Drop-dead Gorgeous: Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake
Unveiled as a computer generated illustration at Pebble Beach, all 99 units of the Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake were sold out in a day

Aston Martin unveiled the limited edition Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake at the Pebble Beach this year, but only in a computer-generated illustrated version. And yet, all 99 units of the super car were sold out before the day was done. And so were all the units of the two other Zagato variations showcased by Aston Martin at Pebble Beach.

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The Shooting Brake is the fourth and final version of the Aston Martin Vanquish, powered by 5.9-liter V12 belting out 592 horsepower, mated to a Touchtronic III auto gearbox transferring torque to the rear-wheel drive. Performance figures have not been revealed, but expect the Shooting brake to be slower than the coupe from 0-100kph thanks to the added weight.

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The two-seater features an all-glass top with the design house’s trademark double-bubble style roof, which extends out till the rear end. The tail lights like the ones on the Speedster variant (limited to just 28 units) are blade-like units similar to the Vulcan.

The Shooting Brake also sports the Z badge on the front grille, like its three other siblings. The exterior sports anodized bronze accents and a sleek carbon fiber trim.

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Aston Martin creates Tom Brady special edition convertible

Iconic British luxury carmaker Aston Martin has unveiled a limited edition variant of the Vanquish S Volante, the Tom Brady special edition that wears the name plaque of the record-breaking National Football league star. Extremely limited edition with only 12 units being made, each unit of this car will feature Brady’s signature on the plates inside the doors and the “TB12” logo splashed throughout the vehicle, including on the fender and embossed on the headrests. The special edition will carry a price tag of $359,950 and delivery begins in 2018. For the car’s design, Brady worked directly with the design team at Q by Aston Martin—Comission, and spent the past five months helping with the design. But apparently the deal does not include a free car for the muse of the special edition either! So if Brady wants his special edition car, he’ll need to pay for it as well.

Europe’s first underwater restaurant to open in Norway in 2019

Europe’s first underwater restaurant is will open its gates in Norway in the year 2019. Named ‘Under’ and shaped like an empty vessel dumped on the shores, this surprising restaurant will also act as an artificial reef that will enable researchers to protect the sea waters and conduct crucial marine studies. Spread across three levels, ‘Under’ will have a cloakroom on the first floor, a champagne bar on the next and the restaurant at the bottom. The entire restaurant will be covered with walls thick enough to withstand contingencies and acrylic windows that are 36-foot wide and 13 feet tall. The deluxe serving room would be able to accommodate 80 to 100 people, and the menu would be whipped up by star Danish chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard Pedersen.

Luxury footwear retailer Berleigh to bring designer shoe labels to India

Luxury multi-brand footwear and accessories retailer Berleigh is all set to bring the finest shoes from across the globe to India, offering names such as Andrés Sendra, Duke & Dexter, Magnanni and Schutz and so on. The Mumbai-based retailer will also offer a bespoke service called Privé where customers can select the shoe they want to wear with a particular outfit from the comfort of their homes. A sale specialist would come to the mentioned location and offer a wide range of luxury footwear according to the desired colour and style. Berleigh is also offering customers the option of customisizing their shoes with several brands, such as Duke & Dexter. Customisation can be in the form of colour change, addition of motifs on the shoes and also getting initials of one’s name monogramed on the shoes. Along with all these services, customers would also have the option of choosing from red carpet and celebrity looks since Berleigh’s customers list include names like Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Priyanka Chopra. The footwear retailed by Berleigh is priced from Rs 8000 to Rs 40,000, with the most expensive collection being an exotic skin collection by Spanish brand Magnanni .

McLaren joins LAT_56 to launch exclusive travel collection

McLaren has joined hands with Scottish luggage brand LAT_56 to create an exclusive range of premium travel products, through a joint licensing agreement. Titled ‘McLaren LAT_56’, this collection includes suitcases, duffels, wheeled carry-ons, check-in bags, laptop bags, garment bags, briefcases, backpacks and wash bags—all of which are apparently designed keeping in mind the ‘demanding nature of grand prix travel’, according to Eric Boulier, McLaren racing director. The collection will officially be launched in November. McLaren and LAT_56 have joined hands not just for this line, though, but have forged a complete four year partnership as well, in which the McLaren team will carry LAT_56 luggage items throughout the 2018 racing season.

