Inhaltsverzeichnis für August 2019 in Robb Report

With every new model year come challengers vying for title of Hypercar maximus, each hoping to knock last year’s most formidable predator off its perch. So it’s interesting that the most significant among the first generation of cutting-edge hybrids would become collectibles in such short order. Not yet 10 years old, these two standouts have become the most coveted of their breed. Ferrari LaFerrari VS. Porsche 918 Spyder CARS PRODUCED 500 coupes (210 Aperta roadsters not included) Exactly 918… Imagine that A SINGLE TANK OF GAS WILL TAKE YOU 317 miles, roughly from Las Vegas to Phoenix 420 miles including a full charge, roughly from Boston to Baltimore BASE PRICE NEW (But one could ladle on six figures’ worth of carbon fiber and fancy leather) $1,420,000 ($929,000 with lightweight Weissach…

The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park Yes, of course you know the Ritz-Carlton. It’s been a bastion of luxury since before you were even born. But the old favorite is about to become a new favorite after a significant renovation that’s bringing the 253-room hotel well into the 21st century. There are the usual design boosts—a brighter look, bigger suites (our favorite being the two-bedroom Royal)—but it’s the new extras that have us sitting up and taking notice. The restaurant, which has been a bit of a dead zone for a few years now, is suddenly a hot spot called Contour that serves cocktails that look like science projects. And the massive fitness center, set in the former ballroom, is the best place to try out the latest cutting-edge equipment,…

WHEN A HAND-DELIVERED arrives containing an invitation unveiling of Cartier’s new high-jewelry collection in London, the answer is invariably yes. Similar to an exclusive artist’s preview, it’s a chance for Cartier’s VIP clients to land a one-off treasure before it even reaches the boutique. And the 120-piece Magnitude collection—named for its visual high impact—didn’t disappoint. For the first time, Cartier combined fine precious gems with hard cut stones. Some were the kind of geological specimens one expects to see at the Museum of Natural History: A 77-carat matrix opal, which looked like it fell from space with its electric-blue bolts of light, was the centerpiece of a cuff surrounded by blue and purple sapphires. There won’t be another stone like that one anytime soon. Another unusual specimen, a huge rutilated…

What have you done recently for the first time? Last year I attended the Monaco Grand Prix as special guest of Ferrari and aces Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel.1 We spent time in the pit with a front-row view of these world-class pilots taking their incredible machines to the technical limit. Name your favorite designer. Sergio Pininfarina, who conceived the bodywork of almost every Ferrari. He understood the elements of great design—good harmony, classic style, proportion and grace. This sense of graceful proportion—exceptional power clothed in a sensual body—has led many experts to regard the Ferrari as one of the most beautiful objects ever produced. First thing you do in the morning? I love to take a four-mile precision run and then slipknot into my favorite nuclear-strength mocha cappuccino from…

Marek Reichman has been responsible for shaping such models as the Aston Martin (astonmartin.com) V12 Vantage S, Rapide S, DB11 and Vulcan. His aesthetic can be summed up as simple, clear and dynamic, and here he outlines how such cues inform the latest releases. JEMIMA SISSONS What are the pillars of Aston Martin’s design language? Beauty is at the core of who we are and what we do. Beauty is timeless, and proportion is important, which means staying true to the golden ratio. It is being understated yet dramatic, shouting without being loud. How do the new DB4 Zagato and Valhalla reflect those core aesthetic values? It’s all about the relationship of volumes. The length of cabin versus the bonnet, the size of side glass to body size, etc. The…

THE WEST EDGE of Italy gets all the flashbulbs, with famed ports like Naples, Savona and Viareggio, where some of the country’s most renowned boats are built. But tucked in along the Adriatic Sea across from Croatia sits a cluster of superyacht shipyards in the Marche region’s city of Ancona. Ten years after the economic downturn, this area hums with major activity. Vineyards and their wineries are bearing fruit and making increasingly delicious wine, Michelin is bestowing restaurants with stars, and shipyards such as newcomer Palumbo are quietly turning out yachts while other regions of Italy soak up the limelight. Ancona is the major port of the Adriatic, but the only hint of that is the traffic leaving this ancient city—with Roman remnants dotted throughout—in the evening. Palumbo Shipyard’s Columbus…

