Tag: motoring

A 24-hour toy

A dream toy for any Le Mans fan

The 106-minute long 1971 film Le Mans starring Steve McQueen is rightly considered one of the classic motoring films.

Now, fans can play out their own version of it in their own homes by purchasing a replica fibreglass Porsche 917 that has been converted into a 1:32 scale, wooden slot car racetrack complete with 12 limited edition slot cars.

The $125,000 model track is housed in the body of a replica Porsche 917

The exterior features race worn tyres and is decorated in the famous blue and orange Gulf Oil livery as as the #20 racing decals

At 13½ foot long, 7½ foot wide and 3 foot tall, this is an indulgence that will require a fair amount of space but one that could make a great centerpiece in any the games room of any bachelor pad.

The raceway itself features realistic landscaping, period signage and working streetlights. The Esso Oil Drop Man appears near the Ford chicane and a Marchal sign appears over the famous three-level grandstand over the pit row, whilst the unmistakable Dunlop tire bridge and a Martini barn are all present.

John Sturges and Steve McQueen during filming of Le Mans

Making Le Mans bankrupted Steve McQueen and cost British Formula One driver David Piper part of one of his legs. Whoever purchases this car will be far from danger but they’ll have to be firmly in the black. The price? £82,000.

For more information, contact Hammacher Schlemmer on +1 (800) 227 3528 or go to: http://www.hammacher.com/Product/Default.aspx?sku=12005&promo=Sports-Leisure-Collecting-Memorabilia&catid=1725

February 28, 2013
Ecstasy and Babycham

A marine residence with a history tied to the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy, the Special Operations Executive and Babycham

The House on the Shore on Thorns Beach at Beaulieu in Hampshire is a home that wouldn’t look out of place in the Hamptons or Rhode Island. Dramatically situated next to the Solent waters to the north of the Isle of Wight, this suitably named building wouldn’t have been out of place in the 1980s BBC series Howards’ Way. It could. Indeed, have been an ideal home for Gerald and Polly Urquhart. (more…)

November 20, 2012
Have you got the iQ?

A motoring misdemeanor

One costs £10,000 and the other £35,000. They are, unbelievably, essentially the same vehicle and that the streets of Kensington, Chelsea and Belgravia are stuffed with the more expensive version is, in my humble opinion, an utter misdemeanor.

A Toyota iQ that is being used as a Response Vehicle pictured outside The Ecuadorian Embassy in London. An ideal escape vehicle for Julian Assange perhaps.

Aston Martin’s Cygnet in British Racing Green pictured with a Toyota iQ in the foreground. You could play a game of spot the difference.

Toyota’s iQ is a clever little vehicle. My friend happens to own one and I’ve been in it several times. It is practical and far better than a Smart fortwo in that it has a little more space inside and does a very reasonable 64.2 mpg. This perfectly zippy little beast does exactly what it says on the tin and is an ideal city car.

Aston Martin have taken the very same vehicle and essentially rebadged it the Cygnet. At more than three times the price, you do get get a proper Aston paint-job and a stylish hand-fitted interior with as many leather hides in it as are needed to trim a DB9. It’s also, however, with a top speed of just 106 mph, the slowest Aston Martin in history and most of the components in it are made by Toyota.

The good people of the Royal Borough may well think they’re making a statement in buying a Cygnet. In reality, they should develop their IQ’s and buy the Toyota.

For more information on the Toyota IQ, go to: http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/frame_start.jsp?id=CC2-iQ-landing

For more information on the Aston Martin Cygnet, go to: http://www.astonmartin.com/cars/cygnet

September 4, 2012