Archive for the ‘car gift ideas’ Category
August 28th, 2010 | 
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There are a lot of things in this world that you can have to show your love for cars, but nothing screams that fact more than bringing home a desk that has been made to look like the rear end of a Chevrolet Corvette.
Really, anybody who calls themselves a card-carrying member of the auto enthusiast club should have one of these desks at home or at the workplace. Die-cast models? Old news, people. These desks are what it’s all about now.
Made from the highest-grade material that takes an intricate amount of intensive labor to accomplish, these desks detail the rear of the car of your choice, down to the working lights, as well as tail light lenses, stainless steel exhaust pipes, and even custom vanity plates. More than that, these desks can also be customized to come with solid wood construction, handmade billet aluminum engraved knobs, and a customized paint finish depending on your taste buds.
The only downside to this remarkable auto desk is the price tag that’s attached with it, which, in this case, comes at a jaw-dropping $1950 to $3100. But, hey, if you really want to let everyone know your love for the automobile, these M6 desks are about as extravagant as you can get without buying an actual car.
Corvette-inspired desk is a must-have for anyone who loves cars originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 28 August 2010 12:00 EST.
Giuliano Mazzuoli has unveiled a special edition Contagiri Watch inspired by the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione model. It comes in white gold and carbon fiber and will be limited to 500 units. But, before you buy, you should know that they are exclusively reserved for the fortunate owners of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.
This watch is like no other in which the number setup is quite unorthodox. It is setup up to look like a gauge in a car where the zero is at the southernmost point of the watch with the one-hand moving in an arc of 270°. When the hand gets to the 12, it repositions itself back to the zero position where you will find the historic green four-leaf clover symbol.
The Alfa Romeo Contagiri 8C Competizione watch has a 44mm stainless steel and black diamond-like-carbon (DLC), automatic mechanical movement, and a black rubber strap with matching metal buckle. It will be limited to only 500 units and each piece will come in a watch box covered in smooth calfskin leather and reptile stamped by master Florentine artisan leather workers.
Contagiri 8C Competizione Watch originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 23:00 EST.
Prospective owners of the new Lexus LF-A will have something to cheer about as the company, in collaboration with US-based travel bag and suitcase manufacturer Tumi, is set to release a line of travel cases exclusively for the supercar.
The two-piece luggage set is set to come with the LF-A in a number of select markets, including Europe and America.
The two Tumi cases were created using materials like aluminum and carbon fiber, two materials that are predominantly used in the actual supercar. What’s more, the cases will also carry the corresponding vehicle identification number (VIN) of the car that comes with it. The two cases, a smaller case that could be used for light travel and a bigger case that can be used for longer travels, were also designed to snuggly fit into the trunk of the LF-A.
All 500 models will be produced 20-at-a-time per month with the supercar, together with the cases, set to be delivered to its customers beginning at the early part of next year.
Lexus releases exclusive LF-A luggage collection originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:00 EST.
Let’s face it; there aren’t many people in the world that can afford the Reventon supercar. Not to mention the fact that it is limited to only 20 units. So, in the case that you don’t have an extra $1,200,000 in your pocket to spend or you can’t get on the super deluxe, ultra special list to purchase the Reventon, Lamborghini is offering you the possibility to get an officially licensed RC version, scale 1:10. And what Lamborghini RC car would be complete without its own limited number? In true special edition style, the mini model will only get 65 units.
The RC car was built by De Agostini and has more features than some production models: a two-stroke 3cc petrol engine, a two-speed transmission, and permanent four-wheel drive. For “optimum road holding”, designers installed an independent suspension, hydraulic shocks, and disc brakes.
Of course, it won’t develop a total of 650 HP and won’t hit a top speed of 211 mph, but it will make your dream of getting your hands on a Lamborghini Reventon come to life, in a mini way. If only they would let us know how much it costs.
Lamborghini Reventon gas powered RC car originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 23 August 2010 23:00 EST.
Posted in Lamborghini, Lamborghini Reventon, Supercars / Exotic cars, car gift ideas, coupe | 
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At the end of 2009, Parmigiani unveiled the Bugatti Tourbillon Watch inspired by the 16 C Galibier concept. This particular watch could be used as a wristwatch, a pocket watch, or could even be mounted on the dash of the owner’s Bugatti. Pretty classy, huh? Well, it seems that Parmigiani are at it again ,and this time they have unveiled a new watch inspired by the latest Veyron Super Sport. This doesn’t necessarily surprise us considering the Bugatti is a record-breaking machine that deserves a timepiece modeled after it, but they better get it produced soon as the sizzle might fizzle once the Koenigsegg Agera completes its task of breaking the Bugatti’s record.