NO ONE HAS REALLY experienced an ultrawide-body biz jet yet, but that opportunity has just gotten a lot closer. Dassault Aviation’s Falcon 6X (dassaultfalcon.com) has completed its critical design review, meaning the plans are set and manufacturing can begin. The first Falcon 6X is on track to be built by early 2020. Gone will be the narrow tube many jet-setters are used to traveling in. Instead, the cabin will stretch 8.5 feet across and have 6.5 feet of headroom, so even tall fliers can comfortably move about. Natural light will infuse the interior via 30 huge windows and a galley skylight—the first in business aviation. The French aerospace company announced the project last year when it became clear that the much-anticipated and long-awaited Falcon 5X would never get off the…

In September, Italian fitness brand Technogym (technogym .com ) will launch the latest addition to its home line, Bike Personal. What we love about this new machine is its marriage of high-tech performance and beautiful design, so it looks as stylish as any piece of furniture you might choose, instead of like sweaty workout equipment. Its minimalist lines, designed by renowned architect Antonio Citterio in micro-polished steel and aluminum, are matched by maximal programming to track your personal exercise data and provide training sessions worthy of a Tour de France cyclist. For those who need distractions from the task at hand, the screen is enabled for Netflix, apps, social media and your favorite TV channels. ($9,500)…

There’s nothing like a watch auction to stir the blood and get the adrenaline pumping. As a collector I’ve been fortunate to have had some great wins on the block, such as a Lange Double Split I bought at Christie’s in 2012 and a rare pink-gold example of the first-ever serially produced perpetual-calendar wristwatch, the Patek Philippe Ref. 1526, at Phillips in November 2016. There’s little that can compare to the feeling you’ve captured a bargain that really speaks to you. It’s dangerously addictive. But with some pieces, you know you’d better be prepared to go big or get blown out of the water. Which brings us to that fateful evening of October 26, 2017: the Phillips/Bacs & Russo auction in New York, where the late Paul Newman’s personal Rolex…

LIFE OFTEN MOVES too quickly—except in our cars. When mind-numbing daily commutes are measured by time in traffic, the sensation of intense acceleration is a drug both intoxicating and addictive. But, as with most medication, tolerance is built over time, requiring a more potent dose and efficient delivery system. In 1894, for example, a 3 hp Benz Velo was considered the fastest production vehicle at 12 mph. A little more than five decades later, that marker moved to 124.6 mph with the 160 hp Jaguar XK120. The 200 mph line was crossed in 1987 with the 515 hp RUF CTR and, currently, the benchmark belongs to the 1,160 hp Koenigsegg Agera RS at 277.87 mph. Today, the combination of smaller but muscular turbocharged gas engines, hybrid and electric power trains…

In 1945, long before anyone had managed to launch a spacecraft into orbit, science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke realized that if you could place an object with just the right velocity at just the right distance above the equator it would remain suspended over the same spot. Put a transceiver on it, and you could bounce signals between any two points in the hemisphere. Seventeen years later, a US Delta rocket launched the first Telstar communications satellite. Voilà: worldwide telephone service. Imagination can bring us the future, but it isn’t infallible. Envisioning a technology isn’t enough to bring it into being. No matter how compelling an idea may seem, no matter how hard people may try to bring it to fruition, sometimes technology just doesn’t want to play along. The…

GUY MARTIN HADN’T planned on becoming an innkeeper. But the Michelin-starred chef—considered a gastronomic demigod for his Paris restaurant, Le Grand Véfour—couldn’t help himself. While on vacation in Puglia, Italy, he and his wife, Katherina Marx, discovered a pair of neighboring 18th-century palazzi in the southern town of Nardò that, to them, seemed ripe for a second life. They bought the estates three years ago and just this past spring opened Palazzo Maritati e Muci (maritatiemuci .com), a 10-room resort where vibrant art and contemporary furniture pose a striking contrast to original plasterwork and vaulted ceilings. That Martin had zero experience running a hotel had little bearing on his decision to go all in on a meticulous restoration. Call it the Puglia Persuasion—there’s something about this picturesque region that compels…

LAYOVERS JUST GOT a whole lot more palatable with the launch of the Macallan’s boutique program, a multimillion-dollar investment that will see the whisky brand open stand-alone shops in key cities across the globe. The Speyside producer has just cut the ribbon on its first one, curiously in Dubai. Though the country is largely dry, its airport gets more than its fair share of foot traffic (it’s been the world busiest airport for international traffic for the last five years). Hence the new store, in Terminal 3. The boutique is part of a major expansion plan that began with the opening of the Macallan’s slick $180 million distillery and tasting room last year, which clogged the Scottish roads with lines of fans awaiting a first look. Halfway across the world,…

