Beating the Tamburo!
The opportunity to take more than one friend or member of the family in a Lamborghini has not been possible since the demise of the fabled LM in 1993. Until now that is, with the launch of the new Lamborghini Urus. Whilst the LM was more of a truck (the ‘Rambo-Lambo’ conspicuous by lack of even a mention at the launch at Barangaroo in Sydney), the new Urus is a luxury super suv. At its Oceania premiere I was able to sample the new Lamborghini experience, which combines the DNA and qualities of the current Lamborghini offering. Take the very best bits of the Huracán and the Aventador super sports cars, such as four-wheel steering and carbon ceramic brakes, throw in air suspension and lots of other high-tech stuff including torque vectoring, and Lamborghini has created an SUV capable of 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds with a top speed of 305 km/h. Despite its increased centre of gravity and the fact that it is much higher and heavier than the other models from Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Urus is capable of stopping from 100 km/h to a stand-still in just 33.7 metres
This is a sports car on steroids that is capable of running on sand, snow, gravel, race-track or tarmac, with breathtaking performance and amazing all round capability. This is in no small part due to its exciting new V8 4.0 litre twin-turbo engine, the first occasion that Lamborghini has utilised turbo power. All controlled from the Tamburo, or Drum at the centre of the ultra-modern interior which comfortably seats four. And the name, well, as has been the tradition at Lamborghini, the name Urus is derived from the world of bulls. The Urus, also known as Aurochs, is a wild ancestor of domestic cattle. The Spanish fighting bull, as bred for the past half-millennia, is still close to the Urus in its appearance.
Sydney to Hobart
After too much turkey and Christmas pud it is always great to get out on the water on Boxing Day for the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The 26th December 2018 was no exception, and although it was not the fastest start to the race with light winds it was a picture perfect day.
read moreThe Current
I am loving reviewing this new book, The Current just published by gestalten. When one learns that Aston Martin Works has just announced its first reversible EV powertrain concept, a bold new plan to electrify heritage models to preserve the running of, integrity and value of classic cars then the idea of electric vehicles, which has been around for well over 100 years, is probably now here to stay. From global warming to overcrowded cities, electric mobility might help to solve one humanity’s biggest problems. With a mixture of...
read moreChristmas is coming!
Summer is here in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas is coming, and very soon it will be the start of the 74th Sydney to Hobart which I shall be covering once again from the water on Boxing Day. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race promises to be another pot boiler, with one of the strongest-ever fleets chasing line honours and the overall win to secure the Tattersall Cup. A fleet of 91 will take to the 628-nautical-mile journey – those from NSW, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia,...
read morePista Premiere
It was an honour to be invited to the Ferrari North Shore Service Centre at 12 Barcoo Street Roseville which was specifically chosen as the venue for the 488 Pista Australasian Premiere in order to highlight the technological advancements and achievements of this spectacular car within an ultra-modern, high-tech workshop environment. The car made a dynamic Australasian debut, being lowered from one of the seven ultra-high tech Corghi hoists within the space, allowing guests to get up close with the car’s underbody technology as well as its...
read moreTaschen presents FERRARI
This veritable work of art, designed by Marc Newson, offers unrestricted access to hundreds of photographs from the Ferrari archives, and those of private collectors, to reveal the full story behind the Cavallino Rampante. With the diaries of Enzo Ferrari and a complete appendix of the company’s victories, this massive tome is elevated by a sculpture evocative of the 12-cylinder engine to top off a production unparalleled in scale. A project conceived together in close collaboration with Ferrari, this enormous art book is a veritable...
read moreClassic Car Auction Yearbook 2017 – 2018
The latest edition of the wonderfully informative and incredibly detailed and accurate Classic Car Auction Yearbook is now available. Written by Adolfo Orsi and Raffaele Gazzi and published by Historic Selecta, the 2017-2018 Yearbook was recently launched at Auto e Moto d’Epoca in Padova in Italy. As the official distribrutor for Australasia for this remarkable reference book you can now order your copy directly from me. Copies of the 23rd edition will be arriving in Australia very shortly and will be available for direct dispatch to...
read moreSale of the 20th Century
The Beatles, Margaret Thatcher, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Deep Purple, Aretha Franklin, Kylie Minogue, Herge’s Tin Tin, John Lennon, AC/DC, Jack Nicholson, Alfred Hitchcock, Sean Connery, Walt Disney, James Bond, JK Rowling, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Prince, Elvis, Elizabeth Taylor, Rupert the Bear, Doris Day, Muhammad Ali, Michael Schumacher, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Charles Chaplin. These are just some of the famous names included in the 170 lots from the Tim...
read moreIt’s a Knokke out!
The Zoute Grand Prix held at the chic, affluent Belgian coastal resort of Knokke Le Zoute is one of the motoring world’s best kept secrets. The 9th Edition held on 4 – 7 October however drew an amazing crowd of nearly a quarter of a million spectators to the elegant seaside resort which is normally home to just 30,000 inhabitants. And what was it that these Belgian, Dutch and French spectators had come to experience. Well certainly not a Grand Prix in the normal motoring sense, despite the fact that according to the informed, former F1...
read moreEntre Nous – Bentley Continental GT
“A way of driving that’s really ‘entre nous’ “ (‘The Continental’, with apologies to songwriters Con Conrad and Herbert Magidson) Since its launch in 2003, the Bentley Continental has quite possibly been the ultimate grand tourer of the motoring 21st Century. Taking its inspiration from the iconic definition of luxury grand touring, the 1952 Bentley R-Type Continental which at the time was the fastest four-seater car in the world, the Continental GT has epitomised what one would expect from a modern luxury grand tourer. The third iteration of...
read morePortofino
It was great fun and an honour to be chosen as one of the first people to drive the new Ferrari Portofino in Australia. Top up or top down it is an amazing car which can take you to amazing places in style. From The Pacific Club amid the hustle and bustle of world famous Bondi Beach, and via the twists and turns of the Old Pacific Highway to the quiet laidback luxury getaway of Pretty Beach House in the Bouddi National Park on the New South Wales Central Coast. The scenery along this part of Australia’s coastline is breathtaking, as too...
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