Table of contents for September 2021 in Robb Report

Ben Oliver Oliver began his career on the racetrack as a test driver for a car magazine. That experience came in handy for his story in this issue of Robb Report, in which he tamed the stunning new EV from Rimac, the Nevera, crowned the fastest-accelerating production car in the world (“Charging Ahead,” p. 82). “It’s rare to know the guy whose name is on the nose of the car you’re testing,” he says. “In the Nevera, Mate Rimac has produced performance that was utterly unthinkable in a road car when I started 20 years ago.” Kareem Rashed As Robb Report’s style editor, Rashed worked behind the scenes to piece together multiple aspects of this month’s fall style issue, most prominently in his profile of Brioni creative director Norbert Stumpfl…

On a pleasant summer evening in 2019, Michelin, the tire company with an inordinate amount of influence over the restaurant industry, gathered the Golden State’s top chefs for the release of its first all-California guide. If you were invited, you were in the club. But at what level, chefs wondered, would they be initiated? Chef William Bradley was in attendance. Addison, his contemporary French restaurant in San Diego, which he’d led for a decade, seemed poised for two stars. Michelin disagreed: Bradley’s elegant, technique-driven fare earned Addison a spot in the Guide, but at the one-star echelon. While it was a monumental achievement for the San Diego native, there were pangs of disappointment, too. “I thought we could maybe, possibly squeeze out two,” he admits. In an industry where many…

Who said in-person shopping is dead? While the pandemic may have further accelerated the trend toward buying online, a trio of bold-faced store openings suggest major brands and multibrand retailers alike are counting on a collective desire for the hands-on experience. Vacheron Constantin and Bucherer both recently opened multistory boutiques on New York City’s 57th Street, while Danny Goldsmith, a former watch salesman at Cellini, has unveiled a new outpost in Delray Beach, Florida. Vacheron was first to the punch when it opened the doors to its largest flagship in the world this summer, starting with a soft launch for appointment-only clients. The 4,500-square-foot space at 28 E. 57th St. officially welcomes the public this month, and there’s plenty to see, including the company’s only permanent collection of its Les…

WHEN THE COUPLE who purchased this Coconut Grove, Florida, residence in 2016 moved to a more kid-friendly space, they opted to leave their Italian furnishings behind. That works out well for the future buyer, as the apartment was meticulously decorated from top to bottom by sought-after interiors guru Steven G. The full-floor penthouse’s asking price is $24 million. That includes all the furniture, a 10,180-square-foot space, six bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms. It’s located in Grove at Grand Bay, a development that was designed by architect Bjarke Ingels. Grove consists of two 22-story towers that spiral toward one another; the penthouse in our sights is in the southern spiral. That’s an important distinction, according to listing agent Angel Nicolas, because a Mr. C Residences just broke ground nearby…

Excellence Caribbean This stunning 263-footer from Abeking & Rasmussen, recognizable by its reverse bow and triple-height glass atrium, is a design lover’s feast courtesy of Winch Design. A tiered cinema, gym, spa and beach club with terrace add opulence to the ultramodern interior. From $1.1 million per week via Burgess Dopamine Bahamas Aptly named after the pleasure-enhancing neurotransmitter, this 108-foot Mangusta GranSport 33 is the smallest of this group—and maybe the most fun. The sleek exterior is enhanced by a 26-knot top speed and flotilla of water toys, while the open, modern interior is pure Italian chic. From $110,000 per week via Northrop & Johnson RoMEA Maldives, Seychelles, Red Sea Designed by Terence Disdale, this 268-footer has six staterooms, an observation deck, a cinema room and two spas—a beauty salon…

In 1968, Pan Am started taking reservations for a shuttle to the moon. By the time the program was discontinued three years later, more than 90,000 signatures had been collected. The stunt ignited the dream that civilians could travel into space, but it took reality 53 years to catch up when, in July, Sir Richard Branson and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos each became a passenger aboard his own respective spacecraft. Upping the ante this month, 38-year-old billionaire Jared Isaacman, founder of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot, is scheduled to captain a multiday orbital expedition aboard Elon Musk’s Crew Dragon capsule, helmed by four civilians and zero professional astronauts. The name of the mission: Inspiration4. Surging with adrenaline after returning from his 10-minute rocket ride aboard New Shepard, Bezos likened…

Right now, in Miami, there’s an Aston Martin parked on Biscayne Bay Boulevard just east of Brickell Avenue. This Aston, like all Astons, comes with fine leather and carpeting, burnished wood and gleaming, expensive surfaces. But this Aston, unlike every other Aston, seats several hundred people and has a top speed of zero miles per hour and the aerodynamic efficiency of a very large building, because that’s what it is: a very large building. This is the Aston Martin Residences, slated to open next year, where the triplex penthouse will run you around $50 million. Like every other Aston, it also comes with a set of keys. At 817 feet, the Aston Martin Residences is an unusually towering monument to licensing agreements, but automaker brand extensions likely date back to…