IT’S NO SURPRISE that Ferrari’s (ferrari .com) new SF90 Stradale is the most powerful road car ever created in Maranello; there’s not a component, process or system that has not been honed to fulfill its singular mission of ultimate performance. The latest prancing horse is the sixth model in the Italian marque’s decades-long lineage of engineering “moonshots” that began with the 288 GTO and F40 of the 1980s. With a combined 986 hp from its 4-liter twin-turbo V-8 and three electric motor-generators, the Stradale extends the hybrid hypercar genre founded by the 12-cylinder LaFerrari, the McLaren P1 and the Porsche 918. Stradale features an all-wheel-drive configuration. One motor-generator sits at the back of the engine, feeding instant electric torque into the latest evolution of the company’s dual-clutch 8-speed gearbox. The…

Want safe turns without sacrificing speed? It’s all about the down-shift. The gearbox links a motorcycle’s throttle and rear tire, so it’s important that each gear ratio is selected swiftly and smoothly when slowing for a corner. “I keep things simple,” says professional riding coach and MotoAmerica racer Michael Gilbert. “As soon as the throttle is closed, I’m clicking down on the shift lever and modulating the clutch, eliminating the need for blipping the throttle [brief hits of the throttle while the clutch is engaged to match engine revs to roll speed].” And you don’t have to be racing to reap the benefits. Completing the downshift at the earliest part of the braking process allows the chassis time to settle and the rider to focus on the upcoming turn, whether…

Port Ferdinand Yacht and Beach Club Residences THE LOCATION: Barbados, one of 28 island nations in the Caribbean. SLIPS: 120, for vessels up to 90 feet. DETAILS: The community includes private villas with direct access to private berths, boat upholstery and cleaning services, personal chefs. UNIQUE FEATURES: A floating wave attenuation system prevents large storms from causing hull damage. The marina also serves as a safe haven for the endangered hawksbill sea turtle. BEST SUITED FOR: Privacy seekers who still want to be out during hurricane season. Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina THE LOCATION: Port Douglas, a one-hour drive from Australia’s Cairns international airport. SLIPS: 135, with 20 dedicated to superyachts up to 164 feet. DETAILS: Queensland’s northernmost marina and the gateway to the farthest outer reefs; has an on-site brewery as…

Like underwater exploration but can’t afford a submersible? The world’s first ride-share submarine arrived in Tropical North Queensland this summer. For a mere $2,065 for two people, an hour’s “scUber” ride (requested directly in the Uber app) revealed what lies beneath on the Great Barrier Reef. A limited-time partnership between Tourism and Events Queensland and Uber, the initiative aimed to showcase the reef’s diversity, resilience and world-leading management, as well as collect valuable data to support reef research.…

WHILE TRANSPORTATION takes us ever closer to sci-fi with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft, entertainment edges toward making Ready Player One less movie make-believe and more next door. London-based Teslasuit (teslasuit .io)—with manufacturing, operations and R&D in Minsk—enters the game with full-body haptic gear, so you can feel and touch everything that’s happening in the virtual experience—a gentle rain or arctic cold, an arrow shot to the ribs or a hug. Although immersive gaming is the obvious use, cofounders Dimitri Mikhalchuk and Sergey Khurs intend the suit for multiple applications, including fitness training and kinesthetic learning—think perfecting your golf swing. The two-piece wireless suit, made of a smart fabric with an embedded minicomputer, uses tiny electrical impulses to track motion and heart rate as well as deliver feeling and…

“The body [is] ‘porous,’ which means that the air not only goes over the surfaces of the car but through it.” OFFICIALLY UNVEILED ON July 16, the Lotus Evija is the only car in our quartet that does not have its sights set on the 300 mph target. It’s geared for a more daunting goal—to recharge a once revered brand that has been stuck in idle the last few years. And while all-electric hyper-cars have recently been the industry’s debut du jour as part of the new carbon-conscious gestalt, Lotus intends for its version to be the most powerful production car yet, delivering just shy of 2,000 hp. The project—comprising 130 examples starting at approximately $1.9 million each—was made possible once the British marque fell under control of Chinese automotive…

