The Mercedes-Benz has long been a classic car favourite, boasting sleek lines and finishes that are iconic even today. In true classic car fashion, a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster fetched an astonishing €1,127,000 at a recent Bonhams auction held alongside the Spa-Classic meeting at the Spa-Francorchamps motor racing circuit in Belgium. Originally estimated at €600,000 to €800,000, it is the only model to have broken the €1 million mark.
The 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster was part of a prestigious collection of 12 cars recently discovered in a Swiss château. All of the models were snapped up, for a total of more than two million euros. As well as the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, the collection included a 1969 Maserati Ghibli SS 4.9-Litre Coupé (which sold for €174,800), a 1980 Aston Martin V8 Volante Convertible (€172,500) and a 1933 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Phantom II Roadster (€111,550).
Of all the lots in the sale, Porsche models reached particularly dizzying heights, with sales including a 1958 356A Super Speedster (€322,000), a 1989 911 3.2-Litre Speedster (€280,000) and a 1993 911 Turbo 3.6-Litre Type 964 Coupé (€195,500). A few Ferraris also changed hands, including a 2006 575 Superamerica F1 (€293,250) and a 1996 F355 Challenge Coupé (€158,500).
The next Bonhams car auction will be held at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, June 30, 2017.
Looking for a unique idea for a family vacation? Try your luck at Disney Cruises! Disney Cruise Line will be sailing into the fairytale city of Quebec, Canada beginning next fall, in a new itinerary that will lift anchor from New York. Along with the Port of Quebec, the sailings will stop at other Quebec locations including Saguenay and Baie-Comeau. Guests will also be able to sail out to states such as California and Texas at the end of Fall 2018.
Charm your children and indulge in your childhood fantasies on board the Disney themed cruises. Quebec City is a natural stopover for the brand built on princesses and fairy tales, with its old-world European charm, real-world castles, cobblestone streets, and towering fortresses. With an abundance of scrumptious local cuisines and sights to see when you disembark, the trip will be a feast for the senses. The seven-night New York and Quebec City sailings launch in September 2018.
It’s not the first time Disney will be sailing into Canada. Other itineraries leaving from New England take guests to idyllic ports along Maritime Canada, including New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Disney also revealed details on another inaugural sailing from New York that will take guests to Bermuda in the fall of 2018, a first for the brand.
And in other cruise news, Royal Caribbean announced plans to open the first year-long program to Cuba, that will offer 58 new cruises from January 2018 to March 2018. Half of the four and five-night itineraries will feature overnight stays in Havana.
Watchmaking and brand-building are both about continuity, which is what makes partnerships such as the Montblanc-UNICEF initiative so special. Over the last 13 years, the Montblanc for UNICEF collection has helped raise more than US$10 million to benefit education programmes around the world. Montblanc, a brand built on the idea that writing — and consequently reading — is a “precious gift”, is the perfect partner for UNICEF in its mission to help children in need everywhere. Obviously, UNICEF’s mission is a tough one, given that some 59 million school-age children are not in school. Even where children receive some form of schooling, some 130 million will not achieve a basic standard of literacy and numeracy. Montblanc’s journey with UNICEF began in 2004 with the Sign Up for the Right to Write initiative, a campaign that used the exactly the right words — if you are lucky enough to read those words the reason should be clear.
In 2017, Montblanc has set the bar high for its Montblanc for UNICEF campaign, aiming to raise more than US$1 million. In service of this goal is the aforementioned Montblanc for UNICEF collection, consisting of limited edition writing instruments, timepieces, accessories and leather goods. Each item from the Writing Is a Gift Collection sold between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018, raises the amounts Montblanc will be contributing to towards helping more children gain access to improved standards of primary education.
“There is still much to be done to ensure that every child around the world has proper access to an education, a cause Montblanc has been proud to champion for the past 13 years,” explains Nicolas Baretzki, Montblanc CEO. “This new initiative gives individuals who are as passionate as we are about the written word the ability to own a Montblanc piece that carries true purpose, and by doing so, making a valuable contribution to the work of UNICEF in communities around the world where children are not always given the opportunity to learn to read and write. Writing is indeed a special gift that every child should enjoy.”
More than pretty words, Montblanc has released some specifics of how it intends to use the money it raises. In China, for example, it will be supporting child-friendly schools and the rights equal education. In Brazil, Montblanc’s contributions will help UNICEF achieve its goal of getting children aged four to 17 access to basic education; UNICEF is also helping teachers and school managers here to stymie the dropout rates of the most disadvantaged boys and girls. The mission continues in other places, of course.
If you’re connected to royalty you might as well live like a royal! Media reports are rife that socialite Pippa Middleton, sibling to the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton is honeymooning on the Polynesian paradise Tetiaroa, north of Tahiti—a paradise retreat that has also hosted the former US president. The newlyweds will stay at The Brando, a luxury eco-retreat named after the island’s late, former owner Marlon Brando.
The resort goes for €3,000 a night ($3,360 USD), and you can bet the couple won’t be vacationing with regular riffraff who have to price-check their hotel room rate. Located 30 miles (48 km) north of Tahiti, the private atoll of Tetiaroa is accessible by a 20-minute plane ride and is comprised of a dozen islets which encircle a ludicrously turquoise lagoon. Each of the 35 deluxe villas come with a private beach area and plunge pool and is designed to reflect the local Polynesian culture. The couple will dine on Polynesian and French cuisine, conceived by the Michelin-starred Chef Guy Martin, who helms Le Grand Vefour in Paris.