THE BEST $9,700 COCKTAIL MONEY CAN BUY It’s often said that you shouldn’t waste nice alcohol in a cocktail. This opinion is usually offered with the authoritative weight of fact: That if you have, say, a very nice bottle of whisky, the “right” way to experience it is in a glass, without ice, presumably alongside an eyedropper of branch water and a tasting notebook labeled How to Take the Fun Out of Drinking. While it’s always wrong to tell other people how to drink, the admonition against using a pricier spirit to mix drinks is especially untrue for Scotch whisky and monumentally untrue for the Bobby Burns, composed of Scotch whisky, sweet vermouth and a kiss of the herbal French liqueur Bénédictine. (The drink has a sinewy, unsatisfying history, but…

Owners will have the run of a new clubhouse that overlooks the famous track. THEY SAY LOCATION is everything in real estate, and Silverstone’s new luxury residences are set to take pole position. The storied UK circuit, which is the current home of the British Grand Prix, will welcome 60 upscale homes come May 2022 that each promise trackside thrills—and some serious revenue. Priced from $895,000 to $2.34 million, the properties, collectively known as Escapade Silverstone, will sit as close as 39 feet from the crash barrier and offer high-octane views across seven of the track’s celebrated corners. The modern properties will feature light, airy interiors by Michaelis Boyd. Each has two, three or four bedrooms with en suites and can be subdivided into smaller condos if desired. They are…

THEY MAY NOT be quite as famous as his sunflowers or self-portraits, but Vincent van Gogh’s olive-tree paintings still represent an important entry in his sprawling oeuvre of more than 2,000 works. The series was completed during the penultimate year of the Dutch post-impressionist’s life, in 1889. Van Gogh was staying at a psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémyde-Provence, having admitted himself after suffering numerous breakdowns in nearby Arles. He was given a spare room for painting and, after some time, was allowed to venture outside, which is when—in June—he came across the local olive trees. It was not van Gogh’s first encounter with the species. While in Arles, he had written to his younger brother and longtime pen pal, Theo, that he wouldn’t dare paint the trees because they were too…

FINDING NEVERA-LAND Rimac Nevera With twice the power of a Formula 1 car, the ability to hit 60 mph in under two seconds and a $2.4 million sticker price, the new Rimac Nevera should intimidate even an experienced hypercar owner. Yet the automaker’s 33-year-old founder, Mate Rimac, intended his masterpiece to be a highly usable, no-fuss grand tourer. So which is it—Hyde or Jekyll? The answer from behind the wheel, amazingly, is both. The Nevera is currently the world’s fastest-accelerating production car, but even such prodigious brute force is the result of sophisticated engineering. Rimac’s expertise in high-performance electric drivetrains is such that Porsche made a sizable investment in the company back in 2018. In July, Porsche’s parent company, the Volkswagen Group, gave the Croatian upstart controlling interest in storied…

ARIA RESORT & CASINO LAS VEGAS aria.com Looking for a reason to visit Vegas? ARIA Resort & Casino embodies distinction from technology-advanced rooms to five-star spa treatments. No matter how you want to Vegas, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for. Consider ARIA your permission to indulge. TOP LEFT HARRISON K-9 harrisonk9.com Since 1975, Harrison K-9, the pioneer of the executive protection K-9 industry, has provided titled European German Shepherds as personal K-9 security. Tailor trained to each individual’s needs, the Harrison K-9TM is a vigilant protector and loyal companion to families, business executives, entertainers, and professional athletes worldwide. TOP RIGHT SANDI MILLER BURROWS DESIGNS LTD sandimillerburrowsdesigns.com Custom-designed precious monogram jewelry is a specialty of Sandi Miller Burrows Designs, available as pendants, cufflinks, bracelets, and belt buckles. Shown here is…

Carlton McCoy Jr. is an ambivalent member of the elite. One of the select corps of master sommeliers, he achieved this rare distinction despite a childhood blighted by trauma and poverty. An alumnus of some of the nation’s most prestigious restaurants, he disdains the world of fine dining. And as the first Black CEO of a Napa Valley winery, he positioned himself as a polite but firm disrupter inside that privileged realm. “I definitely don’t feel obliged to stay within the lines when it comes to the wine industry,” he says. Now managing partner at Lawrence Wine Estates, McCoy has been buying up properties, launching brands and staffing them with a young, diverse team. Spurred on by a series of scandals in the sommelier world, he also sees it as…

