Monday, December 28, 2009

Private Island

Escape to the Conch Republic: Islands of the Florida Keys



Proving that you don’t need to travel far to find a perfect sun-swept tropical isle, the Florida Keys offer Americans an exotic getaway right in their own backyard.

Monday, December 21, 2009

$400 Million Private Jet



All photos: Edése Doret Industrial Design.

What's shocking about this picture isn't the fact that it's a rather large and glitzy dining room. No, what will completely blow your mind is the fact that this is just one of many over the top spaces inside a private plane.



This isn't your standard issue millionaire's jet either. You are looking at the interior of a completely remodeled Airbus A380, yes that monstrous plane soon to be hauling 550 passengers around in a single sitting. The property of an Arab oil magnate with a bit of extra coin to blow, this plane cost its owner a mere 300 million dollars with another 100 million tossed about just for the decadent interiors.



The interior was designed by Edése Doret Industrial Design, which specializes in jet interiors. The ultra luxurious plane will feature a 600 foot master bedroom, lounge and game room. To top it off, two features that would please even the grandest James Bond megalomaniac: a whirlpool tub with a system to drain the water in seconds and a missile defense system.

When you can call one of your buddies on your diamond studded phone from 35,000 feet while relaxing in your A380's whirlpool tub, that's when you KNOW you've got some serious cash.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

2010 Bentley Mulsanne


2010 Bentley Mulsanne - Front Picture


Bentley Mulsanne 2010 - Rear Angle Picture


2010 Bentley Mulsanne - Side Angle Picture

Bentley Motors unveiled the Mulsanne, the company’s all-new flagship grand tourer, at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in Monterey, California. The Mulsanne is inspired by the company founder W.O. Bentley’s crowning achievement in 1930, the 8-litre. And it was W.O.’s own sensitively conserved company car that shared the podium with the new Mulsanne in Pebble Beach. This early motoring masterpiece represented the last big Bentley that was designed, engineered and built from the ground up by Bentley engineers – until now.


Bentley Mulsanne 2010 - Side Picture


2010 Bentley Mulsanne - Pebble Beach Rear Angle Picture

Nearly 80 years later, while paying respect to this illustrious past, the new Mulsanne is a thoroughly modern statement of luxury driving and grand touring. Conceived, styled and engineered entirely at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, the Mulsanne, with its completely new and unique platform, goes into production next year in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe factory.

Introducing the Bentley Mulsanne at Pebble Beach, where Bentley was the featured marque, Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors, said:

“The challenge we set our engineers was to create a new grand Bentley that would stand as the pinnacle of British luxury motoring, offering the world’s most exclusive driving experience. They have responded to this challenge with real passion and the result is a luxury grand tourer that sets new standards in terms of comfort, effortless performance and hand-crafted refinement – the very qualities for which Bentley is renowned.“

The Bentley design team, lead by Dirk van Braeckel, have created a flagship that offers the classic sporting, styling cues long-associated with Bentley – expressed in a thoroughly contemporary way.

“From the very first hand sketches in the styling studio, we were inspired by the traditions of the grand touring Bentleys and have sought to evolve this story for a new generation of Bentley enthusiasts.”

The return of the Mulsanne name to a car carrying Bentley’s iconic ‘Winged B’ emblem underlines the company’s racing pedigree and nowhere reflects that heritage better than the famed Le Mans circuit, the scene of no fewer than six Bentley triumphs. Few places offer a stronger or more emotive connection with the Bentley marque than the famed Mulsanne corner.

The Bentley 8-litre displayed alongside the Mulsanne in California was first shown at the 1930 London Motor Show. It was the second-built and was W.O. Bentley’s company car for two years. Capable of reaching more than 100 mph, the 8-litre demonstrated W.O. Bentley’s ambition and ability to build a grand luxury car capable of surpassing every other leading manufacturer of the day. A total of 100 cars were built in 1930 and 1931.

“The 8-litre’s breathtaking performance and quality was perhaps the finest example of a ‘pure’ grand Bentley. Every mechanical detail carried W.O. Bentley’s unique stamp and it was the clearest demonstration of a car built without compromise,” commented Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board Engineering.

“The Mulsanne has been designed with exactly the same guiding principles, so it is entirely fitting that these Bentleys from different eras share the same stage.”

The Bentley Mulsanne will go on sale from mid 2010.


Bentley Mulsanne 2010 - Pebble Beach Side Angle Picture

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Day One

Blog time. Let's go!!!