Monthly Archives: March 2010

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Grey and Blue Carbon

Bugatti unveiled two new special editions of the roofless hypercar at this year’s Geneva Motor Show; Grey Carbon and Blue Carbon.

The upper part of the Veyron Grand Sport Grey Carbon plus the doors and the side panels are constructed from dark grey carbon fiber, while the bottom part of the car is finished in polished aluminum.

The lowr air intake griless are polished. The rims are like the ones on the Pur Sang Edition.
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Hermes to exit luxury yacht joint venture

Hermes is exiting a luxury yacht joint venture with shipbuilder Wally, saying it is not experienced enough to complete the project according to Reuters.

The two partners had unveiled a full-sized model of their mega yacht, “WHY”, in Monte Carlo in September.

“We are currently in the phase of carrying out the project, which is technically complex and which requires on-the-spot decisions.”
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Hotel to launch “business class” package

International hotel chain Radisson is to launch a “business class” service for customers, the firm confirmed March 3.

The chain, which has 422 hotels globally, aims to introduce a premium tier of service for its top-level guests.

The “business class” offering will include the best available room, breakfast, a turn-down service, upgraded bathroom products and a 3-hour laundry service.

Accompanying the new service tier, Radisson announced that it is to roll out five room themes globally, further standardizing its properties.

The themes will include “And Relax,” “Naturally Cool,” “New York Mansion,” “Ocean” and “Urban” and will all feature a “vibrant and contemporary” design.
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Embraer Readies Legacy 650 for Takeoff

Embraer, the Brazil-based builder of executive jets, now offers an upgraded version of its popular Legacy 600 model, with about an extra 600 miles of range.

Priced at $31 million, the 650 mates the roomy three-zone cabin of the 600 with heftier wings to provide more fuel capacity.

Boosted by new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines, the jet can fly nonstop from New York to London, Dubai to Singapore, or from central Europe to India.
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Ryanair passenger “eats” €10000 scratchcard

A Ryanair passenger who became enraged when he was told he could not claim a scratchcard prize on his flight ate his winning ticket.

The man was flying from Poland to the East Midlands on a Ryanair flight when he won 10,000 euros on a scratchcard he had purchased on board.

Ryanair confirmed he ate his ticket on 26 February after cabin staff refused to pay him the winnings immediately.
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Marion Cotillard sings Franz Ferdinand for Dior

Exclusive! French actress Marion Cotillard has teamed up with Franz Ferdinand to record a song to launch Dior’s new fashion range.

Cotillard, the face of the French label, sings lead vocal on ‘The Eyes Of Mars’, written by the band.

The song will soundtrack an advert in which Cotillard plays a working woman who transforms herself into a sultry singer at night.

She emerges from behind a velvet curtain in a club to sing the song.

The advertisement, shot in New York in 2009, is the latest instalment in a series of online ads built around the iconic Lady Dior handbag.

The clip will be available as of March 5th on the site www.ladydior.com, date which coincides with Christian Dior’s 2011 Autumn-Winter Fashion Show.

Barbie by Christian Louboutin

Barbie continues to take the fashion world by storm and thanks to haute accessories designer Christian Louboutin, she’s just received a second head-to-toe Parisian makeover.

Dressed in a khaki, safari- inspired dress and over the knee, hot pink fringed boots, Barbie is ready to Spring into style this season.

Barbie revealed her first outfit in the Christian Louboutin collection last November, the Cat Burglar.

Her new, modern look represents a different facet of the Christian Louboutin woman and the designers style philosophy.
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Tag Heuer Tesla Roadster

Tesla Motors have teamed up with Swiss luxury watch company Tag Heuer to produce a special edition of its Roadster.

The vehicle will make its debut at the Geneva Auto Show this week. The idea is for both luxury brands to increase their global cachet.

Tag, which is unveiling a new tech-savvy watch on March 18, has yet to become a major presence in the U.S., while Tesla is still building its presence in Europe.

The car itself, designed by Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen, integrates Tag design features into the dashboard, center console and exterior.
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Chopard L.U.C. Engine One Tourbillon

Chopard has just released their new tourbillon watch – to be presented at Basel World later this month – the Chopard L.U.C Engine One Tourbillon Watch.

This alligator, titanium and sapphire watch sports a gravity-defying tourbillon, front-and-center, with stunning aircraft-grade handiwork throughout its face.

Its tourbillon carries a 60 hour power reserve, its capacity displayed in a charge indicator atop the watch’s face.

