Owning any kind of car today is questionable. Owning a whole collection of luxury cars even more so. But there is no denying that the cars of the past were much sexier and had more personality than today’s boring line-up with its mind-numbing sameness and boring repetition. There are exceptions, of course, especially at the luxury end, but generally nothing stands out. And yes, we are sure that car enthusiasts can tell the difference between any makes and models even today, but we cannot really get ourselves all that interested in cars. But we do favour preserving, restoring and respecting historic and iconic design and architecture, and that includes cars as well.

So, with all these caveats and explanations, we find The Library car collection space in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district deserving of attention. Designed by the Hong Kong, Paris and Bali-based A Work of Substance www.aworkofsubstance.com the ground and top-floors of the six-storey building convey an ambiance of romance to highlight the the owner’s nostalgic car collection.

The owner of the building wanted the top-floor as his private 6,120 square-foot (620 sq metre) lounge, bar, racing simulator and display space for his eight 1950s cars and memorabilia. The design firm co-founder Maxime Dautresme has said that the client wanted the feel of a living room with his cars around him. The space is also designed for entertaining

Everything oozes bygone motoring elegance, top-level craftmanship and attention to detail. Mid-century modernist teak and leather furnishings are accented by car-inspired details including lighting resembling car headlights, hand-stitched leather armchairs that pay tribute to the Ferrari Dino 246 GT (1969-1974), side tables imitating spark plugs and cabinetry handles channeling the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB (1959-1963) door handles.

The vehicles on display include a Ferrari F40 (1987-1992), Mercedes 300SL Gullwing (1954-1957), Aston Martin DB5 (1963-1965), Pagani Huayra (2011-2018), and a Porsche 911 Carrera RS (1973-1974).

On the ground floor, the security office repeats the aluminum roundness of the classic 1930s Airstream Caravan. Two stainless-steel car elevators, three-metre-diameter ceiling fans and the solid concrete walls create a masculine, industrial feel that is softened by the wood panelling and the car-seat inspired leather seating in the waiting area.

Rio de Janeiro-born, Paris-educated, Maxime Dautresme has a cosmopolitan background that speaks of curiosity and cultural variety. He was born to a private-banker father and a mother who is the daughter of Brazilian painter Cicero Dias and also the goddaughter of Pablo Picasso. Before moving to Hong Kong, Dautresme had lived in Rio, Seoul, Monaco, Paris, Shanghai and Miami. His first project with A Work of Substance was the House of Dancing Water show created by the Cirque du Soleil-famed Franco Dragone https://dragone.com/shows/the-house-of-dancing-water/ in Macau’s City of Dreams www.cityofdreamsmacau.com.

A Work of Substance, founded by Maxime Dautresme and Florian Michaux in 2002 in Paris, is a multidisciplinary practice covering architecture, landscape, interior and product design as well as branding from strategy to identity, packaging, digital and marketing. The firm’s team represents 15 countries. Tuija Seipell

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Many of us have watched the spectacular formations that small migrating birds such as swallows and starlings form in the sky.

Taking a representation of this spectacle into the sky above the ocean at Art Basel Miami Beach this year was the near-impossible art project commissioned by BMW and created by Amsterdam-based Studio Drift.

The project, called Franchise Freedom, is in practical terms a group of 300 lighted drones flying in orchestrated patterns in the night sky. Many of us have already seen small-scale iterations of this idea, of lighted drones flying in simple patterns in the night sky, but this was the largest group of drones ever attempted.

Drift’s founders Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta translated natural flight patterns of starlings into software specifically created for the drones. The project also benefited from ongoing university research focusing on flocking behavior and on the understanding of the principles of self-organization in nature.

In artistic terms, Franchise Freedom explored the ideas of individual freedom versus safety in numbers, and the sacrifice of the individuals versus creating the illusion of freedom.

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Spectators at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance were struggling to fit the entire length of the Mercedes-Maybach Vision 6 Cabriolet into one iPhone frame for their selfies.

The Vision 6 was one of the most photographed and talked-about concept vehicles at this year’s Pebble Beach. Even those of us who are not seriously into cars can see why. 

The convertible electric concept car is six meters (almost 20 feet) long and every single millimeter of it exudes luxury and elegance.

This really is the first electric luxury car that harkens back to classic art deco proportions. It evokes the feel of automotive haute couture where every detail is super-luxurious yet the sum total is understated, distinctive and sleek.

Luxury yachts and private jets inspired the designers. The long rear of the vehicle echoes the tail of a yacht, while the wood floor inlaid with aluminum further defines the yachting connection.

The interior’s soft, white nappa leather contrasts with the exterior’s dark blue paint finish described as “nautical blue metallic.”

The pinstriped suit inspired the radiator-style grille across the front. The front seats plus the armrests, doors and rear seats are all heated. The seats can also offer a “hot stone” massage or cooling ventilation. Other amenities in the rear cabin include a refrigerated compartment and bespoke silver Champagne flutes.