But back to the timepiece. Parmigiani has played with the shape of this watch to make it as exclusive and daring as the Veyron SuperSport itself. The watch has a partially carbon fiber dial that has been placed perpendicular to the display axis with the use of a double pinion with bevel gearing system. This sytem setup allows for a 90 degree angle transfer of energy. This world premier technology allows the time to be displayed on the side of the timepiece.
In terms of aesthetic design, the train wheels are cut in the shape of car wheels and the plate and 10 bridges are designed and decorated in line with Parmigiani’s exclusive criteria as seen on the Calibre 370. The movement of the watch is displayed through six sapphire crystals. As for the hands, applique indexes, and counter; these components are displayed in the exact shade of orange picked out for the record-breaking SuperSport.
Press release after the jump.
Bugatti Super Sport Watch by Parmigiani originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 17 August 2010 12:00 EST.
If you have a collection of 35 world-class cars and haven’t a clue on where to put them all, architect Steve Hermann may have an answer for you. Fork up $35 million and you can have the ultimate car collector’s estate located in Montecito, California, a modernist, 15,000 sq-ft house sporting a 35 car garage.
The 35 car garage isn’t exactly a garage; it’s more of an outstanding automotive gallery. Walls and pillars lined in walnut lead way to the rear facade covered in extravagant glass panes which seem to seamlessly hover over the rolling hills of the 3.5 acre estate teeming with ancient oak groves. Neighbors are among the most famous, including Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Martin, Jeff Bridges, and John Cleese.
With neighbors of the up-most status in society, and a design which oozes modernistic times and a love and appreciation of the automobile, what’s not to love? For $35 million you can enjoy your top-of-the-line auto collection whilst treating yourself to the epitome of luxury.
Let’s just hope it comes with curtains – lots of them.
The Car Collector’s Estate can be yours…for $35 million originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 13 August 2010 11:00 EST.
Think of Recaro and the images that pop into your mind are that of high end automobile bucket seats. Images that will more than likely not pop into your mind are those of children. Children don’t drive cars, so that makes sense, right? Sure it does, except for now Recaro is making car seats for kids. They even have a website completely dedicated to their child seat line. Weird, huh?
Recaro’s new line is called the ProSeries and consists of the ProRide, ProSport, and ProBooster. The range can carry babies and children all the way up to 120lbs. The ProRide is fit for a new baby that needs to to be facing the rear, but can also be turned around to face the front when the child reaches the appropriate age and weight. Max weight for this seat is 70lbs. The ProSport is a combination harness to booster car seat that can accommodate children up to 90lbs. in harness mode and 120lbs. in booster mode. The ProBooster is fit for kids from 30-120lbs. and features 11 head restraint positions.
The Recaro ProSeries car seat line is fit to keep any child safe with its side impact protection and energy absorbing foam. The kiddies will be kept cool by the coolmesh air ventilation material on the provided on the seats as well.
Get ready to spend some money, though. These Recaro seats run between $99 and $279 and, by the way, a lot of them are currently out of stock so you may have to wait awhile before getting your kids in one of these.
Recaro launches ProSeries child safety seats originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 6 August 2010 15:04 EST.
The Dirt Franchise is back with its latest installment: Dirt 3. And its not just back, its back with fiery explosions, a weather simulator, and Ken Block’s “Monster” Ford Fiesta. True rally enthusiasts may not fancy Dirt 3, or even the whole franchise, but there is no denying, Dirt 3 looks good.
No details have been released on the new game, except that it is expected to hit the shelves sometime in 2011 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 as confirmed by its creator, CodeMasters. As you can see in the trailer, the graphics will be just as astonishing as the highly successful Dirt 2. It also appears that we will get new stages of H20, rain, and snow, as well as over 50 rally cars and “double the track content” as the previous installment. All of which will add an exciting twist to your rally experience.
Dirt 3 may not be a true to heart rally game as much as being an Americanized translation of the sport, but it’s still an exciting interpretation of it. Let’s just hope it’s not all show and no go.
First Dirt 3 Trailer hits the net originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 August 2010 00:31 EST.
Anyone with a Viper alarm system and an iPhone or Blackberry has had the luxury of the Viper SmartStart app for quite some time now. People with an Android, well, they got nothing. It so what it is, but before you go and get your panties in a knot, Direct Electronics have announced that the SmartStart app will now be available for the Android market.
“The Android operating system enables millions of smartphones on all major carrier networks and across a full range of price points,” said Kevin Duffy, President of Directed Electronics. “With this app release, our Viper SmartStart solution is available to more than 75% of all smartphone users.”
