Indice dei contenuti per August 2018 in Robb Report

THE NEW Anvera 48 (anvera.it) might well be the coolest, most technically accomplished yacht tender ever. Drawn by Aldo Drudi, who first imagined the 48 as an “elegant and very fast dolphin,” the carbon-fiber boat is strong, tough, and fast. “While the hull has been developed with hydrodynamic features in mind, the superstructure has been defined by aerodynamics,” says Drudi. The black profile does indeed have a sleek, aerodynamic look—especially with the nifty hard top that seems to float its way backward over the helm station, across the amidships dining table, and to the rear seating. Its integrated wind vent provides fresh air to the shaded areas. It’s a special design that delivers wind and sun protection in the center area while leaving the aft teak deck completely exposed to…

/ CONCEPT: GALAXION / DESIGNER: DANIEL SIMON / ODDS OF PRODUCTION: WHEN THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK CONCEPT / FUSION-FUEL / ED FOUR-WHEELER Dreaming up extraterrestrial transportation is well within the wheelhouse of futurist and design consultant Daniel Simon, whose radical rides have been seen in such films as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Tron: Legacy. For the Galaxion, developed for inclusion in his book Cosmic Motors, Simon looked to sate the automotive desires of a distant planet’s plutocracy. “I drew the streamlined coupe for the out-of-touch royalty of that world,” he says. “The fact that it is powered by a micro fusion reactor and has a body made from bioengineered mussel shells places it firmly in the realm of science fiction.” It would still have tires, though, and doors…

/ CONCEPT: THE BIG FALCON ROCKET AND EARTH-TO-EARTH ROCKET TRAVEL / DESIGNER: SPACEX / ODDS OF PRODUCTION: IF YOU WISH UPON A STAR... CONCEPT / ROCKET RIDE Imagine traveling from New York City to Milan in less time than a typical morning commute. Oh wait—Elon Musk not only has imagined it, he believes he knows just how to make it happen. Speaking to the International Astronautical Congress last year about the new multipurpose Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) spacecraft and using it to travel to the Moon or Mars, the SpaceX CEO ended his presentation by introducing another use for the rocket that could revolutionize travel a bit closer to home. As it turns out, the BFR—with the lowest launch cost of any rocket in use—could also transport passengers to any…

REALIZED / SUPER SUB Until this year, personal submarines were more about function than form. The bubble-like glass covers and slow, meandering speeds were ideal for taking a leisurely jaunt around a coral reef. They had research-lab looks with a Jacques Cousteau seal of approval, but not a lot of panache. Project Neptune will change all that. The limited-edition sub is a joint project between Triton Submarines and Aston Martin. The unlikely partners have been working on a three-person submarine that can stay underwater for eight hours, with a deep dive of 1,640 feet. The Triton brand has appeared on many documentaries combing ocean depths, but Aston Martin has added levels of style that this segment has never seen. The British carmaker’s design team helped Triton in redesigning Neptune’s body…

Nothing says “Space Age” like show cars from the 1960s. It was an era when Italian style was a driving force, from four-wheelers to fashion, an epoch unequalled for its invention, and automotive designers had free rein to envision anything that could be manufactured. Probably no Italian design studio of the period authored more groundbreaking creations than Carrozzeria Bertone, whose brilliant young stylist Marcello Gandini left his imprint on such milestone Lamborghini production models as the Miura and Countach. Yet one show car eclipsed every other design with its science-fiction fantasy, cementing Lamborghini’s stature as the world’s most forward-thinking car company. That machine was the Marzal, a one-off concept shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 1967. The silver quattro-posti (four-seater) was based on a Miura chassis and…

“Good morning!” Captain Etienne Garcia whispers. “I’m sorry to wake you, but you must come see the orcas—they are swimming just off the port side of the bow!” ¶ My eyes snap open. What time is it? How did Captain Garcia get into my stateroom? A sliver of white light—so bright it can only be from the high-noon sun—creeps through my blackout curtains and draws a laser-sharp line across my bed. I grab my watch—only 5:20 am. Of course; at negative 63 degrees latitude, even the earliest of morning hours looks like the middle of the day. And the captain’s exclamation? Just an announcement over the ship’s intercom system. It’s too early, I decide—even for killer whales. ¶ “Good morning!” Captain Garcia says again, just as I’m dozing back into…