Who needs ice when you can have crystal? It may not seem like the obvious choice for a luxury material in comparison to blingy gems, but sapphire-crystal watches are the height of watchmaking art—and showstoppers in their own right. Sapphire crystal is the second-hardest naturally occurring material on Earth, after diamond; as a result, just carving and shaping the case requires handmade diamond-tipped tools. The painstaking process to cut, machine and polish one timepiece (sometimes 200 hours or more) is so precarious and difficult that a company can make at most a handful each year. But for hardcore watch collectors an even bigger appeal is the 360-degree views of the serious mechanics reserved for this level of craftsmanship. These five brands—laser-focused on the future—are leading the pack in 21st-century watchmaking.…

JUST BEFORE SUNSET on a steamy June evening in Venice, Italy, men in black tie hop off sleek wooden water taxis and limo tenders in front of the historic Arsenale, while the female passengers, dressed in strappy, shimmery finery, step cautiously so as not to catch their pencil-thin heels in the gaps of the planked docks. Sipping Champagne, they make their way down a candlelit blue carpet along the water’s edge into the canopied party. The ambience and mood of the festivities befit a royal marriage. But the entrance that the assembled guests await with increasing anticipation is not that of a bride in a flowing white gown. Rather, it’s a marine vessel: Riva’s new flagship yacht, the Riva 50M, or as Alberto Galassi, CEO of Italian parent company Ferretti…

the greek islands have become so crowded they’re practically a cliché, but there’s one little isle that, though wedged between wildly popular Paros and Oia, seems miles from its neighbors. Ios has largely been ignored by the glitz and galavanting—something the Cyclades island owes largely to its ill-gotten reputation as a lowbrow backpackers hideout—but Angelos Michalopoulos is about to give it new bragging rights. The Greek native and his wife, Vassiliki Petridou, started buying land on the 40-square-mile island in the early 2000s, not to develop it but to preserve it. Now, lucky for us, they will share it with a handful of visitors seeking a different kind of Greek vacation. “We were looking for a place to build a house and came over from a nearby island,” Michalopoulos says.…

Seirinkan Susumu Kakinuma is the godfather of Japan’s Neapolitan pizza movement. More than two decades ago, he arrived in Naples to learn the region’s careful art of dough, sauce and cheese—but no one would give him a job. So, he spent a year eating and watching. When he returned home, he taught himself and opened the original Savoy in 1995. He built the business but eventually left in 2007 to open Seirinkan, and though it’s crammed with Beatles memorabilia and steampunk ironwork, it’s as Neapolitan as you can get, with only two pizzas on the menu: the Margherita (mozzarella di bufala, tomato, basil and olive oil) and the marinara (tomato, garlic, olive oil and oregano). Kakinuma replaced Italian olive oil with a Japanese variety, and he also invented the Japanese…

Barbados native Trudiann Branker may have been born and bred on the island that produces the sugar-cane for Mount Gay’s famously sweet serum (mountgayrum.com), but this year marks her first producing a special master blend for the 300-year-old label. And, oh, what a blend it will be. Here, she gives us a sneak peek into the twist she’s putting on the next 1703 Master Select—which debuts this fall—along with a bit of rum history and expert know-how. J.O. You’re taking the premium 1703 expression in a new direction. How is it usually made? The 1703 Master Select is crafted from our oldest reserves. It’s an annual release and is typically a blend of pot- and column-still rums, aged 10 to 30 years. Due to the scarcity of old barrels needed…

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance may be the world’s most prestigious four-wheel fête, but for Italian motoring aficionados, the real field of dreams is found at the Concorso Italiano (concorso.com ) on August 17. The competition will present between 800 and 1,000 premier examples—most made in Italy—on select fairways of Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Club in Seaside, Calif. Adding to the exclusivity will be the opportunity for CI Club access, which includes a welcome reception as well as fine wine and cuisine. And it’s all driven by charity. “Through our new partnership with Jacob’s Heart, we have the privilege to host a world-class event and help families and kids impacted by childhood cancer,” says Tom McDowell, president of the concours. “We will also be the only place to see…

