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.
European Classic from Western Australia
West Australian car collector Alan Tribe enjoyed a breakthrough win this week at the World’s premier class car event: the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2018. His 1939 Lagonda V12 Rapide with a rare James Young Drophead Coupé body won the Concours Class J3 for European Classic from the late 1930s. A class win at Pebble Beach is regarded as one of the greatest accolades in the classic car world, exceeded only by the Best of Show award which recognises the best of the best. Few Australians have exhibited at Pebble Beach, let alone won a class...
read moreHalcyon
Please check out a new project of mine at www.halcyonauctions.com First up is as follows: SALE OF THE 20TH CENTURY October will see the sale of part of one of Australia’s most important private collections of international 20th century popular, cultural and social history. Tim Fredman has been collecting unusual, rare, iconic and often unique items of popular culture all his long life. Over the years he has assembled an incredible depth and breadth of pieces that represent and reflect the tastes, fashions, ideas, thinking and...
read moreBuilding Blocks
Work Transformed: People, place and purpose. Books from architectural practices often tend to be somewhat self-congratulatory. Written by the marketing department rather than the architects themselves, creating a tome of pretty, glossy pictures illustrating the work of said practice with benign, and indeed banal, commentary. ‘Work Transformed’, by the dynamic, award-winning firm, ‘BDG architecture + design’ is a book that transcends the onanistic. Indeed, one of the editors is the company’s CEO, Gill Parker, who provides a compelling argument...
read moreTravel
And for those of you who prefer stories about travel rather than cars, boats or watches, here is another recent example of my work from Signature Luxury & Travel Magazine:- Beyond Mykonos and Santorini: the other islands of the Cyclades James Nicholls shares highlights from two of Greece’s most beautiful but lesser known islands, Milos and Paros. Many of us have been lucky enough to visit those jewels of the Aegean Sea, Mykonos and Santorini. Glorious islands both, but sometimes so overwhelming and just too beautiful, not...
read moreSpreading the Gospel
Herewith below, some recent examples of my work that perhaps make for interesting reading that have appeared in Singapore (Jetgala), Australia (Signature Luxury Travel & Style), New Zealand (NZ Classic Car), and Prewarcar.com (The Netherlands). You may also have seen my words and pictures in the last couple of issues of UK magazines, Octane, and Classic Boat. Highlights from Heveningham Hall Concours d’Elegance 120-123 SIG30 Cars – Concorso NZCC_332 Pg 38-44 JETGALA 36, LUXE_a master of his time, james nicholls JETGALA 36, RIDE_a...
read moreIn an English country garden
Going to the Heveningham Hall Concours d’Elegance, deep in the Suffolk countryside of East Anglia, is like stepping back in time. This is no doubt what it would have been like in Georgian times when the Lord of the Manor and local vicar handed out the prizes at the country fair. For, not only is there a Motorsport Concours d’Elegance held in the beautiful gardens at the rear of the majestic house, in the meadows in front of this remarkable Grade 1 listed Georgian mansion built in 1780 by Sir Robert Taylor for Sir Gerald Vanneck. There is also...
read moreAnd Friends
I was at a cocktail party for MB&F (Maximilian Büsser and Friends) watches the other evening and later conducted an exclusive interview with the charismatic founder Max Büsser, “When I launched the Company everybody told me it’s the worst name ever. You can’t call a high-end watchmaking brand Friends. And I said well that’s the only word I have. And it’s funny because 13 years later, success makes you sexy and so everyone’s like, oh great name.” Here is an example of the time machines coming out of his horological laboratory....
read moreEuropean Grand Tour
I had a blast on my European Grand Tour recently as these pictures hopefully show. Editorial enquiries welcome. First Stop – Classic Boat Rally in Venice Second Stop – Vogalonga Venice Third Stop – The Old Ginetta Factory in Witham, Essex Final Stop – Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza
read moreThe Kellner Affair
‘The Kellner Affair’, by Peter Larsen and Ben Erickson and published by Dalton Watson Fine Books is a remarkable book. But how to categorise it, what is the genre and where should one place it on one’s bookshelf? For place it on one’s bookshelf, if it is sturdy enough to handle the weight of this three-volume tome, one certainly should. On March 21, 1942, five members of a French resistance group operating in Paris were executed by the Nazis at Mont Valérien just outside the city. Two more had been sentenced to deportation to Germany....
read moreThank you Henry.
Those people at Ford are very nice. For my big trip to Crowdy Head to cover the beach trials (cf previous post) they lent me a very nice Ranger Wildtrak. I must admit I was rather impressed with its comfort and all round ability and it certainly made my life a lot easier. Sometimes one forgets what great cars this popular marque can and does make. If I were ever to drive to Uluru, the real one, not this service station pictured on the Pacific Highway, I am sure it would make a pretty reliable companion. Thank you Henry Ford and all those who...
read more