Connoisseur Ep 109

Welcome Connoisseur.

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This is a luxury magazine, focused beautifully designed things, especially from the automotive industry. It is all about the good life, from the latest cars to the newest yachts and the most exotic travel destinations. Every week, the core features of the magazine include supercars and luxury vehicles, as well as coverage of F1. Additionally, we regularly explore a mix of motorcycles, jets, art, fashion, watches, homes, and whisky.

Thanks again for joining us on a trip around the world of 'cool'.

Lamborghini Revuelto

Another new supercar, or hypercar if you would rather, already sold-out! Not even a week ago from the launch of the replacement to the Aventador, and the 1001BHP Lamborghini Revuelto is sold out for two years in build-slots.

Introducing the latest from the esteemed Lamborghini marque - the Revuelto. This all-new hypercar showcases the pinnacle of automotive engineering with a complex hybridised powertrain that complements its naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine. Its sleek and aerodynamic lines exude power and precision, while the name itself is a tribute to a famous bull that captured the hearts of bullfighting aficionados in Barcelona during the 1880s.

Lamborghini has redefined the concept of a hybrid with their HPEV technology, creating a high-performance electrified vehicle that delivers the ultimate driving experience. With a performance increase of up to 30% and emissions reduced by the same amount, the Revuelto is a true feat of engineering prowess.

The car's three electric motors are seamlessly integrated into the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, with two mounted on the front axle and the third positioned transversely. The central tunnel, which used to house the gearbox, is now home to the 3.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack, consisting of 108 water-cooled pouch cells

While the Revuelto can be charged in just 30 minutes on a 7kW power supply, the car's hybrid technology is designed to supplement the V12 engine's already impressive performance, making the driving experience second to none. And with a range of approximately eight miles on pure electric power, the Revuelto showcases Lamborghini's commitment to reducing emissions without sacrificing performance.

The Revuelto is a showcase of cutting-edge technology, luxury, and performance. It is the perfect car for the discerning enthusiast who demands nothing but the best.

Best of British Part 2

Great Britain has a rich history in the automotive industry and has produced some iconic and influential cars over the years, the Metro was not really one of that. Last week I started with the question "if was to have a blank cheque and a large building and call it my dream garage, what would I put in my dream British garage?".

When I started this list I didn't realise quite how long it would become so I have split this into two parts, as I wrote a theme also developed along the lines of what is Britishness, of course, you have the 'luxurious' spirit embodied in Rolls-Royce, which I featured last week, but then came the 'fast and light' that Britain is also very well known for. So lets see which cars make it.

Lotus Elise: The Lotus Elise, launched in 1996, is a lightweight sports car known for its excellent handling and performance. Its minimalist design and impressive driving experience have made it a favourite among sports car enthusiasts.

Ultima Evo: I used to think this car was made somewhere exotic as it was so unusual for it to be a British car, but it turns out it was a British car. The original design was part of the kit-car scene in the 80s before being bought from Noble Motorsport by Ted Marlow who was one of the first customers to buy the Ultima Mk2 kit.

Noble M600: This car deserves a mention not just because Lee Noble was the designer that brought us the Ultima above, but because it embodies one of the two main British car spirits, you have the 'luxurious' like Rolls-Royce and Bentley, and then you have 'fast and light'. The Noble M600 was very fast 0-120MPH in 8.9secs, top speed of 225MPH, and very light at 1198KG and a power-to-weight of 558BHP per ton.

Ariel Atom: The Atom is extremely minimalist, lacking many components such as a roof, doors, and sometimes even a windshield. Essentially, it consists of a tube-frame chassis, an engine, and wheels. Due to its almost non-existent weight, it provides an exhilarating driving experience.

BAC Mono: The desire to drive a race car with just one seat on public roads is obviously overwhelming. Fortunately, the BAC Mono offers a solution to this dream. The driving position is perfect for any Formula One fan, complete with a detachable steering wheel and a central screen that presents all pertinent information.

Radical SR3 XX: More crazy British 'fast and light'. The Radical SR3 XX is a car that not only gives you one of the best driving experiences you could ever have, it also helps you become a faster driver out on the track. Thanks to an all-new electrical architecture from Radical's data partner AiM Technologies, the SR3 XX gives its drivers more detailed telemetry for data logging and review to shave seconds off your lap time.

Morgan: Now some might say that the Morgan was the grandaddy of 'fast and light' but the Morgan 4 or +4 was never really that fast. Relative to the peers at the time they were certainly quick cars though. Today's Morgan Plus Four is a 225BHP taste of the old world but with modern power coming from the German BMW engine.

https://morgan-motor.com

Lotus Seven: Whilst some might say that the Morgan was the grandaddy of 'fast and light' I think we can argue that the Lotus Seven actually is. The car start in 1957 and was designed by Lotus' Colin Chapman. At first, the car started with only a 1170cc engine, but in the 70s had a 1599cc engine.

Caterham Seven: This car is derived from the Lotus Seven above, with Caterham buying the rights to the Seven. I've always been a fan of this designer but a quick blast in an R400 when a friend worked for EVO made me love them more. It is a simplistic design, featuring a snug two-seater cockpit, four wheels and an engine, which is precisely what makes it such an exceptional vehicle. The current Seven 620 is 'fast and light' with a power-to-weight: 508bhp-per-tonne. And a Tesla-esque 0-60 of 2.79 seconds.

https://www.caterhamcars.com/en

Mini Cooper: Small and light, not very fast, but very nimble and that is also what made it a hit, that at the fact that it was used in two of the best car scenes in movie history the Italian Job, and possibly more Bourne Identity. Both films show how great the car's nimbleness was its asset.

