Christmas may be months away, but Neiman Marcus has just released their holiday shopping catalog — which, of course, means an overpriced limited-edition luxury car has also been revealed.

Following on the heels of last year’s Lexus IS F and 2006’s 2007 BMW M6 Convertible, this year they’ll be offering up the new 2009 BMW 7-Series.But what’s so exclusive about this 7-Series? Each model has been customized by BMW Individual and painted in a special Diopside Black metallic color with an interior stitched in Champagne Merino leather and accented with wood and Piano Black inserts.

This luxury car limited to 31 examples which also expresses the commemoration of 31 years 7-series. Those who do their daily shopping within the pages of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book will be the first able to purchase the new 2009 BMW 7 Series beginning October 17th, before it arrives in showrooms next spring and even before its LA Auto Show stateside debut.

The $160,000 package also includes two business-class tickets to the Headquarters in Munich including a four-night stay in a luxury hotel. And, to adequately get in touch with the your one-of-31s you’ll be invite to seize a road-trip into the French Riviera.

This week Ducati North America launched a limited edition Ducati Hypermotard with luxury retailer Neiman Marcus. The limited production motorcycle is featured in the Neiman Marcus Fall Men’s Book and can be ordered through the Neiman Marcus website.

It features a Termignoni full exhaust system with performance ECU, Ducati Performance race seat, a specially designed “Tricolore“ color and graphics package and an array of carbon fiber accessories – all conceived and executed by Advanced Motorsports, one of the premier Ducati dealerships in North America. Production is limited and each unit carries an individually numbered plaque signifying its exclusivity.

Each Limited Edition Neiman Marcus Ducati Hypermotard begins its life as a Hypermotard 1100 in Ducati’s Bologna, Italy factory and is then hand crafted in the US by one of the foremost authorities on Ducati performance. These special bikes are built to order and will be delivered to the Ducati dealership of your choice.

It’s priced at $17,995. But can the additions and the supposed exclusivity brought by the limited numbers justify the $6,000 premium? Neiman Marcus is hardly an aspirational brand these days, and with only a few accessories added to stock bikes, these are unlikely to become collector’s items…

Mercedes have launched the latest iteration of their Mercedes McLaren SLR called the SLR Roadster 722 S. Not to be confused with the power output of the car, which stands at 650hp (478kW), the “722” labeling came from a race in 1955 in which Stirling Moss competed in a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR. The start time for Stirling Moss was exactly 7.22am.

The Mercedes McLaren SLR Roadster 722 S is based on the SLR Roadster but features numerous performance improvements.

The body of the 722 S, with the exception of two aluminum frames, is completely made of carbon-fiber materials just like the hardtop. It also features the same 650hp (478kW) and 604lb-ft (820Nm) output from a hand-built 5.5L supercharged V8.

The five-speed automatic carries over from the standard SLR lineup but has been specially configured to accommodate the engine’s very high torque, and allows the driver to choose between two sets of shift characteristics. As a result the SLR Roadster 722 S sprints from 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in just 3.7 seconds, and 124mph (200km/h) is reached in 10.6 seconds.

In addition, the 722 S still features a fully retractable folding roof designed to withstand the extreme speeds the car is capable of !

First sales will start in Europe in January, with pricing around the €520,0000/$750,000 mark (about €25,000/$36,000 more than the standard SLR Roadster) and only 150 units will be built in total. North American availability and pricing is yet to be announced.

Interesting Ferrari motorcycle concept by Israeli industrial designer Amir Glinik based on the engine of a Ferrari Enzo car.

Using drive-by-wire technology, the V4 superbike features hand controls adapted from an F-16 fighter jet and buttons nbased on those found on the steering wheel of Ferrari’s Formula 1 racecars.

Other controls for the soud system and trip computer are located on an all weather touchscreen.

After gaining its long fought 35 % majority stake in Volkswagen AG last week, Porsche SE announced its intentions to reward employees at Porsche AG with an increased annual bonus of 6,000 euro ($8,760) for the year ending July 31.

The bonus grows 800 euro compared to last year’s awarding.

The bonus includes a 3,800-euro payment from operating profit, 700 euros stemming from one-time financial gains, and 1,500 euros in honor of the company’s 60th anniversary, the carmaker said.

Dubbed “American Icon”, the glittering MINI is the work of CrystalArt and it’ll be on display at the upcoming National Stationery Show, May 20-23, at NY City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

The car features over one-million Swarvoski crystals in 50 different shades of color to represent the 50 states. Each stone was meticulously placed by hand and took four people almost 6 months to complete.

The car depicts America’s most revered iconic scenery and symbols including The Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, The White House, The American Flag and the Eagle, among others.