Economy & Market

The prestigious Le Mans race was rather creative and forward thinking this year, hosting an event called “Le Mans into the future” prior to the 78th annual event. 
 

The event highlighted unfolding eco-friendly concepts, hybrids and luxury technology.  Eco vehicles made demonstration laps during the event, including the following models and brands:

1.    Andros electric racecar
2.    Audi R8 e-Tron concept
3.    BMW Hydrogen 7
4.    Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE
5.    Peugeot RCZ Hybrid4
6.    Porsche 911 GT3 Hybrid
7.    Secma F16 Electrique
8.    Tesla Roadster
9.    Volkswagen Scirrocco Natural Gas

Attention Steve McQueen and Porsche fans, a rare 1970’s Porsche racecar just destroyed the auction block, fetching a stunning $3,965,000 million at Bonhams & Butterfield’s in Monterey.  This also shatters the world-record for the most expensive Porsche ever sold at auction.  Let’s find out why.

The Porsche is actually a historic and rare ex-Jurgen, similar to the one sported by Steve McQueen in Le Mans.  It is a 1970 Gulf-JWA Le Mans 917K Porsche Interserie Spyder, so try saying that three times fast.  Racecars generally boast lengthy names, in efforts to give credit to various people or innovation. 

Have you ever thought that things would be ‘perfect’, if only you had more money?  Fantasizing that all of those miniscule issues like bills would suddenly evaporate into a green cloud of awesomeness?  While I love the luxury lifestyle, it does umm, pay, to observe both ends of the spectrum.  Here are some pros and cons of being rich that may interest you and make you feel better about having less!
 

What?  You mean life is not just peachy when you are rich?  Hell no!  Being rich presents a whole new set of issues that must be dealt with, including:

For those of you who find New York to be expensive, take notice of London!  A luxury penthouse just sold for a staggering $220 million, located at One Hyde Park, a development in Knightsbridge.  This could be the most expensive apartment sale.

The prestigious One Hyde Park development features 86 luxury properties starting at the bargain rate of around $31 million. Interestingly, the sale of the $220 million dollar unit at One Hyde Park dwarfs the previous record holder in Britain, the James’ Square apartment in Westminster’s 8 St. that sold for $180 million in 2008.

It seems that South Florida has something to feel good about, other than the constant sunshine and marbled Atlantic coastline!  The local hotel industry is reporting increases for the first time in a while, which should help to bolster the economy.

The economic downturn, depression, however you prefer to label the financial catastrophe that has rocked the entire globe and changed so many lives seems to be retreating somewhat.  The South Florida Business Journal has reported that local hoteliers are experiencing higher occupancy rates, figures that are surely needed.

Recent national events deserve a nod of gratitude for this increase, such as the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, Food Network’s South Beach Food & Wine Festival, FASHIONmiami and other luxury events that attract guests to our sandy shores and into our plethora of hotels, residences and luxury condos.

Luxury List Item: Soon to be Announced

Luxury List Item:  $1 Million Dollar G-Class

Sink your eyes into the $1 million dollar Mercedes G-Class SUV.  This boxy little number is just as powerful as it is pricey, and makes our Big List because it is certainly for the big spenders.

Aesthetics have inched along over the past 30 years, as it still appears a bit like an army tank, yet there is something seriously cool about carbon fiber and SUVs meshing. Only 7 of these luxury SUVs will be sold, leaving us all to wonder who they will be?  Oil tycoons, celebs, royalty?  Follow link for full story on the 1 Million dollar Mercedes Benz G Class.
 

Luxury List Item: $190 Million Dollar Mega Yacht: Alfa Nero

So what is the difference between your ordinary everyday yacht and a ‘mega yacht’?  Oh, just a few million dollars…or a few hundred million dollars!  Meet Alfa Nero, the $190 million dollar mega yacht.

When it comes to a luxury yacht, size matters, and the biggest and grandest snag the title of mega yachts, and make our ‘Big List’! 

The Alfa Nero (the name is even cool) expands to 269 feet, and was named for Roman emperor Nero.  Our Big List is not the only list this exotic and expensive mega yacht has made, she also ranked #43 in Boat International’s list of the world’s 100 largest yachts in February of 2009!  That is no easy list to make, so it certainly seems that Alfa Nero is a starlet in the luxury yacht industry.

As for onboard?  Designer Nuvolari & Lenard went to great measures to ensure that all modern amenities were provided.  Complete with 4,000 square feet of living space, 2 VIP suites and 3 double rooms.  This is a luxury yacht of massive proportions, potential and propulsion, with a range of 6,630 miles and a cruising speed of around 23 miles per hour.  

Luxury List Item:  $40 Million Dollar Bugatti

This is one of our personal favorites.  Some of the higher-end Bugatti’s go for around $2-$3 million, but this one certainly takes the cake…and your wallet!  And that is why this Bugatti makes our 'Big List'!

It is a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, and has sold for somewhere between $30-$40 million (reports vary).  The auction house broker, Gooding & Company is of course keeping silent on the matter, in order to provide the proper standards of customer confidentiality. 

So why the staggering sales price?  It all boils down to supply and demand, and this stunner is one of just 4 made, offering supreme bragging rights to one very sexy luxury car.  I am not sure that if we had a luxury car rental worth $40 million we would be eager to rent it out!

