2017 Mercedes-Benz GLA debuts in India at Rs 30.65 lakh

Mercedes-Benz has launched the 2017 GLA SUV in India at Rs 30.65 Lakh (All India ex-showroom). Revealed first at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the updated GLA Class comes with a redesigned bumper both fore and aft. The headlight units have been tweaked with new lightning signature while the tail lights get a new LED treatment. The grille has also been tweaked a bit with a dash of chrome. The interiors get a fresh look with new dials and instrument console and electric seat controls, new trims, two zone climate control, sunroof and power seats, 12 step ambient lighting, auto dimming mirrors and a host of other special features. The engine remains the same 2.0-litre petrol for the GLA200 trim but the GLA 220d gets a 2.2-litre oil burner.

Check out the NikeLab Pocketknife DM Shoe

The Nikelab Pcketknife DM Shoe is the heir to the classic 1998 Pocket Knife from the All Conditions Gear (ACG) line of flexible shoes and boasts a number of features befitting a new age classic. The new Pocketknife silhouette comes equipped with twice the interlocking system of webbing as its 20th-century predecessor.   Plus the unusual outsole is divided into four white rubber pods, with traction being provided by rectangular patterned grips on the bottoms.  There’s a choice of three classy colorways available: Black over Blue, Gray over Tan and Black, and Tan over Ivory. One of the best looking pair of sneakers we ever saw!

Mandarin Oriental to open Luxury Hotel and Residences in Melbourne

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has signed a management contract for a new luxury hotel and branded residences to be developed in Melbourne, Australia. The project is expected to open in 2023, and is the Group’s first announced property in Australia. The hotel and residences will be located on Collins Street, in an iconic, mixed-use 185-metre tower which was created by the late award-winning architect, Dame Zaha Hadid, will become a landmark in the city.  Mandarin Oriental, Melbourne will feature196 guestrooms and suites designed to reflect local culture, together with features inspired by Mandarin Oriental’s heritage. The Group will also manage 148 Residences at Mandarin Oriental, located on the tower’s upper floors. Owners will have exclusive access to the luxury hotel experience, as well as their own bespoke amenities includinga private residents’ lounge. The project is being developed by Melbourne-based property developer, Landream.

The 1926 Heritage Collection from Montblanc

The Montblanc 1926 Heritage collection is the brand’s first full collection of vegetable-tanned leather bags, exuding a rich vintage feel with each carefully treated to age beautifully and wear into a unique patina. Lined with red fabric inspired by the Maasai tribe and in earthy desert hues, the bags sport metal fittings finished in antique gold. The twenty piece collection offers a variety of choices including a Single Gusset Briefcase, a Document Case with storage compartments for laptop and stationery, along with an assortment of bags including bckpacks, duffel bags, messenger bags, city bags, and reporter bags.

Africa largest luxury resort project Zanzibar Amber Resort to open in 2020

Africa is all set to have its largest luxury resort project in Zanzibar, spanning an area of 3,756 acres, with its very own airport, marine park, underwater nightclub and including at least five international luxury hotels within the property. The Zanzibar Amber Resort is a “luxury tropical community” that boasts East Africa’s first Signature golf course and over water lodges for guests, including luxury villas for sale. There will be 1,914 luxury villas that range from three to five bedrooms and 3,440 luxury apartments and penthouses for all who would want a permanent escape option to this heaven. Among the luxury resorts springing up in the ‘community’ is the Ritz Carlton Zanzibar which will be an all-suite and villa resort with 90 rooms and over water villas that each have their own private pool. Though the first residential property is planned to open this year, the golf course and several of the hotels are slated for completion in 2019, with the full completion of the first phase expected by 2020.

Dubai Police to get robotic self-driving patrol vehicle with facial recognition

Dubai Police’s fleet is no stranger to super cars of all sorts—think Bugatti Veyron, Aston Martin One-77, Mercedes SLS and a host of other names you could salivate over. But the newest entrant expected to join the fleet is a ‘super’ vehicle of a completely different sort: a robotic, self-driving patrol vehicle that comes equipped with thermal imaging, license plate readers and 360 degree cameras with facial recognition! It is a fully autonomous car that navigates through machine learning algorithms and is supposed to function as a mobile surveillance unit. Tiny in size but replete with cutting edge technology, this vehicle named O-R3 (reminds a little of R2D2 and C3PO!) has been built by Singapore-based start-up OTSAW Digital. OTSAW says Dubai will be the first city in the world to use the O-R3 for everyday patrols—but the Dubai Police department have specified that O-R3 will only be used for low level order enforcement tasks and won’t be replacing human officers.