The app is available on viper.com, but don’t go downloading it just yet. The app may be free, but customers will have to get the Viper SmartStart hardware installed in their vehicle along with a compatible Viper remote start or security system in order to take advantage of the free app. After all of that has been taken care of, the Viper SmartStart app will allow owners to start their engine with the push of a button, pre-warm it in the winter, and pre-cool it in the summer. Other features, depending on the Viper product choice, will allow owners to lock and unlock the doors, pop the trunk, or arm their security system and get an alert on their smartphone if their alarm is triggered. Have more than one car? The app allows for control of multiple vehicles at on one smartphone.
Viper SmartStart now available for Android users originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 30 July 2010 16:00 EST.
Porsche Design has unveiled the new P´6612 Dashboard Le Mans 1970 Limited Edition chronograph that has been launched to pay tribute to Porsche’s LeMans victory 40 years ago. This was the day when a red-white-red Porsche 917 K bearing start number 23 driven by Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood won the Le Mans race. The watch will be limited to only 917 pieces and will be available starting this September at Porsche retail outlet stores.
The P´6612 Dashboard Le Mans 1970 Limited Edition wears the same clean lines as the Porsche 917 and its strap is designed after the 917’s steering wheel. It features black calf leather with dual perforations like those of the 917’s steering wheel spokes, red stitching, and a titanium pin buckle. The P’6612’s dial is fashioned after the 917’s dashboard and features a black background with black hour and minute hands that feature white luminous material that allows them to stand out.
The P´6612 Dashboard Le Mans 1970 Limited Edition chronograph has self-winding ETA 2894-A2 movement that offers a power reserve of 42 hours. The case is made from brushed and polished titanium and has the number of the edition as well as inscriptions stating “Winner Le Mans 1970″ together with “917-023″ – the chassis number of the winning car.
Pricing for this timepiece has yet to be announced.
Porsche Design Dashboard Le Mans 1970 LE Watch originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 16 July 2010 20:00 EST.
It’s a time for anniversaries and apparently Chopard and Alfa Romeo are making good use of this celebratory time by putting out a product as part of a festive partnership. The GT XL Chrono Alfa Romeo and the Gran Turismo XL Alfa Romeo will be the products of choice to celebrate Chopard’s 150th anniversary and Alfa Romeo’s 100th anniversary.
Both watches will come in a stainless steel case with a total diameter of 44.00 mm and a thickness of 14.36 mm. Each will feature a black dial with red hands and indexes as well as the logo of the two brands. The timepieces will operate on a 46-hour power reserve and are water resistant for up to 100 meters. The timepieces will also feature COSC-certified in-house automatic movements, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, and Chopard’s signature vintage Dunlop-inspired rubber straps.
The GT XL Chrono Alfa Romeo will be available in two different versions; one which will be available in stainless steel and the other in black DLC-coated steel. The Gran Turismo XL Alfa Romeo will see only one version to round off the timepiece line set for these two anniversaries. Each of the three timepieces will be in limited and numbered editions of 500.
As a rather strange and unlikely addition to the celebratory range, Chopard and Alfa Romeo will also be bringing out a table clock in PVD-coated steel that comes with a black leather, red-stitched case, and an additional travel alarm clock that comes with a steel case.
Happy Anniversary Guys! These two anniversaries are definitely worth setting out an entire range of timepieces for and we hope you see many more anniversaries to come!
Chopard and Alfa Romeo celebrate their anniversaries with a full range of timepieces originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 16 July 2010 12:00 EST.
Alright, Top Gear fans, here’s the 411 on Top Gear’s new titles coming soon to a bookstore near you. That’s right, our favorite car fanatics have written more about their automobile antics and have even brought us another edition of their “Where’s Waldo?” interpretation. The book is called Where’s Stig: The World Tour and features the driver hiding in a slew of locations from Rio via Bolivia to Monte Carlo, and even the Alps. The second edition will be published as an $8.99 hardback and will be released on September 30th.
The second book is the Top Gear Official Annual and gives readers a behind the scenes look at the show itself while also giving a year’s worth of episode highlights in a fun, easy-to-read, hardback that will be out in August. Also coming out this year, September specifically, is Top Gear: 100 Fastest Cars and The Big Book of Top Gear.
The last book we’ll mention is in The World According to Clarkson series which consists of Jeremy Clarkson’s columns taken from the Sunday Times Review. It will be called How Hard Can It Be? and will be published on September 30th as a £20 hardback.
