery industry.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine)
Lusso Edition 6 Released
We're proud to announce the release of the 6th edition of Lusso Magazine. Officially labelled as Edition 6 – Q4 2006 this edition is the first of many to be produced from new Lusso owners SWR Media Ltd. The edition contains some fantastic features, most of which are also available from the Lusso Magazine Website.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine)
Jaguar XKR Imminent
Jaguar recently unveiled its new supercharged sports car – the Jaguar XKR. Building from the all-new XK introduced in late 2005, the XKR takes the Jaguar experience to new levels of performance.
Like the normally aspirated XK model, the new XKR makes intelligent use of practical, modern technology such as its industry-leading aluminium monocoque body structure.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine)
British Motorshow Ticket Giveaway
After thirty years, The British International Motor Show in partnership with Lloyds TSB Insurance, returns to London this summer to unleash its glamorous new format on the capital. But what if you haven't got your tickets yet, don't panic.
(Category: News | Author: Lusso Magazine)