Cooled using deep seawater air-conditioning, the resort stays true to its eco-friendly vision, with half of its power coming from renewable solar energy. The balance of energy comes from a biofuel thermal power station fueled by coconut oil. Activities on the island include snorkeling, paddle kayaking, Polynesian canoeing, scuba diving, tennis, biking, and guided tours by naturalists.
When Brando arrived to the island for the filming of his 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty,” he was immediately seduced by both the paradisiacal setting, and his lead actress Tarita Teriipaia, whom he would later marry.
Brando would go on to buy the island in 1967 where he settled down and dreamed of creating a self-sustaining, carbon neutral luxury retreat which would preserve the island’s natural beauty and biodiversity.
Luxury Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe celebrates its long history and prowess in watch making with a 10-day exhibition. The show, titled ‘The Art of Watches, Grand Exhibition New York 2017’ is slated to take place from July 13 to 23 at Ciprani 42nd Street. A showcase of the Swiss watchmaker’s 178-year-old history, the exhibition covers the tradition of haute horologerie and the brand’s heritage, giving visitors the chance to peak into the world of the last privately family owned Geneva Watch Company.
Watches and timepieces from 1530 will be put on show in a space of 13,218 square feet. The exhibition consists of 10 different rooms, each created to showcase different bits of history. Amongst these is the Napoleon room, which will display limited edition timepieces created specifically for the US market. For a trip back in time, visit the Museum room. Some of the greatest historical timepieces from the last five centuries, including the oldest timepieces to date will be put on view. Not to be missed is the Grand Complication room: Dedicated to Patek Philippe’s most complicated and innovative timepieces, this collection will no doubt showcase the brand’s mastery in horology.
Other than browsing through the informative sections, feast your eyes on Watchmaker and Artisan demonstrations at the Interactive room. Dive into the inner workings of luxury watchmaking by taking part in these activities. For a quick break, the Patek Philippe Café is a great place for rest and relaxation.
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon
According to Jasmina Steele, the International Communication & Public Relations Director of Patek Philippe, the aim of the Grand Exhibition is to recreate elements of the company that will provide an unforgettable experience for each visitor as close as possible to the feeling Patek Philippe guests have when they visit the company’s manufacture in Geneva, The Museum, and the historical Salons on the Rue du Rhone. “By offering visitors an immersion inside the world of Patek Philippe, we really want to share our passion for watchmaking and hope visitors will come out of the Exhibition with a greater knowledge and appreciation of the art of watches”, says Jasmina.
Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern commented “From its earliest days, when our founder Antoine Norbert de Patek made his first journey to America in the 1850’s until today, the importance of America to Patek Philippe can be seen through our history exhibited in the Grand Exhibition in New York. Moreover, it is a tradition in my family that the owners of Patek Philippe train in the new world, following the path of my grandfather Henri who founded in 1946 the Henri Stern Watch Agency in the Rockefeller Center and my father Philippe, I trained in the US when I started in the company. I am very proud that American visitors will be able to learn more about the historic and contemporary ties between our company and the American market.”
The Art of Watches, Grand Exhibition opens on July 13 and will be open to the general public. Admissions are free of charge from 10am-7pm on Monday to Sunday, with extended evening hours on Thursday, July 20 from 10am-9pm
Which classic car is the most elegant? On May 26, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2017 officially starts welcoming the public to its immaculately kept grounds on the shores of Lake Como, Italy to view immaculately kept classic cars, collectors’ motorcycles and even catch a world premiere peek at a number of brand new concepts.
One of the oldest and most popular of all current annual concours events, the show also signifies the official start of the classic car season that will culminate with Monterey Motoring Week and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August.
This year’s event, which has adopted the motto “Around the World in 80 Days—Voyage through an Era of Records,” promises an astounding assortment of automotive treasures—cars from the 1920s and 30s such as the Bentley 4 ½ Litre from 1929 that helped create the concept of endurance racing, right up to the competition cars of the 60s and 70s when motor racing was in its heyday.
And in between those two markers will be the pre-war luxury cars that were capable of lapping the globe rather than the track, the post-war lightweight vehicles that gave birth to the sportscar genre, the cars that shaped the modern GT car and the first “flamboyant playboys’ toys”—those cars that were little more than street legal road racers that opened the door to the supercar phenomenon.
Among the eight automotive concours classes for which prizes will be awarded, 51 cars have been painstakingly selected, and they will be shipped from 16 different countries. They represent 30 different marques, 12 of which are Italian. And even though Ferrari will be the most represented marque in this year’s competition (seven models), more cars have been shipped to Italy from owners in the US (12) than from any other country, underlining the truly international pull of this event.
This year’s show will also include the RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba sale, a biennial auction with a reputation for readjusting classic car prices and one where 15 of the 45 cars set to go under the hammer are expected to do so for more than €1 million.
Among the gems on offer to the highest bidder are a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS ‘Goutte d’Eau’ coupé (estimated €32.-3.8 million) and a 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Torpedo-Sport Avant-Garde (€6.5-€8 million). However, for those that have more modern tastes, each member of the current hybrid hypercar trinity—the Porsche 918 Spyder, the Ferrari LaFerrari and a McLaren P1 (in GTR track only form)—are also in the catalogue.