The car doesn’t only stand out on the straightaways; its steering technology and active suspension help charm snaky passes with grace. The return to a childhood home can be anticlimactic, as one’s place in the community’s collective consciousness may often subside with time and tide. Then again, it also depends on the wheels you roll up in. I found that out on a recent test-drive around the stomping grounds of my youth, when the rearview revealed a swarm of schoolchildren—armed with camera phones—chasing me with a persistence and pace usually reserved for ice cream trucks. But it wasn’t my photo they wanted to capture; it was the new Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster I was wearing. ¶ Italy’s high-performance marque, based in Sant’Agata Bolognese, has generated this level of fervor for…

ELORA HARDY may have a famous name—her father, the iconic jewelry designer John Hardy, has created workshops, schools, and hotels throughout Bali—but she’s hardly one to rest on the family laurels. The Indonesia local established her sustainable design firm Ibuku (ibuku.com) in 2010 and has since sprinkled every part of the island with her signature sweeping bamboo structures. Here, the doyenne of eco-chic shares her conscientious guide to Bali. Threads of Life “This textile shop—which has worked with more than 1,000 weavers on 11 Indonesian islands for 15 years—has small group workshops on fiber arts at their studio and botanical garden in Ubud. Understanding the impact of our fast fashion habit is crucial—it’s the second-most-polluting industry in the world right now.” threadsoflife.com Nusantara “This restaurant’s motto says it all: Go…

CULINARY EXPERT Lisa Virgiano has journeyed to Wakatobi Island to learn sustainable fishing techniques from a local sea shaman. She’s traveled to West Nusa Tenggara to master the traditional preparation of raw beef in bamboo tubes. And she’s uncovered the secrets of bygone cuisines from ethnic groups throughout Indonesia. And she’ s done it all for Kaum (kaum.com), a Seminyak restaurant where the dishes are, as Virgiano puts it, "an unfathomable understanding" of Indonesian culture and cuisine. Virgiano—along with Kaum’s head chef, Wayan Kresnayasa, who trained at New York’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns—has spearheaded the island’s new fusion gastronomy, where hyper-local ingredients and traditional techniques meet elevated preparations. The resulting dishes give fresh life to old classics, like salt-and-pepper grilled fish (which Kresnayasa marinates in a spicy paste and…

FROM THE THRONGS of tourists clogging every nook and cranny of Tirta Empul, you might think Bali has just one temple worth visiting. But this sacred island is crammed with thousands of Hindu landmarks—and the key to uncovering the best of them might just be at your hotel. The Four Seasons (fourseasons.com), which has resorts in Sayan and Jimbaran, takes guests way off the well-trodden temple route to visit secret water sanctuaries and shrine-filled caves where village priests perform traditional blessings and rituals. Ubud’s Amandari (aman.com) offers its guests exclusive morning meditation and purification ceremonies with a Balinese priestess at the Pura Mengening temple. Hoshinoya Bali’s concierge team directs guests to Pura Penataran Sasih, the island’s oldest temple, where ancient Hindu relics—including a Bronze Age drum from 300 B.C.—are stored.…

Unimpressed by an endless stream of all-too-similar timepieces from mainstream brands, watch collectors are gravitating toward independent watchmakers like Swiss studio Akrivia. Founded six years ago by designer Rexhep Rexhepi, Akrivia’s boutique operation has earned serious fans thanks to both a very limited production—the six-person team completed only 17 pieces last year—and Rexhepi’s attention to detail. While his watchmaking methods are not dissimilar to those of other makers, Rexhepi spends significant time on his creations and imparts a high level of artistry into the finishing. Barely in his thirties, he already has impressive experience—not to mention a palpable passion for the craft. For collectors who have discovered Akrivia, that makes each timepiece worth the wait. 1 Individual Attention Rexhepi’s small team and the almost homey environment in his atelier are…

BMW MOTORRAD VENTURES into new territory with the 9cento (bmw-motorrad .com), a concept adventure sport bike unveiled in May on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como during the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Designed for touring, the 9cento focuses on lightness and aerodynamics. “We’ve created a bike that combines the appropriate power with reliable sports-touring properties and, above all, lots of riding fun,” says Edgar Heinrich, head of design for BMW Motorrad. “It brings together the best of the sports, adventure, and touring segments to produce an exciting concept in a class which has not seen this kind of model from BMW before.” The compact 9cento (pronounced “no-veh-CHEN-toh”) focuses its volume and center of gravity near the front wheel and has a short, high tail. This makes for a tighter package,…