The First Porsche The patriarch from which every 356 descended, which in turn begat the 911 and every other Stuttgart-crested creation. RM Sotheby’s (rmsothebys.com) has caused quite the commotion with a unique and precious prize this August. It’s one thing for a car to be one of one, but to be the first of all is unrepeatable. To crib Porsche’s tagline, “there is no substitute” for the very first car to ever wear a Porsche badge (above and left). This is the Adamic automobile of the German marque, the patriarch from which every 356 descended, which in turn begat the 911 and every other Stuttgart-crested creation. Made in 1939, the Type 64 Berlin-Rome was essentially a teardrop-shaped, aerodynamic aluminum body wrapped over a Volkswagen beetle chassis and drivetrain, hot-rodded to…

CITY WASTE and cooking oil just might power your next private flight. Each year, the business aviation community meets in Geneva for the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, and 2019 was no different—with one exception. Gulfstream flew in its fleet using sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF). The stunt was part of “an industry-wide, sustainable alternative-fueled fly-in, with a record total of 23 aircraft participating,” says David Coleal, president of Bombardier Aviation and chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Environment Committee. As part of this larger-scale initiative to green up aviation, Gulfstream made SAJF available to customers earlier this year and is trying to raise its profile, says Mark Burns, Gulfstream’s president. The SAJF label refers to non-petroleum-based jet fuels—produced to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions—that can be used without…

AS IF TVS were not already over the top in size and picture quality, Sony (sony.com) just announced a Godzilla-like example that’s 98 inches across and explodes with 8K definition. Priced at $70,000, the new Master Series Z9G 8K LED features High Dynamic Range, which translates to four times the resolution of the now-pedestrian 4K screen you just bought last month. Utilizing Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor, the Z9G also boasts blacker blacks, brighter colors and more detailed textures—up to 20 times the contrast of conventional LEDs—offering one of the most immersive experiences found in a display. The Z9G also features smart connectivity, Dolby Vision, the Dolby Atmos three-dimensional sound system and four front-facing speakers—sensory overload on another order.…

PININFARINA pininfarina.com Through Pininfarina Bespoke Design services you can design a personalized “one-off” car. Be involved from sketches, to materials selection, to the manufacturing of each detail. In the image, the one-off Rolls-Royce Hyperion presented in 2008 at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. WESTPORT YACHTS westportyachts.com Over the last fifty years, the Westport brand has become synonymous with quality, reliability and value. No other company in America has built more yachts greater than 100 feet, and few builders worldwide can match the performance, operational flexibility and resale value that Westport designs offer. COLLECTIONSUITES collection-suites.com Conceived by car collector and enthusiast Juan Manuel Fayen, CollectionSuites is a collector’s paradise. The project, which has been 30% sold, features 38 private luxury storage suites in a gated complex, exclusively designed for the most discerning…

You know the day is not going badly when the five wineglasses marshaled in front of you are each backed by a bottle labeled Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. The hill of Corton in Côte de Beaune famously grows some of Burgundy’s great Chardonnay, and the producer—Bonneau du Martray—has the advantage of owning a swath of vineyards running from the top of the hill to the bottom. By blending bright fruit from the top, full of energy and verve, with richer, fatter fruit from the bottom, Bonneau du Martray creates exquisitely balanced Chardonnay, arguably the most complete expression of this legendary place. The land, in fact, has had only four owners in the last 1,200 years—the first being the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne himself, the namesake of the Grand Cru appellation. The…

The Jesko can drop directly from eighth gear to fifth if that will give the biggest boost when foot hits the floor. ON NOVEMBER 4, 2017, racer Niklas Lilja positioned himself behind the wheel of a Koenigsegg Agera RS and, on a closed portion of public road near Pahrump, Nev., piloted it to 277.87 mph—the current record for fastest production car. It was a crowning achievement for the Swedish marque, and its 47-year-old namesake is not ready to lose the throne. “Every single detail of a Koenigsegg car is measured against our continuing goal to enhance vehicle performance,” says founder and CEO Christian von Koenigsegg. His latest exploration of automotive limits was a journey that brought him to Jesko. The $2.8 million model—limited to 125 examples—looks like an alien landing…

Jim Rogers is living the good life in Singapore. The well-known American investor, and cofounder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros, moved to Singapore in 2007 to take advantage of the emerging Asian markets and has built a comfortable existence there with his family. But he admits he might not stay in the Lion City forever. “We’re not going to have a very simple and stable world in the next 20 to 30 years, so you need to be able to be mobile,” he says, explaining that the threat of trade wars, environmental disaster, pollution and terrorism means “everybody should have a ‘plan B’ to diversify their living possibilities.” That’s why he and every member of his family have secured additional passports from a third country, not Singapore or…