But those dying to buy one must, at least for now, endure in their private jets and luxury yachts. Vision 6 is a singular model vehicle and an example of Mercedes Benz’s vision for 2035 and beyond.

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance is the final event of the Monterey Car Week and it takes place at the Pebble Beach Golf Course in Carmel, California. 

Other notable manufacturers that introduced new concept cars at Pebble Beach this August include Acura, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Bugatti, Cadillac, Corvette, Ford, Infiniti, Lamborghini, Lexus, Lincoln. Maserati, McLaren, Porsche and Rolls-Royce. Tuija Seipell.

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Since the early 1980s, Fuorisalone events and exhibitions during the Milan Design Week have grown grown from just a few happenings to an entire week’s worth of programming.

While the Design Week’s main showcase is still the furniture and furnishings event, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Fuorisalone events are now covering many other segments including automotive, technology, art, fashion and food.

One of the intriguing pop-ups included in this year’s Fuorisalone was the four-day Cartier Precious Garage installation at Garage Sanremo on Via delle Fosse Adriatine.

Created for Cartier by Desi Santiago, the Puerto Rico-born visual and performance artist based in New York, Precious Garage was a fantastical mix of gold, mechanics and jewellery.

Everyday mechanical shapes and tools have long been Cartier inspiration and the garage references worked in this installation perfectly.

The pieces of jewellery on display were from the new Juste un Clou and Écrou de Cartier collections inspired by nuts and nails, but the visual centerpiece was the gold-painted 1978 Corvette C3 hovering over the precious pieces.

Santiago used elements of a garage – the car, car parts, tools – and slathered it all in gold creating a jewellery-like space that felt as luxurious as each of the Cartier pieces.

A luxe garage with a seriously splendid parts department, the inside of a timepiece, an art installation – Cartier Precious Garage evoked all of these. What it was NOT, is a boring, prissy showcase of jewellery. Tuija Seipell.

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There are motorcycles and there’s jewellery. The Limited-edition Eden motorcycle falls somewhere in between.

For even those of us who cannot claim to have ever even ridden a motorcycle, these beauties are a wonder. Only nine units are produced by Ho-Chi-Minh (or Saigon), Vietnam-based Bandit Nine (Bandit9).

Available in champagne gold or chrome plating over steel unibody, the Eden comes with such incredible details as Titan headlights with gold trim, black marble gas cap, cognac-colour leather seat and sculptured exhaust.

We love the gold colouring and the detailing in this unit that camouflages a Honda Supersport 125cc engine in sheer sophistication.

In fact, we are imagining this jewel poised elegantly in a living room or an office as it is almost too beautiful for road use.

It is sexily naked and skeletal yet stunningly complete. We’d say that a rider on top of it would just spoil the perfect view.

But we do understand if some of you just cannot help yourselves and, after having paid the $11,000 US bill and shipping and waited for a long time, you end up taking this beauty on a spring-day maiden ride. Tuija Seipell.

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Arisara Chaktranon and Shiriyot Chaiamnuay, founders (in 2007) of Onion architecture in Bangkok, Thailand, first received a commission to create a farily luxurious but decidedly funky private vacation house at Cham-am Beach in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
 

Owners Khun Poy and Khun Pond are avid collectors of art and other collectables, so before long, Onion was back, designing the Bear Garage, a mind-blowing setting for the couple’s massive collection of Be@rBricks.
 

The couple owns hundreds of bear-shaped collectable brick toys by the Japanese company MediCom Toy. The first-ever figure was released in May 2001 as a gift of the World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo. Since then the company has released Bearbricks of various sizes, made of various materials including wood, felt and glow-in-the-dark plastic.

Collaborations with artists, special promotional bears for movies, and individual, super-rare items are added to the regular, twice-yearly releases. The rarest of items sell for several hundreds of thousands of dollars at auctions.
 

The Bear Garage proprietors have not only provided their collection a spectacular display area but they are also hedging to accommodate even more bears. Shelves and special boxes have additional room for multiple sizes of each bear, while specific individuals are found elsewhere in the house, including in the bathroom.

A large window from the living room opens into the collection. Elsewhere in the house are also artworks by the late Thai street artist MMFK (Pharuephon “Tum” Mukdasanit, also known as MAMAFAKA) as well as P7, another Bangkok-based contemporary street muralist. Tuija Seipell.

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The trend for customising 1970s and 1980s motorcycles continues apace. The blinged-out chopper with raked forks and shiny paint is officially dead: today, customers are demanding sleek, minimal café racers.

The shift was inspired a few years ago by workshops such as Denmark’s Wrenchmonkees. Today, builders like Café Racer Dreams (Spain) are buying up and stripping down old Hondas and BMWs. Like the CRD machine we’re looking at here. Called ‘Brownie’, it’s a 1980 Honda CB750 on a diet.