So there you have it, folks. If you are big Top Gear fans then you are sure to like at least one, if not all, of these books.
New Top Gear books on the way originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:00 EST.
The HM4 Thunderbolt is a wristwatch inspired not by a car, but by a plane. Yes, we know we always cover cars, but planes are still in the high speed category and this is a very cool gadget. Give us a break. It’s cool, expensive, and we are going to tell you about it.
The HM4 Thunderbolt Watch features an aviation-inspired case and engine. It includes 50 jewels and 311 components in its engine, five sapphire crystals, and a black hand-stitched calfskin strap with a titanium and white cold clasp. The only simple thing about this watch is how it tells time; it has the traditional dual dials – one for the time, one a power indicator – but the rest is just exquisite.
The inspiration behind the timepiece comes from Maximilian Büsser’s childhood passion for assembling model plane kits. This passion was the right type of fuel to ignite the aerodynamic characteristics of the Thunderbolt’s titanium and sapphire envelope with an added futuristic touch. The striking transparent sapphire section of the case requires over 100 hours of machining and polishing to transform an opaque solid block of crystal into a complex, exquisitely curved panel allowing the light to come in and the beauty of Thunderbolt’s engine to stand out.
There will only be 20 units produced, each carrying a price tag of $158,000.
Press release and video after the jump.
HM4 Thunderbolt Watch originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 9 July 2010 17:00 EST.
Porsche Club of America is turning 55 years old this year and a certain high-end Swiss watchmaker is helping them mark this occasion by producing a special edition 55-piece watch for the world’s largest single-brand club.
The watchmaker is Tag Heuer and, given the rich history between them and the car brand Porsche, it only seems fitting that these two would tie-up again sooner or later. As we’ve mentioned, the special edition Tag Heuer Monaco watch will be limited to only 55 pieces to commemorate the PCA’s 55th anniversary.
If you know your Tag Heuer history, you’ll probably remember how actor Steve McQueen, in his role in the movie Le Mans, used friend and Porsche racer Jo Siffert as his inspiration in his role. At that time, Siffert also happened to be the first driver to be sponsored by a watchmaker, which happened to be Heuer. As part of his role, McQueen decided to wear the brand’s Monaco watch during the filming, after which, improbable as it sounds, the Porsche Tag Heuer collaboration was born.
And so, 55 years after the birth of the Porsche Club of America, the two luxury brands are tying up again to earmark the PCA’s anniversary. This particular watch includes a chronograph and will come with a special dial that has been designed in both red and black rally stripes with the racing number ‘55’ and the PCA’s logo engraved on the back. The special edition watch also comes with a special black leather strap with its own set of racing holes and red stitching.
Needless to say, this particular watch isn’t just for anybody, since only 55 examples will be made. And given the rather exclusivity of the item, it shouldn’t come as any surprise to all of us that the watch comes with a retail price of $5,500.
Tag Heuer creates limited edition Monaco timepiece for Porche Club of America's 55th anniversary originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 6 July 2010 15:00 EST.
Branching out to merchandising has long been a source of cash flow for some automakers. It’s really not a complicated pie to figure out since fans of luxury automakers like Ferrari and Lamborghini who have no resources to purchase their own supercars can still buy a piece of these brands through other items, specifically t-shirts, bags, shoes, and even laptops.
Whereas other brands, especially Ferrari, have already stamped their iconic brand names on a number of laptops. Lamborghini’s already got their partnership with Asus in producing a range of laptops, but that trend seems to have triggered an exception as Tonino Lamborghini, the son of Lamborghini founder Feruccio Lamborghini, has released it’s very own variation on a laptop that will bear the iconic Italian brand’s raging bull badge.
Now, if you’re looking for something as exotic as the cars that are produced in Sant’ Agata, this laptop isn’t one of them. The laptop’s tech specs aren’t anything to go crazy about and the design is relatively simple, at best. But if those aren’t the things that worry you, then at 650 euros, it’s a pretty good bargain deal compared to other auto-branded laptops out on the market.
Specifications after the jump.
Tonino Lamborghini set to release its own laptop originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 6 July 2010 09:00 EST.
We see a lot of concept cars here and there in the auto industry, but it’s very rare to see a concept watch come across our pages. The famous French designer Fabien Cacheux has unveiled the new "Silver Arrow" GT Series concept watch in honor of the new Mercedes SLS AMG. You may have seen some of his previous work in the famous Bugatti 16 C Galibier watch.
