Tuesday 17 July 2018
Forex trading
On 07:28
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Saturday 9 June 2012
BMW X6 Tycoon Hamann (video included)
On 09:43
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BMW X6 Tycoon Hamann
4WheelsofLux records a white BMW X6 Tycoon modified by the German tuning house, Hamann. HAMANN Motorsport is most famous recently for such outrageous machines as the Mercedes-Benz SLR-based HAMANN Volcano, but its treatment for the more-mundane X6 turns a car that perhaps never should have been to a high performance, high-style machine they're caling the Tycoon.
The HAMANN BMW X6 Tycoon improves and builds upon the X6 platform in nearly every way. A couple of engine choices here, but true gear heads might want to take a look at HAMANN's treatment for the X6 Diesel. Using the xDrive35d engine as a base, HAMANN coaxes 315 horsepower and a mammoth 487 lb-ft. of torque at the crank. Granted, the X6 is a heavy car..crossover..whatever, but we're betting this thing moves.
HAMANN hints at an even more powerful X6 Tycoon using the xDrive50d as a jumping-off point. If plans work out as expected, we're talking big rig torque.
On the outside, the HAMANN X6 Tycoon gets a body widening by way of new front and rear air dams and skirts that complete the package by wrapping around and extending the wheel wells. The aero package is completed by rear and roof-deck spoilers. The Tycoon looks sufficiently menacing and important without going too far into the overstated realm.
Most instantly eye-catching are the 23 inch custom DESIGN EDITION RACE ANODIZED alloys wrapped by 315/25R23 tires front and rear. The X6 Tycoon will look most at home in the city, though should be able to handle itself just fine on the back roads.
The HAMANN BMW X6 Tycoon is available now, contact HAMANN for conversion price information, but the Tycoon won't come cheap.
Dubai Architecture
On 07:21
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Sybarite Architects design the Apeiron in Dubai
The Crescent Lagoon is an underwater sculpted landscape with colourful corals & sea water plant life cultivated to create a unique & surreal world. On Level 00 there's a boat jetty in the building’s atrium & from this level there is access to the private beach, gardens, fresh water pools & the crescent lagoon. The building atrium is over 50m high. On Level 00 & -01 (under the beach) a Health Club and Spa is located containing private saunas, steam, treatment and massage rooms and several fresh water pools at different temperatures located outside as well as inside with different lighting at night. Large windows from the Level -01 Spa offer the opportunity to look into the lagoon and see the coral & fish; day and night. On Level 09 a helipad located 55m above the Arabian Gulf with bridge access across to the ninth floor of the hotel. On Level 11 an outdoor garden with views down the atrium through the building to the sea below & boat jetty as well as views out to sea. Dramatic surroundings with the remainder of the building lifting from the garden level, full size palm trees & fresh water pools. Pools in turn light the restaurant & art gallery below. On Level 28 a double height rooftop Butterfly Jungle level with a unique backdrop of the Arabian Gulf nearly 200m below.
The temperature & humidity would be artificially controlled to make it a very relaxing & unique space. The hotel will also contains a number of private clubs, private cinemas, luxury boutiques, conference rooms, restaurants with menus from all around the world. Restaurants & bars (alcoholic & non alcoholic) distributed throughout building from Level 28 to the underwater restaurant at Level -01. The building’s shape creates natural shade on the brunt of the external facades to protect against the direct noon sunlight (which is harsh in the Gulf). The internal façade has louvers to prevent direct solar gain and the louvers are made up of solar cells as is the ribbon that frames the building and gives the Apeiron it’s name (meaning infinity). The energy calculations estimate that the building will generate two thirds of its own energy.
The world's most expensive whisky
On 06:38
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Dalmore 62
It's well known that scotch whisky, as well as being a fine drink, holds increasing allure as an investment, and the value is steadily rising. This fact was brought home with news yesterday that a bottle of whisky has just been bought for £125,000, the highest price ever paid for a standard bottle of scotch.
Of course with extravagant bonuses still sloshing around the banking world that kind of money is peanuts to some, but to spend it on one bottle? You could pick up a Porsche for that and still have change for a night out at Boujis.
The key with all sales at this level is rarity. The whisky in question - a Dalmore '62 which was sold at Singapore airport - was one of only 12, not all of which were released at the same time. Back in 2002 a bottle went for what then seemed an insane £22,000 and in 2005 someone bought a bottle at a hotel bar for £32,000 and drank almost all of it. But that was nothing - the lure of owning what no-one else can now buy - despite an immensely naff bottle which features a platinum stag's head - is seemingly worth over £100,000 more than it was 10 years ago.
Such whiskies of course account for a minuscule fraction of the market but there are plenty of opportunities to dip a toe at a more affordable level. Distilleries these days are constantly releasing limited edition whiskies like Lagavulin's £80 bottling for the Islay Jazz Festival this weekend which was matured at Caol Ila or The Macallan's Commemorative Royal Wedding Edition which sold for £150 on its release in April and now fetches roughly three times as much. There's a premium on any distillery which has closed, or single, unrepeatable casks of which there are a dwindling number. Industry giant Diageo for instance is releasing eight whiskies this year in its "Special Releases" series, five of which are from distilleries which have closed including the highly collectable Brora.