The timepiece is to be made in an extremely limited series of just 150 pieces, that number being a commemorative nod to the 150th birthday of Chopard.
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Koenigsegg Agera

Koenigsegg has unveiled the Agera concept at the Geneva Motor Show.

Built to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary, the Agera aims to “take the Koenigsegg experience to the next level, both on the road and the track.”

Its name, Agera, in Swedish translates to the verb “to act” and was picked because it “symbolizes the Koenigsegg philosophy”.

The name also comes from Greek word Ageratos, which in ancient Greek means “ageless”.
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China demand driving world wine market growth

China is expected to be the world’s seventh largest wine consumer by 2013 as the nation’s thirst for vintages continues to grow amid an economic boom.

The country will consume around 1.26 billion bottles of wine in 2013, an increase of about 32 percent from 2009, according to findings of Vinexpo, organiser of one of the world’s largest wine and spirits exhibitions.

China was the eighth largest wine consumer last year, behind leader Italy, France and the United States in the top three spots.
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Christian Lacroix eyeing comeback

Lacroix’s ready-to-wear and haute couture might be things of the past following the French fashion label’s bankruptcy last year, but the label will be branching out into stationery, sunglasses, and home decoration.

According to fashion trade paper Women’s Wear Daily, Christian Lacroix has already signed deals for all four collections.

His sunglasses range in collaboration with Hong Kong-based label Mondottica will launch in September, New York company Libretto Holdings will introduce Lacroix-branded stationery the same month, and his home textiles will be released together with England’s Designers Guild next year.
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Lily Safra Paid $103.4 Million for Giacometti

London-based billionaire Lily Safra is the buyer of the Alberto Giacometti sculpture that fetched a record $103.4 million at a London auction.

“It was a freak result,” said Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the London-based Fine Art Fund.

“But there are wealthy people out there desperate to buy rare pieces and when something important comes up with a sensible estimate the bidding goes crazy.”

Safra is the widow of Lebanese banker Edmond Safra, who passed away in 1999.
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World’s Most Expensive Wingtips

At an astonishing price of $10,000 per pair, Louis Vuitton is offering what are perhaps the world’s most expensive pair of men’s dress shoes for S/S 2010.

The wingtip is called the Manhattan Richelieu and is handmade using Blake construction (to make the leather as supple as possible).

This pair of Louis Vuitton men’s shoes has a hand-painted leather sole and a ruthenium-finish LV cube embedded in the leather heel.
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Porsche 918 Spyder Concept

The 2011 Porsche 918 hybrid concept is set to debut tomorrow at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

The 918 hybrid is powered by a 500 HP V8 engine along with two electric motors which supply an additional 218 HP.

Porsche claims that it delivers up to 78 miles to the gallon and can travel 16 miles on battery alone.
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World hotel prices plummeted in 2009

Hotel prices fell by an average of 14 percent globally in 2009, according to figures released March 2 by Hotels.com.

Around the world, hotel prices now cost four percent less than they did in 2004, says the most recent edition of the firm’s Hotel Price Index (HPI).

Every continent posted a drop in prices, with Latin America the worst affected — a fall of 21 percent year on year.

Asia fell by 16 percent, North America by 14 percent and Europe by 13 percent.

Moscow, formerly the world’s most expensive city for hotels, posted the largest fall, with a staggering 41 percent wiped off the average price of a room.
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World’s biggest wine brand created in France

In the sun-drenched south of France, the world’s largest vineyard has launched a new, simplified brand called “Pays d’Oc”, creating the number one French wine export to compete against New World brands.

Languedoc-Roussillon covers 35 percent (or 260,200 hectares) of all French vineyards, making it the biggest producer worldwide.

As of the 2009 vintage, soon to hit store shelves, one-third of that production or 760 million bottles of wine will be sold by vintage and grape variety under the Pays d’Oc brand.

This will make them the world’s fifth largest exporter of varietal wine. And with 33 grape varieties in production in the region, the market potential is impressive.
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A toy for every billionaire at Verona luxury fair

Shoppers wondering how to deal with the afterlife found an answer Friday — a cell-phone-equipped golden coffin, one of many items on display at the opening of an international luxury fair in Verona.

The coffin was priced at a mere 280,000 euros (381,000 dollars), while a diamond-studded, cancan-style wedding gown in pink chinchilla fur could be scooped up for 220,000 euros.

More traditional items include a boat running on a Ferrari engine and a crystal-covered piano, whose price was undisclosed.

A limited-edition sports car was priced at 1.3 million euros, while the more ecologically conscious could opt for a 24-carat gold racer bicycle.
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