/ CONCEPT: RIDE-HAILING AIR TAXI / DESIGNER: UBER AND PARTNERS / ODDS OF PRODUCTION: READY FOR TAKEOFF IN FIVE YEARS CONCEPT / / HELI-HAILING Uber may have run into some issues with its self-driving-car initiative, but its lesser-known Uber Elevate air-taxi development program is cruising right along. And while flying cars are often used as shorthand for futuristic technology destined to remain a dream, the company plans to conduct demonstration flights in 2020 and begin commercial operations in 2023. The goal of the Uber Elevate program is to bring together partners from around the aerospace industry—Bell, Embraer, and Boeing, among others—to develop the vehicles and infrastructure needed to make a flying ride-hailing model feasible. According to Uber’s requirements, the vehicles themselves will be of the electric vertical takeoff and landing…

/ CONCEPT: INTENSA EMOZIONE / DESIGNER: APOLLO AUTOMOBIL / ODDS OF PRODUCTION: REVVING UP CONCEPT / / SWEET EMOTION For well-heeled adrenaline addicts, there is no shortage of potent vehicles available as a fix. McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Koenigsegg all offer models with monstrous horsepower. Apollo Automobil, however, doesn’t want its Intensa Emozione supercar lumped in with that lot. According to Apollo’s new leaders, Norman Choi and Ryan Berris, the industry’s current crop of hyperbolic automobiles gently assuage a driver’s ego rather than test his or her abilities. In contrast, the Intensa Emozione—a machine that wouldn’t look out of place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans—requires equal parts courage and skill to pilot. Inches behind the driver’s ear is a 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V-12 developed by…

REALIZED / COUTURE CABIN A private plane may be the most time-efficient means of travel, but even on a business jet like the Airbus ACJ319, passengers can spend up to 13 hours aloft. Given that fact, many owners dream of a “flying home in the sky,” says Jim Dixon, head of aviation for London-based Winch Design. “Our clients now ask for an interior that replicates their homes or yachts.” One customer came to Winch seeking an ACJ319 interior that would provide “a space in which to feel comfortable and experience travel not as a chore but a fine art,” says Dixon. Such designs present a series of challenges as aircraft interiors must meet complex international standards for airworthiness and safety as well as minimize weight to keep fuel consumption down.…

Magellan Explorer THE SHIP: Set to debut next year, Antarctica21’s newest ship is expected to elevate the nascent expedition cruise brand’s offerings, thanks to an avant-garde exterior design and residential-style suites dressed in natural woods and an earthy color palette. THE HIGHLIGHT: A state-of-the-art energy system that uses heat generated by the engines to warm the ship and its water supply, significantly decreasing emissions. THE ITINERARY: Quick trips are Antarctica21’s specialty: The company’s eight-day journeys bypass long days at sea with two-hour flights from Punta Arenas, Chile, to the South Shetland Islands. From there, the western coast of the peninsula is a short sail away. (from $12,995 per person) antarctica21.com Silver Cloud Expedition THE SHIP: Silversea spent more than $40 million to transform its 127-suite Silver Cloud into an ice-class-rated…

IT IS NO coincidence that the foyer of a chic apartment in New York’s majestic Apthorp building feels like an art gallery. Entries usually give clues to their owners, so arriving in a space where Marilyn Minter’s Cyclone photograph of a close-up glittery face holds court with a subdued landscape of a river delta by photographer Edward Burtynsky, and where a dazzling LED artwork by Jim Campbell looks like a modern relief on the wall, one gets the distinct impression that very cool art collectors live here. ¶ And they do. But this is a home designed for living with art. Case in point: the shapely royal-purple ottoman designed by interior designer Darrin Varden for the space, a piece meant for mingling guests and viewing art.It’s a sexy, confident choice that’s…

ONLY A ROOKIE would come to Bali for a Balinese massage. With its rich culture blending Hinduism with animism and traditional healing, this island is home to so much more than a classic rubdown. Case in point: Ibu Ketut Mursi, the blind healer whose intuitive sessions combining reflexology and four-handed massage can be booked only through Ubud’s Mandapa resort (ritzcarlton.com). Ibu Ketut, who comes from a long line of spiritual therapists from the nearby regency of Tabanan, can rehabilitate sore muscles just as easily as she can release blocked chakras or negative energy. Aided by a sighted assistant, she can also address issues of digestion, poor alignment, stress, and headaches—all through the power of touch. And for Balinese-massage devotees, there’s even a bit of pounding and twisting.…

Bali’s creative spirit can’t possibly be captured in a single object—but that doesn’t mean plenty of artisans haven’t tried. When Canadian designer John Hardy (johnhardy.com ) came to the island more than 40 years ago, he was so transfixed by the native culture and artistry that he designed a new collection of handmade, Asian-inspired pieces. Decades later, Hardy’s Ubud-based workshop has become world renowned for its jewelry inspired by local icons like dragons and cobras. Bali has served as a modern muse for other creative transplants, too: French fashion designer Magali Pascal (magalipascal.com ) infuses European elegance into the local boho aesthetic at her eponymous Seminyak boutique, while Australian Carrick Petford’s high-end menswear label h. ō .n.l (houseofninethlife.com ) elevates the island’s street-wear style with refined fabrics and a minimal…