The new Silver Arrow GT Series watch features a central tourbillon, power reserve, and a tachometer needle’s three star-shaped reflecting the emblem of the brand. The power reserve is at 6 o’clock. The bracelet is made of titanium neoprene and opens and closes like the butterfly doors of the Mercedes. The two buttons (Open / Close) surrounding the crown can open and close the car remotely.
This idea is similar to the one of the Aston Martin DBS Volante Watch which can also open and close the doors of the DBS in addition to turning the lights on and off.
The "Silver Arrow" GT Series concept watch is as good of an idea as any other watch that has seen production, but, as we mentioned earlier, the decision to produce this timepiece is still up in the air.
Concept watch "Silver Arrow" GT Series originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 1 July 2010 19:00 EST.
Just in time for the release of a slew of racing games for the Playstation 3, not the least of which is the long-awaited launch of Gran Turismo 5, HKS and InterWorks have collaborated on a creating a unique game controller that’s tailor-made for all racing gamers out there.
With a controller that looks nothing like the standard controllers of the PS3 console, the Hipermax III rids itself of analog joysticks in favor of a thumb wheel on the left side and throttle and brake buttons on the other side. The "wheel" also comes with a center stripe to assist in the steering of the gamer’s race cars, as well as an odometer of sorts in the center of the controller that registers the digital readouts of the car being driven in the video game.
The best piece of news about this ground-breaking new racing controller? Unlike other pedal and wheel contraptions that come with price tags that could be a little too steep for most people, the Hipermax III only retails for an estimated price of just south of $55.
Press Release after the jump
PS3-exclusive racing controller built specifically for racing game enthusiasts originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 28 June 2010 19:00 EST.
A rich owner of a Lamborghini decided that just owning one of the most beautiful and most exotic cars in the world wasn’t nearly enough. So, he decided to do something with what we would presume to be ’loose change’ - for him, at least - and have Brown Safe, an exclusive and high-end builder of vaults and safes, make him his very own customized Lamborghini safe.
No, we’re not making this up. Apparently, these guys over at Brown Safe specialize in building residential jewelry safes, custom watch and jewelry safes, and vault doors made only from the finest quality commercial grade materials - whatever that means.
One of their most expensive safes, the Chronos watch safe and ballistic armor plate jewelry safe has become so popular among customers, like the aforementioned Lamborghini owner, that he decided to ask them to make him his very own customized Lambo safe. There’s no word on how much it cost to build this thing, but judging from what it looks like, those guys over at Brown Safe may not be kidding when they say that they only build their vaults using "the finest quality commercial grade materials."
Custom Lamborghini Safe by Brown Safe originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 22 June 2010 23:00 EST.
It would seem normal for just about anybody who has a remote interest in playing car racing games to go gaga over the official announcement of Gran Turismo’s release date, but just because GT5 is finally on the horizon, it doesn’t mean that we’re going to start turning our backs on other games that are currently in the pipeline as we speak.
One such game, that shouldn’t be overlooked by any stretch of the imagination, is Atari’s new Test Drive Unlimited 2. The game’s developer, Eden Games, is quick to hammer out all the goodies that come with the game in this new trailer. Among the features that all of us should expect to see in the game includes a plethora of mouth-watering vehicles - obviously -, an in-game day/night transitions and weather changes, and the inclusion of an off-road rally mode that also comes with another new game feature, the addition of SUVs.
Enticing as the game sounds, we were a little bit perplexed at some of the supposed cars that are included in the game, one of which is the Aston Martin DB9S, a car that we actually have never heard of. Maybe it was a slight mishap by the narrator, or maybe these guys know something we don’t. Whatever the case may be, we’re totally going to check this game out as soon as it hits the shelves in the near future.
Video: Atari's Test Drive Unlimited 2 Trailer originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 22 June 2010 19:00 EST.
Maserati’s got some spankin’ new digs to show off, but unlike what we’ve been used to with these guys, what they have in store - literally and figuratively - for us doesn’t even come with a set of wheels.
Taking its cue from the ever-increasing number of auto marques diving into the retail merchandise segment, Maserati has tied up with a number of fashion houses to design the brand’s all-new merchandise collection. Among the fashion studios Maserati has already tied up with includes Vuarnet, Suprem, and Pellemoda, among others. The collection also comes with a wide range of apparel and accessories from equally wide-ranging activities - like golfing and yachting - that should intrigue would-be customers.
The whole Maserati retail collection will be displayed at the Pitti Uomo fashion show at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence. So if you happen to be on your way to Florence, you might want to drop by and see what Maserati has done with their maiden voyage to the world of retail merchandising.
Press Release after the jump
Maserati looks to dive into the world of retail merchandise originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 22 June 2010 06:00 EST.
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