Limited edition Aston Martin Super Sport Limited Edition can be yours for $9.6 million
When the Aston Martin One-77 made its debut, one thought nothing could beat this baby in exclusiveness as well as performance and design. However, Aston Martin is not one to live in this illusion and decided to outdo itself. It is quite hard to believe that anything can beat the One-77 supercar, but one look at the Aston Martin Super Sport Limited Edition and you are made to change your mind. The exclusive car has been built by Aston Martin in collaboration with Star Electric Cars France. Beating the One-77 in both price and exclusiveness, the Aston Martin Super Sport Limited Edition will be restricted to just eight examples which will cost $9,600,000 each!
For this hefty price, the special supercar promises an unbeatable performance. Powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.4 liter V8 engine that produces up to 950bhp, this supercar is truly one mean machine. Furthermore, the engine is mate to a six-speed manual transaxle, fully synchronized with an integral, torque-sensing, helical limited-slip differential. With a carbon fiber body and Brembo or AP carbon ceramic brakes, this car bowls you over with its sleek design. The interior too complements the exterior perfectly and looks resplendent in leather, alcantara, and carbon fiber and Recaro seats. What is more, each of the eight examples will boast of exclusive exterior body paint. So you can be assured that your super exclusive car will definitely stand apart.
Simply awesome, I bet the billionaire car enthusiasts can’t wait to add this beauty to their collections.
Some people believed they could fly, long before it was physically possible. And they managed to realize their dreams, and helped us in the process too. And to celebrate the first machines that could take flight, comes this rare French automaton timepiece. The timepiece comes with an airplane that “flies” suspended through a revolving propeller, around a set framework. On this frame is a clock, a thermometer and a barometer. Priced at $325,000, vintage clocks like this were made for heads of the French industry in the 19th century. That is no surprise, considering that France was at the forefront of the industrial revolution.
The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth-Century Struggle against Filth and Germs by David S Barnes ~ perfume books
Fill up your pomanders, take out your nosegays: it’s going to be a hot summer. “In the late summer of 1880 in Paris, death was in the air and it smelled like excrement.” So begins David S. Barnes’s history of the birth and dissemination of public health in France. The author shows that scientific discovery alone did not change the way a nation understood sanitation and the spread of disease. Eberth and Klebs’s isolation of the typhoid bacillus (1880), Roux’s diphtheria antitoxin (1884), Pasteur’s work on anthrax (1881) and development of the rabies vaccine (1885) were the talk of the town, but that wasn’t enough. It took a convergence of ideas (new scientific knowledge, persistent folk etiologies of contagion, a shift in political thinking toward Republican positivism, increased secularization, France’s mission to “civilize” the peasantry and colonies) to garner acceptance of germ theory and support for sanitation control.
Barnes focuses on the years between 1885 and 1895, a period framed by two “Great Stinks” in Paris intrusive enough to spark public outcry, political debate, and relentless commentary in the daily papers. One front-page cartoon, lampooning the government’s slow response to the stench disaster, includes a transposition of the city motto fluctuat nec mergitur [it is tossed by the waves but it does not sink] to fluctuat et merditur [it is tossed by the waves and it — well, you get it]. Each smelly summer incited outrage, but by 1895 — though offended and disgusted — the public no longer feared that the fetid stench of Paris streets would cause death and disease. The author coins the term ”sanitary-bacteriological synthesis” (SBS) to explain how during the time between these two events, public health reformers brought pre-Pasteurian beliefs (that foul smelling emanations are bad for you) into harmony with new scientific knowledge about the dangers of microbes (which might be accompanied by foul smells).
Why did Paris stink in the nineteenth-century…
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230 year old Veuve Clicquot champagne is touted to be the oldest champagne still drinkable in the world
The deep blue waters are known to hide a lot of treasures. Among those recently unearthed, are 30 bottles of champagne! Rumored to be produced over 230 years ago, these bottles were recovered from the depths of the Baltic Sea. These vintage wines were discovered by divers from Helinski who found them perfectly preserved at a depth of 180ft near the remains of a sailing vessel. According to the divers, the handmade bottle bore no label, while the cork said “Juclar”, from its origin in Andorra. The champagnes are believed to be from the famed house of Veuve Clicquot, and were possibly part of a consignment sent by France’s King Louis XVI to the Russian Imperial Court. A sample of the champagne has been sent to Moet & Chandon for their analysis. In fact they are 98% sure its Veuve Clicquot as they are the only ones to use the sign of an anchor on the cork. If confirmed, this champagne will become the oldest champagne still drinkable in the world.
Aaland wine expert Ella Gruessner Cromwell-Morgan, who was lucky enough to taste the wine, said it has not lost its fizz and is absolutely fabulous. The ideal conditions of cold and darkness of the sea bed have helped to preserve this wine.
I can just imagine the price these bottles will fetch once their date is confirmed.
