Month: July 2014

“Batmobile” Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren bought by Tyga

When one celebrity buys themselves an outrageously expensive and customised luxury car, you can be sure that another will desperately want it!

In the world of the famous and rich, super expensive and stunningly fast cars have become more of the routine than the shocking moments. It’s the case of this murdered-out black Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, also nicknamed the “Batmobile” SLR, that was owned for a couple of months by Scott Disick only to be now bought by Tyga.

While normal people save-up for the every-day rides, celebrities keep switching their hundreds of dollars rides between each other and they don’t even realize it.

Reality television celebrity and businessman Scott Disick, better known as Kourtney Kardashian’s spouse, posted a couple of pictures with the black Mercedes-Benz SLR quoting he owns it, a couple of months ago. Soon after it turned out he decided to sell it and now it was just bought by rapper Tyga. Los Angeles-based Calabasas Luxury Motorcars auto shop, the place he bought it from, recently posted an image of the rapper sitting next to it.

After all, this on and off/selling and buying super expensive and luxurious cars it’s not even that rare among famous people. In fact, when you say Scott Disick you think of flamboyant class and exclusive car-collection, about the same words that pop-up when you talk about Tyga’s rides.

Well, it seems Justin Bieber’s close friend decided to buy the “Batmobile” SLR just because it’s sitting pretty in his driveway, right next to his Rolls Royce Ghost, Lambroghini Aventador, Maybach and his other Mercedes, the SLS.

Source http://www.autoevolution.com/news/tyga-gets-scott-disicks-batmobile-slr-83345.html

Early morning race across London Bridge by Formula E Cars

The FIA are hoping that fast cars which are eco friendly will be the next big thing in car racing.

To work up a hype, eight Formula One-style cars with a top speed of 150mph have raced in front of the Houses of Parliament to launch the forthcoming all-electric championship.

One car also performed a doughnut on the empty road across London’s Westminster Bridge.

In order to pull off the photo opportunity, organisers started setting up from dawn and had the bridge to themselves until 6am.

The video has been released as part of the official Global Launch for the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship.

The well-funded racing series, backed by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), will host 10 zero-emission races in 10 cities around the world.

Formula E cars line up to start a trial on Westminster Bridge
The electric cars line up on Westminster bridge

As part of the launch, Battersea Park in South London was revealed as the London race venue.

The race around the park will be the season finale and is scheduled for June 27, 2015.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Fast, fun and no doubt furious, the FIA Formula E Championship race in London is set to provide an awesome addition to the capital’s sporting calendar.

“The atmosphere will quite literally be electric and Battersea, which is already booming with the buzz of regeneration, will be alive with the excitement that this new, world-class event will no doubt spark.”

Mahindra Racing's Karun Chandhok doing a donut
Mahindra Racing’s Karun Chandhok doing a donut

The sport was set up with the aim of sparking interest in electric cars and boosting innovation in the technology used to run them.

The idea for the championship has been criticised in the past and was dubbed “the milk float challenge”, but as the first race draws nearer, it has become a highly anticipated format for motorsport fans.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, businessman Sir Richard Branson and Formula One legend Alain Prost have all set up teams ahead of the inaugural racing series.

Source http://news.sky.com/story/1292549/formula-e-cars-race-across-london-bridge

Which luxury cars are best and worst for value for money?

Luxury cars typically cost a lot to buy, but they needn’t break the bank in running costs – provided you choose carefully. 

You wouldn’t expect a luxury car to be cheap, but you might expect a lot of car for your money. Our best-value luxury car truly lived up to its billing with nearly all owners raving about its superb comfort levels. And while it may be a luxury model, it still scored above average for value overall in the Which? Car Survey.

The worst value luxury car, however, is within striking distance of the bottom of the survey. Owners complained about its hearty appetite for fuel and oil. A number of drivers also described it as being both uncomfortable and difficult to get into – not good attributes for a luxury machine.

Highest rated luxury car for value for money

If there’s one thing owners of the Saab 9-5 (1997-2010) all agree about, it’s just how comfortable their car is. As a result, 9-5 drivers keep coming back for more; one owner is now on their third 9-5 and another is on their 11th Saab.

Thanks to Saab owners’ satisfaction with their cars, the 9-5 chalked up a strong value-for-money score of 84.5%. A large number of owners described the 9-5 as ‘very comfortable’, with one adding: ‘for the price, nothing else gives the same amount of space, comfort or performance’.

Another Saab owner said, ‘I love the fact that I have a reliable, solid, quality car, loaded with extras, without having had to pay the steep prices associated with German makes.’ The car makes an ‘excellent long-distance car with a massive boot’ and is ‘safe, reliable, easy to drive, with excellent in-car entertainment’.

Lowest rated luxury car for value for money

Way down at the other end of the luxury car table is the Audi A5 Sportback (2009-) with a score of 67.3%. Unlike the Saab, many Audi owners criticised their car for being uncomfortable due to its firm ride. The A5 Sportback is also hard to drive smoothly, according to several drivers.

Contributing to the poor value money score, the A5 ‘uses a great deal of oil – needing approximately one litre every other month’, the ‘petrol consumption is some 10mpg worse than advertised’ and the ‘highly expensive’ built-in satnav is ‘a disaster’ and ‘doesn’t take full postcodes’.

The A5 Sportback is ‘uncomfortable on motorways and A roads’ and ‘the 19-inch wheels give a hard ride’, jeopardising its billing as a luxury car. Other owners have criticised the S-Tronic automatic gearbox for being ‘jerky’ with the ‘random jerkiness of the accelerator’ meaning that ‘you cannot “creep” forward’. ‘The brakes are occasionally very sharp, causing me and any passenger to lurch forward’.

Beyond these failings, owners also complained that ‘access is difficult for large or older people’, ‘rain water enters the boot area when opened’ and ‘it feels like a large car, so parking can sometimes be a challenge’.

Source http://www.which.co.uk/news/2014/06/best-and-worst-luxury-cars-for-value-for-money-369668/

Ex-Lomond boss Hugh McMahon buys dealership in Edinburgh

Motor industry entrepreneur Hugh McMahon has bought Murray Motor Group’s Rolls Royce and Aston Martin business in Edinburgh.

Partnered by son Chris, the former Lomond Audi owner has taken over the luxury car dealership in a buy-out worth more than of £3 million. The deal was funded by Barclays’ Scottish corporate banking team.

Hugh McMahon has spent a lifetime in the motor trade starting out as a technician at the age of 16 before moving into sales – then management. He sold the Lomond Audi business in July 2012 and has been looking for a suitable enterprise since.

The Sighthill outlet is the sole authorised dealership for the luxury car brands in Scotland. The business currently turns over £20 million annually and the father-and-son team have plans to grow this to £30 million in the medium term.

Hugh McMahon said: ‘There is a strong opportunity to grow sales of both brands which are moving into an exciting stage of their development – Rolls Royce is celebrating 10 years under the ownership of the BMW Group and Aston Martin has been rejuvenated by new investment.’

Working with son Chris, who is operations director for the business and Brian Ritchie, finance director, Hugh also has plans to expand the dealership’s offering of luxury and performance used cars.

He added: ‘Our first priority, however, is to consolidate our existing position. We have taken over a good business but I want to make it a great business – for customers and employees.’

Source http://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/luxury-car-dealership-changes-hands-3m-buyout/82750