TVR Tuscan: In 1949 the first TVR chassis was made with a live rear axle from a Morris Eight with independent trailing arm front suspension. Using an old 1,172 cc Ford side valve engine with 35 hp, the body was made in aluminium and painted in British Racing Green. TVR were to go on to produce some of the most bonkers, cars with supercar-killer power-to weigh ratios. A favourite of my era was the TVR Tuscan as seen in the movie Swordfish.

The British car industry excels when carmakers are passionate about fast and light or luxury cars, and prioritise craftsmanship and small batch production. Despite past failures, this passion, combined with a strong tradition in motorsports, has resulted in an outsized number of small car manufacturers in Britain. The country's focus on handcrafted and high-quality cars has earned it a reputation for producing exceptional sports and luxury vehicles.

BOLD Motor Yacht

When summer comes and you want to take a week long vacation, what better way than to charter the Bold.

Bold is an 85.3 meter motor yacht built by Silveryachts in 2019. She has a beam (width) of 11 meters, a draft of 2.8 meters, and a volume of 1551 gross tons. Bold can accommodate up to 12 guests in 8 cabins, and is staffed by a crew of 20.

Bold is capable of reaching speeds of up to 23 knots, making her the fastest world cruiser worldwide. She also has a shallow draft of only 2.8 meters, which allows her to reach areas that are inaccessible for most yachts her size. Bold's autonomy is also impressive, thanks to Silveryachts’ world-leading efficiency and technical supremacy.

Bold features striking, almost aggressive styling by Espen Oeino, with a series of expansive and luxurious living spaces that are well-thought out to provide the utmost in guest comfort, no matter where in the world she may be.

She is available for charter in the West Mediterranean, East Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and South East Asia, with a weekly rate of 875,000 EUR in both summer and winter. However first why not take a good walk-through the vessel with the video below.

Beautifully Simple - Rolex Yacht-Master 42

The Car Crowd

This week in my ever-open eye for Connoisseur content I spotted this website so I thought we should investigate it further together.

TheCarCrowd, is a company that sources and handpicks high-end cars from prestigious UK dealerships and creates a limited company for each individual car. The company issues fractional shares for each car, and once fully funded, the company owns the car outright, with the shareholders as the 100% owners of the company.

TheCarCrowd takes care of all storage, maintenance, and insurance for up to 5 years, with the cost of these services included in the share price. Investors have access to the cars 6 days a week at a storage center in Nottinghamshire.

They say according to the Knight Franks Index classic cars have appreciated 164% in the last decade, making it one of the best performing asset classes.

The business model seems to be focused on allowing investors to own fractional shares of high-end cars, potentially as an investment opportunity that can appreciate and deliver great potential returns. By creating limited companies for each car, TheCarCrowd can offer a level of transparency and control to investors, while taking care of all the practical aspects of owning and maintaining the vehicles.

Porsche F1

Porsche to F1, oh wait no, that is no longer happening. As someone who follows the ins and outs of F1 daily, this is a nice video on why all the noise blew up and then disappeared. As a Porsche and F1 fan, this is something that I would have liked to see, but alas the stars have not aligned for this one. Yet.

Formula One

Australian Grand Prix

One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix, currently held in Melbourne, has moved frequently with 23 different venues having been used since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928.

This weekend, Red Bull still looked the class of the field, with Max taking pole position. However, it was a Red Bull bookend as Perez was car number 20. Perez and Bottas actually started from the pit lane for the race.

Spoilers incoming. After what was an exciting start, where Russell managed to get ahead of Verstappen, followed by Hamilton, the race settled down. The two Mercedes led a valiant start to the race. However, due to a safety car, Russell opted to pit for new tyres. Hamilton was now leading the Grand Prix. One lap later, the race was red-flagged, meaning that Russell lost out and became net 7th. Sadly, Russell's race finished not long after with an engine blowout. As soon as DRS was enabled, the Red Bull showed its prowess and sailed past the Mercedes, with the top two finishing in these positions.

The race was not over just yet though, as Magnussen hit the wall and called for the race to be red-flagged (stopped) with two laps to go 😬 Of course, with so much opportunity for losing or gaining places, it was inevitable that there would be carnage, and there was. A lot. So the race was red-flagged once again. This time, with zero laps to go, but for technical reasons, the race actually was restarted under the safety car with several losers and winners.

Ferrari ended up with a pointless weekend due to Leclerc's first-lap exit and Sainz being penalised for a clash with Alonso at the restart.

1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing2 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes3 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin4 Lance STROLL Aston Martin5 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing6 Lando NORRIS McLaren7 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team8 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren9 Guanyu ZHOU Alfa Romeo10 Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri11 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo12 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari

Did not finishEsteban Ocon Alpine lap 57 – crashPierre Gasly Alpine lap 57 – crashNyck de Vries AlphaTauri lap 57 – crashLogan Sargeant Williams lap 57 – crashKevin Magnussen Haas lap 54 – crashGeorge Russell Mercedes lap 18 – engine failureAlex Albon Williams lap 8 – crashCharles Leclerc Ferrari lap 1 – crash

Next Race - Azerbaijan Grand Prix - 31st Mar - 2 Apr

28th Apr Practice 128th Apr Qualifying29th Apr Practice 229th Apr Sprint30th Apr Grand Prix

Any-Other-Business

Other dates for your diary

Silverstone Grand Prix - Fri 7– Sun 9 July 

Goodwood Festival of Speed - Thu 13 – Sun 16 July

Goodwood Revival - Fri 8 – Sun 10 Sept

The Atlantic Road Trip

Join the Sixty8 team once again for a slice of Scandinavian supercar action for the Atlantic Road Trip of a lifetime.

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