Luxury List Item:  $1.2 Million Dollar Koenigsegg Eco Supercar


Want to rev an engine worth over $1 million dollars?  Sink your peepers into the 2010 Koenigsegg CCXR supercar, perhaps the world’s first uber-luxe car that manages to be a luxury hybrid.

Yes, not only is this one hellaciously expensive exotic car, it boasts a powerful engine that can run on E85 biofuel as well as regular petrol.  It defies rationality how strikingly beautiful, powerful, and green this car is, no matter what paintjob is chosen!  Follow link for more on the exotic koenigsegg sports car.

Luxury List Item:  $4 Million Dollar Rare Porsche 917 Racecar

A rare Porsche racecar has snagged a shocking $4 million dollars at the elite auto action Bonhams & Butterfield’s in swanky Monterey, California this past week.  So why so much for a Porsche?  It is a racecar, the 1970 Gulf-JWA Le Mans 917K Porsche Interserie Spyder, similar to the one driven by famed Steve McQueen in Le Mans. 

After a spirited round at the auction, this fiery hot Porsche went to the highest bidder, who was the big spender of the day, as the next highest item sold for around $2.5 million, a rare Mercedes-Benz SS Tourer.  Overall, an impressive $18.6 million in rare luxury racecars were rolled across the auction block, follow link for more on the $4 million dollar 1970 Porsche!

Post by Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Rentals

If you live in South Florida and are up on your luxury gossip, you know about the $1.2 billion dollar ponzi scheme orchestrated by disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein.  Mr. Rothstein has received his sentence of 50 years, imposed by U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn.

While the sentence was below the 100 year maximum for the charges Rothstein faced, he had hoped to receive a more lenient 30 years for assisting investigators.  Rothstein turned 48 years old on June 10th. 

The $1.2 billion dollar ponzi scheme afforded Rothstein such a broad range of amenities and luxury items, which were auctioned off recently.  The luxury items auctioned off raked in a cool $5.8 million dollars, which was of course funneled back to the investors he had wronged.  As previously reported, Imagine Lifestyles attended the Rothstein auction, and Items included:

Technology is a constantly advancing field; we have the ability to utilize the power of the sun and even wind.  Now, thanks to a very creative engineer, we can harvest the power of even potholes!

Sound weird?  Certainly.  Levant Power Corporation is developing a new type of shock absorber that converts the jolts caused by driving down rough roads and potholes into usable electricity.  This could actually cause drivers to swerve towards potholes, if it didn’t damage the tires and rims.

The headline stealing ponzi scheme of disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein has climaxed today, with his coveted luxury cars, yachts and toys auctioned off in efforts to pay back those he ripped off.  The auction held today fetched a lofty $5.8 million dollars, to be funneled back to the investors he wronged.  Imagine Lifestyles was there to witness history.

In just over one hour, the luxury auction unloaded 11 exotic cars, 4 yachts and 2 wave runners scored $5.8 million.  This is not much compared to his estimated $1.4 billion dollar investment fraud, but hey, every little million helps.

Don’t worry, keep spending.  This certainly seems to be the message communicated recently, based on encouraging jumps in the luxury spending department.

Yes, it seems that luxury shopping and spending are indeed making a comeback, with affluent buyers regaining confidence.  Another issue that has kept the wealthy from spending has been the fear of ‘conspicuous consumption’, with the economy in shambles it has been rather frowned upon to be seen spending ‘obscene’ amounts of money on luxury items.

Toyota Motor Corp. is a tough brand, and has had many punches to roll with in recent months.  The strong and fighting spirit of this classic luxury car brand is in full effect, as it is purchasing $50 million in common shares in the electric-car venture started by Tesla. 

This does not come as a shock until you consider that Toyota is also simultaneously recalling approximately 8 million cars in multiple countries, due to acceleration defects, repairable via the car’s computer system.

The company is taking the high road, initiating the recall with a positive outlook, viewing it as a “good lesson”, rather than making excuses.  Toyota is poised to emerge stronger and savvier after the sequence of recalls.

A rather gaunt and wild-haired self-portrait of the famed artist, filmmaker, producer and author Andy Warhol fetched an impressive $32.6 million at a New York auction this week, at around twice the presale estimate. 

While it is certainly steep, this is not the highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting.  His 1963 piece, ‘Eight Elvises’ went for a cool $100 million.  In the art world, few artists ever hit the $100 million benchmark.  Artists that have include the likes of Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt, Jackson Pollock,Willem de Kooning and of course, Andy Warhol.  I am thinking I could buy a luxury yacht or a few hundred luxury rental cars for the price of that Warhol painting.

Unless you are completely out of the loop, you are already aware of the fuss Apple’s latest invention, the iPad, has been generating.  Well, if you are bored with it, or feel that you need to drop more money on your iPad, know that Stuart Hughes of Goldstriker International has solved that problem for you by creating a diamond-encrusted 22k gold shell for Apple iPads.

Forget sliding your card into an ATM in order to retrieve your funds.  In Abu Dhabi, there is a luxury ATM that distributes solid gold!

While we have come to expect stories of strife from General Motors, Toyota and other carmakers, recent rumors of turmoil for luxury carmaker Ferrari caught us by surprise.