Adidas partners with Korean brand to create Superstar Boost sneaker

Adidas have joined hands with Korean men’s fashion and streetwear retailer Kasina to create the Superstar Boost, an upgrade to their iconic Superstar sneaker. The Superstar Boost comes with an all-leather nubuck upper that includes a leather shell toe for extra protection, and boasts a soft gum sole formed around a Boost midsole. The bone white finish is enhanced by stealth stripes and exposed stitching, with a hint of colour brought in by the reddish acetate eyelet at the top of the tongue.

Toyota Lexus looking to set up assembly plant in India

Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus is exploring the possibility of setting up an assembly plant in India. Hit by the higher cess on hybrid vehicles and steep import duty, the brand is eyeing local assembly as a viable option. As against import duty of over 100%, assembled vehicles attract levies of only about 30-40%. The company entered India with three hybrid vehicles in early 2017 and if it actually goes ahead with a local assembly plant, India will be only its third vehicle making base outside of Japan and North America. Lexus’s global rivals, namely Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi, already have local manufacturing bases, along with Swedish car maker Volvo.

Limited edition: Hello Kitty themed watches from RJ Romain Jerome

Swiss watchmaker RJ-Romain Jerome has launched the Hello Kitty themed watch collection in three limited edition variants, in partnership with Sanrio. A tribute to the beloved Hello Kitty character, this is now RJ-Romain Jerome’s first women’s only collection. The collection features looks based on the aesthetics of the Moon Invader series, with all three variants sporting silver-finished sandblasted/ satin-brushed 3D pixel dials and equipped with a Swiss-made mechanical self-winding movement. The 40mm steel case comes with signature articulated lugs fitted with safety screws and ball-and-socket joints to ensure that the watch hugs the wrist comfortably. Each variant is limited to 76 units, a number that celebrates the year of the origin of Hello Kitty. While the steel variant is priced at CHF 8,888 ($9000 approx), the sparkle edition comes at CHF 12,222 ($12,300) and the full sparkle edition is priced at CHF 15,555 ($15,700).

The $11,000 La Petite Robe Noire limited edition bottle from Guerlain

Guerlain’s iconic La Petite Robe Noire perfume was introduced in 2012. Inspired by the wardrobe essential Little Black Dress, it combined notes of black sour cherries, bergamot, red berries and almonds with Bulgarian and Turkish rose, licorice and smoked black tea, along with base notes of aniseed, tonka, vanilla, iris and patchouli. This beloved fragrance has now completed five years since the official launch and Guerlain is celebrating the fifth anniversary with a limited edition version: an extraordinary 1.5 litre of eau de parfum in an exquisite black Baccarat bottle with a leather detail. Limited to just 18 units, the bottle is designed by House of Tassin and will be on sale at Guerlain’s Champs-Elysées shop in Paris. Each exclusive bottle carries a price tag of at €10,000 per bottle, approximately $11,700.

Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay A9 speaker gets director David Lynch’s touch

Avant-garde director David Lynch has given his signature touch to Ban & Olufsen’s Beoplay A9 stand speakers. The director, also an artist and music connoisseur, has added reproductions of his “Paris Suite” series of lithographs to the audio instruments. Lynch created the abstract “Paris Suite” in 2007 at the famed Idem Paris print studio during an extended stay in the City of Lights. The lithographs were earlier exhibited at the Festival of Disruption in Los Angeles and now grace the Kvadrat speaker covers made for the A9. Each limited-edition speaker is also numbered and signed by the director himself, and is limited to only 30 units. As for the performance, the Beoplay A9 is a versatile and powerful wireless home audio solution that houses two midrange drivers and two tweeters as well as a woofer to deliver its full 33 Hz to 25 kHz frequency range. It is Bluetooth and Wi-Fi compatible, and can be controlled via the Bang & Olufsen app or by using intuitive touch controls. The David Lynch artwork speakers are available through the MOMA Design Store website and at its location in New York. A portion of each sale will go to the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to promote wellness in at-risk populations through Transcendental Meditation.