Tag Archives: luxury cars

Pope’s Lamborghini Huracán: Auction proceeds donated for charity

The Lamborghini Huracán RWD Coupé, previously donated to His Holiness Pope Francis by Automobili Lamborghini was sold for the astonishing figure of US$855,615 at the RM Sotheby’s auction held on May 12 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, coinciding with the Historic Grand Prix.

Fully customised and built to European specifications by Lamborghini’s Ad Personam program, the unique model of Huracán RWD was painted in Bianco Monocerus (white) and finished with Giallo Tiberino (yellow) stripes running along the rims of the ride made to reference the colours of the Vatican City flag.

To top of its exclusivity, the Lamborghini Huracán RWD was personally autographed by Pope Francis when the car was first unveiled to him on November 27, 2017.

The sale of this Huracán signifies an opportunity to acquire a custom-designed special edition of a Lamborghini for a worthy cause in the name of His Holiness, as all the proceeds from the sale will be handed the Holy Father, who will then allocate the proceeds into four deserving charities entities near and dear to his heart: 70% to aid the rebuild of church the city of Nineveh, Iraq (a city heavily besieged by ISIS), 10% to the Pope John XXIII Community, 10% to “Progetto Casa Papa Francesco” (Pope Francis House Project) and 10% to “Amici per il Centrafrica” (Friends of Central Africa), which has been working with projects primarily dedicated to women and children for years.

 

Rolls-Royce Cullinan takes on new high roads

Since its announcement three years ago, the “most anticipated” Rolls-Royce Cullinan marks a shift away from the luxury saloon cars the luxury brand is best known for.

An all-terrain high-bodied car, the Cullinan will realise the urban dream of luxury off-road travel.

 

Named after the world’s biggest natural diamond, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan launches with luxury, performance and usability levels never before seen in the SUV market.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan certainly signifies the changing consumer demand, as more luxury car makers such as Bentley and Lamborghini have also launched SUVs, with Ferrari following the trend next year. With keen intentions of overtaking the Range Rover and Bentley Bentayga to become the new king of the ultra-luxury SUV segment, Rolls Royce has invested heavily in both the production and marketing of its Cullinan.

The 6.75 litre twin-turbo V12 Rolls-Royce engine delivers 563bhp/420kW and 850Nm/627lb ft of torque to all-wheel drive and steer system needed to overcome any challenge.

 

Branded as a full-capability off-roader “able to do whatever a Range Rover can do”, Rolls-Royce stresses Cullinan’s breadth of capability with a series of artfully filmed clips showing prototypes tackling rough roads and huge dunes, with the slogan “effortless, everywhere”.

A century-long pedigree of adventurous quests and campaigns successfully carried out across all terrains thanks to the luxury offered by a stout vehicle that was swift, stealthy and dependable. “A Rolls in the desert is above rubies” – T.E. Lawrence.

The contemporary and functional design ensures Cullinan gains iconic status in the face of increasingly bland SUV designs. Retaining the refinement and luxury of a limo, the Cullinan is perhaps most practical of Rolls-Royces – versatile, family oriented, fun-to-drive.

The first “three-box” car in the SUV-sector. Cullinan’s partition wall creates a distinct environment for passengers, separated from the luggage compartment.

 

Built with a modular aluminium space frame and a twin-turbo V12, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan promises utmost smoothness and quietness. The 563bhp is developed at a relaxed 5000rpm, while the peak torque of 627lb ft occurs at only 1600rpm, made for optimal performance both off-road and on-road.

The SUV also has a rolodex of other novel features, like a cargo compartment separated from the cabin, suicide rear doors, and an automatic lowering system that drops the SUV 1.5 inches when the driver approaches.

The interior of the car is fashioned with the brand’s usual paragon of quality and style, lined with box-grain leather and comes with an impressive array of equipment. In the face of adventure, it plays even more roles, with wildlife and pedestrian warning, alertness assistant, and four-cameras with all-around visibility and a “helicopter view” to offer its riders a panoramic view of their surroundings.

The cabin of the Cullinan combines authentic Rolls-Royce luxury with simple, symmetrical functionality that expresses the car’s inherent strength.

 

The Bespoke division even offers a Viewing Suite and Recreation Module – a superbly made container filled with tools tailored to the buyer’s lifestyle demands, from croquet to drone racing.

To explain the shift in focus to luxury SUVs, Chief Executive Officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös observes how the changing target group of “ultra-high net worth individuals” has gotten “younger and younger”, with many rejecting the “old cliche that Rolls-Royce is chauffeur-only”. The new clientele wants to “drive themselves”, in a car that boosts versatility – “fits to go to the opera, which brings you up to the chalet in the Swiss Alps and so on”.

Also available in classic Tungsten Grey and a more striking shade of Magma Red, deliveries of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan will begin in 2019.

 

Get this diamond of a car here.

Bugatti Opens World’s Largest Luxury Hypercar Showroom in Dubai

Dubai is the single biggest market for Bugatti’s hypercars so where better to build the marque’s biggest official dealership to date? Located on the Sheikh Zayed Road, the showroom is impossible to miss despite the exclusivity of the address or of neighbouring structures, thanks to an architectural recreation of the marque’s famous horseshoe grille that serves as a four metre high arch over the plate glass doorway.

The space occupies over 240 square metres, a huge area for a dealership dealing in a single model. However, as the United Arab Emirates boasts more Bugatti owners per capita than any other region in the world, the space, created and managed by Al Habtoor Motors, needs to be something special.

“A location of this significance and appeal for our brand has earned a superlative showroom,” said Dr. Stefan Brungs, Bugatti’s global head of sales, marketing and customer service. “Many Bugatti customers who have been the closest and most loyal ambassadors of our brand for many years live in this region.”

Indeed, Al Habtoor Motors is the world’s most successful official Bugatti dealer. It maintains 55 Bugatti Veyrons for their owners and is now in the process of honouring 30 local orders for its replacement, the 1500hp multi-million-dollar Chiron.

“The UAE is always striving to be the best. Our target was, therefore, to bring the largest, most beautiful Bugatti showroom to the heart of Dubai,” said Sultan Al Habtoor, President of Al Habtoor Motors.

The experience is meant to be akin to a private art viewing while ordering a bespoke suit. Clients are welcomed into a lounge furnished with unique Bugatti furniture where they work through every conceivable option and element of personalization they would like to see on their Chiron, before examining the car itself and taking in art and design drawn from Bugatti’s rich heritage.

Such attention to detail or to personalization may seem extreme, but the average Bugatti owner also has a fleet of other equally exotic and rare automobiles and every step must be taken to make the Chiron seem like a true object of desire. “Some of [our UAE clients] are proud owners of car collections with even several Bugatti super sports cars,” said Dr Brungs, “The new showroom will not only be the perfect platform for the Chiron but also honours our special customers.”

The Chiron will be capped at exactly 500 examples. Bugatti has confirmed that over half have already been sold and that to date, 26% of all orders taken have been from clients living in the UAE.