The Bay of Kotor could be a fjord. The water is cinched into a crevasse between steep mountains, its surface speckled with islands, the edges rimmed with charming medieval villages. Call it the Boka, as locals do. “It’s strange, and striking,” says Edward Granville, who runs the luxury travel firm Red Savannah and has been visiting for almost 20 years. “The sheer mountains drop straight into the deep-blue sea, so it’s like alpine heaven.” This dramatic setting isn’t in Scandinavia or even Switzerland. It’s on the Adriatic coast, the star attraction of Montenegro, a tiny, Connecticut-sized country that, in recent years, has emerged as the new “it” destination in the Med. Forget Saint-Tropez or Monaco; this is where the smart superyacht set are spending this September. Montenegro’s moneyed makeover was…

What apps do you use the most? Instagram, obviously. I have one for my work and one for my personal. I listen to KCRW on the app. It’s a station out of Los Angeles that’s my favorite in the world. What do you do that’s still analog? I still write handwritten thank-you notes, which is really involved because my hand can’t even hold a pen anymore. But I still do it. I think it’s really personal. Do you have a uniform for certain occasions? To dress up, my favorite is a Ralph Lauren Purple Label gray flannel suit. I have one for winter and one for summer. And the rest of the time, it’s Double RL jeans, Chucks and white T-shirts. Is there anything that you regret not buying? There’s…

Jade Mills Real Estate Broker, Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills super-broker Jade Mills made headlines when she sold half a billion dollars of real estate during 2020. She was the top-performing sales associate at the brokerage Coldwell Banker, out of more than 45,000. Mills, who has four children and seven grandchildren, has twice broken the record for the highest sale in California when she represented the buyer of the Playboy Mansion in 2016 for $100 million and when she sold the Chartwell Estate for $150 million to Lachlan Murdoch in 2019. Also in 2019, she sold the Spelling Manor for $119.7 million. Here she shares her post-pandemic predictions for LA and beyond. LUCY ALEXANDER What’s your specialty? The area that I work is pretty much from the Hollywood Hills to Malibu.…

Some memorable things you learn on your first trip to Costa Rica: First, howler monkeys in the jungle scream louder than roller coaster riders at theme parks. Next, you can absolutely scuba dive in a shark cave, as long as you don’t mind sharks brushing against your body. And last, when barreling down a Class-4 rapid and the guide yells “Down!” duck into the middle of the raft—fast. “Last year we had 53 superyachts. For 2022, we’re expecting that number to push the 100 mark.” I learned these vital facts several years ago, as a guest on a yacht passing through the country, known for its rain forests, white beaches, sportfishing, wildlife and adventure sports. Back then, that was pretty much the only way someone could vacation in Costa Rica…

“If you’re looking for the fury and vibration of a rocket, you’ve come to the wrong place,” says Jane Poynter , cofounder of Space Perspective. “Our Spaceship Neptune offers a gentle ride into space that lets clients absorb the astronaut experience.” The football-field-sized space balloon carrying the bulbous cabin into the sky at 12 mph (picture the pace of a leisurely bike ride) is in market contrast to the thunderous Flash Gordon blastoffs of Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. Spaceship Neptune’s swanky, pressurized lounge is a panopticon of windows and includes a bar and bathroom. There’s even Wi-Fi. Instead of g forces gluing fliers to their seats, eight passengers and one pilot will sit in recliners, chatting and sipping cocktails as they gradually zoom out on Kennedy Space Center—Spaceship Neptune’s…

OCEANCO builtbyoceanco.com In a first-time partnership, three forward-thinking partners, Oceanco, Pininfarina and Lateral, collaborate on the innovative new superyacht concept, KAIROS, giving insight into a tangible future of sustainable yachting. Developed around an E-Hybrid propulsion system and offering 90m of onboard life without boundaries, KAIROS is in harmony with Oceanco’s NXT initiative. TOP LEFT NETGEAR netgear.com When the best WiFi is all that matters, the choice is simple – Orbi WiFi 6 stands alone. You don’t have to sacrifice speed for better coverage. Experience premium WiFi with Orbi WiFi 6. TOP RIGHT THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS cosmopolitanlasvegas.com The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas offers an unexpected Vegas experience for guests. Private terraces overlook The Strip and surrounding mountains, first-to-market restaurants and artful touches around the resort and in the hotel…

Audrey Large was never too keen on making things by hand. As a master’s candidate at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands in 2017, she and the other students were pushed into metal or wood workshops, but her preferred method was to create designs on a computer. The catch was how to turn these digital drawings into physical objects; 3-D printing bridged the gap. Instead of meticulously tufting a rug or molding a porcelain jar as she’d tried to do in the past, Large found she could simply hit “print” for her virtual object to become reality. But the technology didn’t impress her much at first. “I felt it was kind of ugly,” she says of the outcomes. “Never as seducing as the shapes I had in my computer.”…