It’s also a textbook example of the mods that custom bike fans are looking for in 2012. The electrics are hidden—even the battery—to throw focus on the mechanical components. The brown, gold and black colour scheme is low-key but luxurious, like a fine piece of leatherwork.

Unlike many builders, Pedro Garcia of CRD is not a one-trick-pony. His latest creation is a 1971 BMW R75/5 (above) converted for dual sport use. When not being ridden around the streets of Paris by its new owner, it’s blasting down fire trails and kicking up dust.

And the Wrenchmonkees, who kick started it all? Things are good in the state of Denmark. There’s a clothing line in the works and they’re collaborating with major brands such as Levi’s. They’re even getting commissions from switched-on nightcubs, with the ‘Club Black’ series of display bikes (above). – Chris Hunter, editor of Bike EXIF

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Is there anything that Marc Newson hasn’t designed? We are running right out of superlatives describing one of his fairly recent collaborations, the Aquariva by Marc Newson luxury yacht. We tried looking away, yet here we are, talking about it.
Everything about the ridiculously cool and expensive arrow-of-a-speed-boat is a bit much. Yet it is also deliciously good-looking in its faux mahogany, retro turquoise upholstery and overall 60s vibe.

To create the Aquariva, the Australian-born, London-based mega-designer collaborated with Officina Italiana Design of Bergamo, Italy. It is the studio that for the past two decades has been in charge of designing yachts for Riva shipyards, established in 1842 by Pietro Riva. Riva is one of the brands in the Ferretti Group portfolio.

Aquariva by Marc Newson was introduced last fall but paraded again at the beginning of this year not at a lowly boat show or even a luxury yacht salon, but Arte Fiera, the 36th annual, historical art fair in Bologna.

Only 22 of these beauties were manufactured and they are sold though the New York-based Gagosian Gallery and also by Riva dealers, apparently at $1.5 million. The sales pitch is no doubt rich with superlatives and absent of the word recession. – Tuija Seipell

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Those in the market for a megayacht are already familiar with the 70-meter (229-foot) Numptia. There isn’t a luxury yachting magazine on the planet that hasn’t noticed it. Some at the upper end allocated as much as 25 pages of opulence-oozing imagery and painstaking scrutiny of every minute fact to this steel-hulled, aluminum-structured floating residence.

And those who didn’t get enough of Numptia in the printed media, had an opportunity to view it at the 21st Monaco Yacht Show in September, where it was hailed as one of the highlights among the 100 top meagayachts from around the globe.

The vessel launched in April in Genoa, after a three-year building process. It was completely custom-built for an unnamed Italian-born American businessman who wanted it for his multi-generational family.

Two specific things about Numptia have attracted the interest of the yachting world. Every aspect of Numptia was custom-created with the highest, most exquisite quality of design, materials, craftsmanship and functional performance. Even in the megayacht circles, this kind of grandeur and obsessive attention to quality and detail are rare.

The other unusual aspect is the fact that the owner selected a relatively unknown shipyard, Rossinavi Yachts of Viareggio to build it, and a little-known designer Salvagni Architetti of Rome to design the interiors.

Working closely with the owner, Achille Salvagni combined modern sensibilities with touches of traditional luxury to achieve a timeless feel of well-being. Every piece of furniture, every surface treatment, every doorknob and hinge was custom-designed for Numptia. Silk carpets woven in Tibet, solid marble in the steam bath, quartz floors in the galley, and an oval dining table covered in riveted alpaca nickel silver are just a few examples.

Exterior design of the vessel was completed by Design Studio Spadolini of Florence.

Numptia features lavish rooms for up to 12 guests and includes an impressive master suite, a VIP suite, three queen-size double cabins and one twin stateroom. The owner’s suite includes a bedroom, TV area, reading room, his and hers dressing rooms and a bathroom with the solid-marble bath. Numerous common areas, sundecks, a spa deck plus crew accommodations and all behind-the-scenes space complete the spacious picture.

Numptia is available for charter through Burgess for about $646,000 per week, and for sale for an undisclosed price, rumored to be around $85 million. – Tuija Seipell

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TCH ACCESS agency’s collaboration with the world’s best brands and ad agencies continues. We are working on a number of fun projects with car brands, property developers, sports brands beverage (alcohol and non) brands, movie studios.
Last fall, BMW’s event agency, EWT invited ACCESS to create the Mini Indoor Drive In Cinema for the launch week of Mini Countryman to the Italian media. We also created a video presentation about the World of Innovation for the same event.

Since we first featured the drive-in cinema and the Mini car-wraps, we have been asked by numerous Mini dealers around the globe to create them for their showrooms. So, this year, we will be creating many more exciting and innovative Mini experiences in various international markets. Stay tuned – Bill Tikos

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