“Ambition is a dream with a V-8 engine.” – ELVIS PRESLEY AUTOMOTIVE EDITOR Viju Mathew was reminded that dream machines defy demographics during a test-drive of the new Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster (“Drive,” page 136). “I parked it briefly,” he says, “and returned to find a young girl, maybe seven years old, photographing it with her iPad then slowly walking away as she carefully studied the images—the latest addition to her digital vision board, perhaps. Sometime later, while interviewing 82-year-old retired Rear Admiral Robert Phillips about his 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial, I recognized that same look of adoration as he gazed over at his four-wheel family member. His inner seven-year-old could be seen clear as day.” WHILE GETTING ACQUAINTED with the upcoming ClubSwan 36 racing yacht (“Flair and Foil,” page…

NORTHEAST OF SANTA Barbara, tucked into the foothills of the San Rafael Mountains, lies a scenic winemaking pocket called Happy Canyon. Breezes riffle the silvery leaves of olive trees, and hares hop between tight, neat rows of vines. Pastoral beauty aside, it’s the Bordeaux-style red wines made there—particularly those by Adam Henkel, an eight-year veteran of Napa Valley’s Harlan Estate who is now winemaker for Crown Point (crownpointvineyards.com )—that really shine. The tiny region proved challenging. When Henkel discovered that the soil contained magnesium, which can inhibit the vigor of the vines, he pivoted, finding rootstocks adapted for just this kind of soil, and planted densely. He allows the vines to fruit closer to the ground, where they can benefit from the radiant heat of the rocks below and a…

ANY CHILD WHO HAS SEEN depictions of the Batcave has fantasized about a secret sanctuary of their own. For many—especially those who grow into serious collectors—that desire doesn’t diminish with age. Fortunately, CollectionSuites (collection-suites.com) provides hideaway space that even Bruce Wayne would embrace. Located in Doral, just 20 minutes from downtown Miami, the multipurpose complex was conceived for housing cars, motorcycles, art, wine, or other objects of value—all in residential refinement. “My family and I moved to a condo in Miami four years ago, right on the waterfront,” explains developer Juan Manuel Fayen, the founder of the company and an avid automobile racer and acquirer. “There was no place to park my cars, and corrosion is a big problem. So we began the project for ourselves.” Fayen and his son…

The Race Is On $45 million If classic Ferraris are the gold standard of the collector-car market, the 250 GTO is the marque’s most coveted nugget. Just 36 examples with the three-liter V-12 engine were built between 1962 and 1964—33 Series I cars and three Series IIs from 1964 with 250 LM-style bodywork. New, a GTO would have cost about $18,000. By 1986, however, the cars were commanding $1 million. In 2014, a prime example was hammered in at Bonhams’ Monterey auction for more than $38 million, and just this past May, chassis 4153 sold privately for some $70 million, possibly more. Collectors hoping to own one of these rarities have a chance this month when the third GTO to roll off the Ferrari factory floor goes under the…

/ CONCEPT: PENTAGRAMMA / DESIGNER: LUCA VALLEBONA / ODDS OF PRODUCTION: NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION CONCEPT / SHIP OF SURPRISES Some yacht concepts are so futuristic that the laws of physics would prevent them from ever being built. Luca Vallebona’s Pentagramma is not only elegant and unique, but the 269-footer also looks like it could be moored today beside any other bespoke vessel in its class. In English, “pentagramma” is a stave, or the set of lines and spaces on which music is written. It’s an apt name because the glass superstructure, reinforced by vertical brass strips, seems to float musically over the angled cutouts of the hull sides. From a distance, the boat is simple and beautiful. But the close-up details are what will really turn it into…

/ CONCEPT: M5 PRIVATE SUBMERSIBLE YACHT / DESIGNER: MIGALOO / ODDS OF PRODUCTION: NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN CONCEPT / COVETED BY COUSTEAU If you’re going for the ultimate deep-sea fantasy, it’s probably wise to choose a luxury submarine worthy of a James Bond movie. Migaloo calls its 443-foot M5 a “private submersible yacht,” mainly because it truly is an underwater superyacht. Imagine dining in a full-glass room surrounded by deep-blue ocean and hundreds of fish, taking an under-the-sea spin on the M5’s two mini-subs, or using the outdoor pool/ Jacuzzi and beach club while the M5 is floating on the surface. This James Bond dream boat also includes a helipad, cinema room, gym, spa, wine cellar, library, several bars with windows to the sea, and, of course, a game room.…