Dodge brings Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody

Dodge just came out with the Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody version, addressing all the concerns over the original Hellcats: namely, they didn’t have the rubber to utilize all the available power. So the new version has Dodge taking the bulging fender flares from their Challenger SRT Demon to add 3.5″ to the width of the car, making room for the smashing 20″ x 11″ split-five-spoke aluminum wheels wrapped in 305/35 Pirelli P-Zeros all around.  The 707 horsepower engines have been further boosted by the extra rubber and sensible wheel/tire set so that the Hellcat Widebody smashes the 0-100 kmph sprint in just 3.4 seconds.  Priced at $71,500 the Hellcat Widebody also gets an increased grip on the road but the apparent “drawback” is that the car’s top zipping speed has been reduced from 199 mph (approx. 320 kmph) to a “mere” 195 mph (313 kmph). Well we don’t know who’s complaining, but we certainly are not!

Check out the world’s first underwater Blue Eye lounge for cruise ships

Luxury cruise line Ponant Americas has come up with the world’s very first underwater lounge that’s named the Blue Eye Lounge and has been created in collaboration with French architect and oceanographer—Jacques Rougerie. Sitting two-to-three metres below the water level within the ship’s hull, the lounge is 127 metres in length and features two giant curved portholes measuring 1.6 metresx3.4 metres, designed in the shape of a cetacean eye. Sound, transmitted via hydrophones, will be captured across a five-kilometre radius of the ship and there will be “body listening sofas” that vibrate discreetly to promote “corporal resonance” (where sound waves are transmitted across the body), allowing passengers to experience the rhythms of the ocean and its marine mammals by “listening through their entire body”. The Blue Eye Lounge can accommodate up to 184 passengers in 92 cabins and will be made available on Ponant’s fleet of four new luxury yachts to be launched in 2018 and 2019.

Mandarin Oriental Singapore creates bespoke wedding experience with Jimmy Choo

Mandarin Oriental, Singapore has partnered with Jimmy Choo for the ultra luxe I Do in Choo wedding experience. Available from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018, the experience includes a pair of monogrammed Jimmy Choo’s from the Made-to-Order Collection, chosen by the bride from a a suite of signature styles, custom made in a myriad of colourways, textures and finishes—with the option of gold monogram initials or a time plate studded on to the sole of the shoes, creating an enduring bespoke memento. This will be accompanied by a bespoke dream wedding cake handcrafted by the hotel’s award-winning pastry chefs, a lavish nine-course Chinese dinner for upto 350 guets at the opulent Oriental Ballroom and a rejuvenating Oriental Essence treatment for the newlyweds. Priced at SGD 61,000, the I Do in Choo wedding  experience is sure to be an affair to remember.

2017 Mercedes Benz GLA to make India debut tomorrow

The 2017 Mercedes Benz GLA is all set to debut in the Indian market tomorrow, July 5, with prices estimated to range between Rs. 31 lakhs to Rs. 35 lakhs. The updated crossover vehicle will host cosmetic and interior updates, while the mechanicals are expected to be carried forward from the current GLA. Unveiled internationally at the Detroit Show in January this year, the new GLA takes styling cues from the Mercedes-Benz family design—a tweaked front bumper, a restyled grille and the headlamps get the LED treatment as a standard in this model, unlike in the previous generation where it was optional. Plus there are gloss black touches on the B-pillar and the wing mirrors, and newly designed alloy wheels. The rear of the car gets a restyled bumper and a refresh wrap around the tail lamp design too. However the new GLA will be powered by the same engines– the 2.1-litre turbocharged diesel and a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel, producing 136bhp and 183bhp respectively. The new GLA also sits 30mm higher and offers more ground clearance than the pre-facelift model.