Many fans devote themselves to collecting bottles from a single distillery. Joining a mailing list like Ardbeg's "Committee" will give you a chance to snap up new bottlings on release. When the first tranche of their new super-charred Alligator was made available in June it sold for a comparatively modest £55. It's now selling for around £160, an easy profit for any committee member inclined to make a quick buck. The first commemorative bottling of Bruichladdich's new The Laddie 10, with an "I was here" sticker, sold out in three hours this weekend.
As with all investments, whiskies can of course go down as well as up. Some bottlings, or "expressions" (as they're known among whisky anoraks) bomb but it seems that so long as you stick to big names like the Macallan, Bowmore and Ardbeg, genuinely limited editions (a couple of thousand bottles max) and are happy to drink the contents of anything that doesn't make your anticipated killing, you're unlikely to go far wrong in the current market. And whisky is much more forgiving than wine when it comes to storage.
If you suddenly remember some disregarded bottle you never got round to drinking there are a number of whisky investment sites out there run by single malt nuts. Andy Simpson's whiskyhighland.co.uk and accompanying Facebook page is one, and there's also the relatively new scotchwhiskyauction.com set up by whisky fans Tam Gardiner and Bill Mackintosh. Established auctioneers such as Bonhams and McTears also hold regular whisky auctions. If you're lucky you might even pick up the odd bargain in what is now called "travel retail" (aka duty free) though probably not at Singapore airport. How much would you be prepared to pay for a bottle?
It's well known that scotch whisky, as well as being a fine drink, holds increasing allure as an investment, and the value is steadily rising. This fact was brought home with news yesterday that a bottle of whisky has just been bought for £125,000, the highest price ever paid for a standard bottle of scotch.
Of course with extravagant bonuses still sloshing around the banking world that kind of money is peanuts to some, but to spend it on one bottle? You could pick up a Porsche for that and still have change for a night out at Boujis.
The key with all sales at this level is rarity. The whisky in question - a Dalmore '62 which was sold at Singapore airport - was one of only 12, not all of which were released at the same time. Back in 2002 a bottle went for what then seemed an insane £22,000 and in 2005 someone bought a bottle at a hotel bar for £32,000 and drank almost all of it. But that was nothing - the lure of owning what no-one else can now buy - despite an immensely naff bottle which features a platinum stag's head - is seemingly worth over £100,000 more than it was 10 years ago.
Such whiskies of course account for a minuscule fraction of the market but there are plenty of opportunities to dip a toe at a more affordable level. Distilleries these days are constantly releasing limited edition whiskies like Lagavulin's £80 bottling for the Islay Jazz Festival this weekend which was matured at Caol Ila or The Macallan's Commemorative Royal Wedding Edition which sold for £150 on its release in April and now fetches roughly three times as much. There's a premium on any distillery which has closed, or single, unrepeatable casks of which there are a dwindling number. Industry giant Diageo for instance is releasing eight whiskies this year in its "Special Releases" series, five of which are from distilleries which have closed including the highly collectable Brora.
Many fans devote themselves to collecting bottles from a single distillery. Joining a mailing list like Ardbeg's "Committee" will give you a chance to snap up new bottlings on release. When the first tranche of their new super-charred Alligator was made available in June it sold for a comparatively modest £55. It's now selling for around £160, an easy profit for any committee member inclined to make a quick buck. The first commemorative bottling of Bruichladdich's new The Laddie 10, with an "I was here" sticker, sold out in three hours this weekend.
As with all investments, whiskies can of course go down as well as up. Some bottlings, or "expressions" (as they're known among whisky anoraks) bomb but it seems that so long as you stick to big names like the Macallan, Bowmore and Ardbeg, genuinely limited editions (a couple of thousand bottles max) and are happy to drink the contents of anything that doesn't make your anticipated killing, you're unlikely to go far wrong in the current market. And whisky is much more forgiving than wine when it comes to storage.
If you suddenly remember some disregarded bottle you never got round to drinking there are a number of whisky investment sites out there run by single malt nuts. Andy Simpson's whiskyhighland.co.uk and accompanying Facebook page is one, and there's also the relatively new scotchwhiskyauction.com set up by whisky fans Tam Gardiner and Bill Mackintosh. Established auctioneers such as Bonhams and McTears also hold regular whisky auctions. If you're lucky you might even pick up the odd bargain in what is now called "travel retail" (aka duty free) though probably not at Singapore airport. How much would you be prepared to pay for a bottle?
Saturday 17 March 2012
Most Expensive Pens
On 06:43
1 comment
Here is a look at the most Expensive Pens in the world, its a sneak preview of what the Mega Rich and Famous use to sign multi Billion Dollar contracts.