REALIZED / REFINED RACEHORSE An automotive equivalent of biblical Job, the 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial owned by retired Rear Admiral Robert Phillips has experienced renown, ruin, and a return to glory. One of only eight examples made of the four-cylinder model, the car premiered at the 1955 Grand Prix of Paris and went on to compete in numerous motorsport contests, including the 1955 Grand Prix of Venezuela where it won first in class and fifth overall. Unfortunately, it was eventually left to languish in storage at a Rambler dealership in Richmond, Calif. It is there that Phillips—then rising through the ranks of the U.S. Navy—found it in 1960. “Here was this mess, filthy and covered with mud,” says the admiral. “I grabbed a rag off the shop floor, wiped the…

REALIZED / BIG RIG When he launched Maltese Falcon in 2006, venture capitalist and former Hewlett Packard GM Tom Perkins fulfilled a fantasy that most sailors would never have even dared to dream. The 289-foot superyacht by Perini Navi considered the world’s most radical sailing yacht has three giant rotating masts, each supporting five sails. The “Dyna Rig” masts give Maltese Falcon a top end of 24 knots. Although translating this 19th-century concept to a 21st-century yacht could have been a spectacular failure, Perkins forged ahead, spending between $150 million and $300 million over a four-year period. His team built a special facility to test and build the carbon-fiber masts (with heights up to 187 feet) at the Perini Navi shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey. The furling sails are stored…

BASED IN SWITZERLAND’S Jura region, boutique watch manufacturer Jaquet Droz takes its name from one of the most overlooked and technically sophisticated historical legacies in the industry. “The idea was to create an emotion, which I call astonishment,” says Christian Lattman, CEO of Jaquet Droz, about the work of Pierre Jaquet-Droz and his son Henri-Louis, who did indeed manage to astonish European aristocrats in the mid-to-late 18th century with the construction of a series of superbly complex automata—mechanical figures that could draw, write, or even play music. However, Lattman’s description could also easily apply to the activities of his company today, which has produced large-scale mechanical objects along with its watches since it was resurrected under the aegis of the Swatch Group in 2000. This year, the brand displayed its…

THE LEGENDS OF BALI ARE MANY, from serpent guardians and cave-dwelling goddesses to tales like Eat, Pray, Love. But the reality of this Indonesian island is somewhat less mystical: Amid the mist-covered rice paddies and sacred temples is another Bali—one where the white-sand beaches are crammed with tourists and the once-wild jungles have been stripped of their trees to make way for yet another yoga retreat. Uncovering the true essence of this storied isle requires a journey beyond the well-traveled resort towns into villages like Keliki (where the new Capella Ubud is injecting the waning rainforest with a dose of much-needed sustainability) and Abiansemal (where Kul Kul Farm is leading a fresh revolution in indigenous cuisine). The hyper-local focus is catching on in some rather unexpected ways, too, with new…

THE VISIONARY architect behind CapellaUbud—not to mentionhundreds of otherout-of-this-world hotels—might just be a mad genius. But his far-fetched projects comewith apurpose, too: to save thenatural environments in which they reside. Here, thedesign disruptor andself-described “Baliophile”shares his longtime loveaffairwith the island thatinspires him most. You first came to Bali 35 years ago. What keeps bringing you back? I like theintense connection mostBalinese have withMother Earth—it is unique and alive. I love thelanguages,both spoken and architectural. I love the fine arts and havecollected a goodnumber of pieces over the last 35 years. But most of all, I love the Balineseability to laugh even in the mostdifficult circumstances. How has Bali shaped your work as an architect? Inmoreways than I couldpossibly describe. For example, today I make a big dealabout preachingminimalintervention andretaining the…

Back in the 1930s, when people regularly traveled across country via train, they usually had a 10-hour layover in Chicago. In later years, when celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Phyllis Diller (shown) ended up in the Windy City, they made a night of it; and dining at the famous Pump Room inside the Ambassador East hotel was an essential part of that. At the restaurant, the biggest stars of the day had the ultimate social-status symbol waiting for them: Booth One. Back then, the hot spot was owned by Ernie Byfield, a famous hotelier and restaurateur who would personally pick luminaries up at the train station. “This was the place where all the celebrities were,” says Rich Mel-man, who owned the restaurant in the 1970s and 1980s…