Creed Aventus ~ new fragrance
Creed has launched Aventus, a new fragrance for men:
Olivier CREED, sixth-generation master perfumer of France, presents in America—before all other countries…
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The 10 most expensive bicycles in the world
You don’t really need to capture the Tour de France to be a stylish bike rider. And if you own the world’s most expensive bikes, chances are you won’t subject them to a marathon like that either. But I don’t think you would mind owning a memorabilia that survived the epic clash either. So which bike holds the crown? It’s the Trek Madone road bike which Lance Armstrong rode at the Champs d’Elysee of the 21-day bike marathon. Designed by Damien Hirst, the bike is made with many shining real butterfly wings which have been clear-coated on the frame. The “Butterfly” bike went under the hammer at Sotheby’s, earning a neat $500,000, bought by an unknown buyer. Look for 10 most expensive bikes as the list continues after the jump.
[Forbes]
2. The carbon fiber made Trek Yoshitomo Nara Speed Concept by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, which Armstrong rode in the 18th stage of the tour. The bike earned $200,000 in an auction.
3. The Aurumania Crystal Edition Gold Bike which has gold-plated frame, spokes, wheels, and is studded with 600 Swarovski crystals. The bike is priced at $101,000 with an additional $6,000+ for gold-crystal- adorned wall rack.
4. The Trek Madone 7-Diamond, which is a Madone 5.9 bicycle done up with 100 white diamonds and a one carat head badge that reads seven fetched $75,000 at an auction.
5. The Montante Luxury Gold Collection, an essentially ladies bike covered in 24-carat gold leaf, with 11,000 Swarovski crystals and a python leather seat is priced at $46,000.
6. The KGS Custom Bikes that come with custom frames built by companies like Beverly and the Mass-based Parlee, these customizable bikes cost up to $32,000.
7. The carbon fiber Beru Factor 001 comes with a touch screen mounted on its handlebars to control components and environment is priced at $30,000.
8. The Aurumania Gold Bike, without the crystal costs $25,000.
9. The titanium frame Spyker Aeroblade that comes with two carbon fiber wheels having spokes resembling the airplane propeller blade is priced at $12,500.
10. The Golden Brompton Folding Bike which was painted in gold by the ETA for a sweepstakes price costs $7,500 and cheaper version of the folding bike by Mercedes and costs $1,750.
Go to Source
De Bachmakov is the latest from the The Different Company. It celebrates artistic director Thierry de Baschmakoff’s Russian origins and the Année France-Russie; if you go to the dedicated website, you can read (or download) a sort of travelogue that explains some of the inspirations for the unisex fragrance.
De Bachmakov was developed by perfumer Celine Ellena, and the notes include bergamot, shiso leaves, coriander leaves, freesia, jasmine, nutmeg, cedar and craie douce.1 It is supposed to evoke the winds of Asia and the sun hitting the forests of Siberia and buds pushing through the snow in the spring.
De Bachmakov starts bright and zingy and cold…
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After coming up with several sporting accessories, French company Le Coq Sportif along with the launch of a Japanese Pack Platinum mini-collection got a tribute as a handmade carbon-fiber city bike by Alberto Del Biondi Industria del Design was launched. Drawing its inspiration from the Tour De France, the City bike comes with a water proof frame. The custom wheels made electric blue, along with the company logo on the front wheel and the frame.
Everybody’s heard about the heroics of Lance Armstrong. And after fighting cancer successfully, the 37-year old cyclist made his famed comeback to the Tour de France in 2009 after four years to finish third. 2010 will see the last appearance of the world class rider in the Mecca of professional cycle racing. And to ensure his 100% effort is put in, he has roped in Giro Helmets to make him the perfect helmet design. For the $15,000 helmet, the team employed a Los Angeles special-effects house to get a true to life replica of the rider’s time trial position, and a detailed model of his head and face.
The team has designed a lighter-around 20 to 30 grams less drag, and aerodynamic compliant helmet perfectly fitting Armstrong’s requirements. Let’s hope these efforts help Armstrong come 25th July when the Tour de France 2010 flags off.
Everybody’s heard about the heroics of Lance Armstrong. And after fighting cancer successfully, the 37-year old cyclist made his famed comeback to the Tour de France in 2009 after four years to finish third. 2010 will see the last appearance of the world class rider in the Mecca of professional cycle racing. And to ensure his 100% effort is put in, he has roped in Giro Helmets to make him the perfect helmet design. For the $15,000 helmet, the team employed a Los Angeles special-effects house to get a true to life replica of the rider’s time trial position, and a detailed model of his head and face.
The team has designed a lighter-around 20 to 30 grams less drag, and aerodynamic compliant helmet perfectly fitting Armstrong’s requirements. Let’s hope these efforts help Armstrong come 25th July when the Tour de France 2010 flags off.