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SPECIAL SECTION

Health & Wellness

RobbReport .com

AUGUST 2016

DREAM MACHINES Flying Automobiles, Fantastic Supercars & Other Inspired Inventions

POWERFUL PAIR

CANEPA’S 763 HP GENERATION III PORSCHE 959 AUDI’S 205 MPH R8 V10 PLUS

SEOUL Discover East Asia’s Newly Crowned Capital of Cool

Breguet, the innovator.

Tradition Chronographe IndĂŠpendant 7077 The Tradition Chronographe IndĂŠpendant 7077 perpetuates the creative heritage of Breguet by interpreting it in a contemporary and innovative way. It is comprised of two entirely independent gear trains. The first, set to a frequency of 5 Hz to enhance precision measurement, is devoted to the chronograph, while the second, operating at 3 Hz, is dedicated to the hours and minutes. History is still being written...

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UNTIL NOW, WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO TA K E S I D E S. T O C H O O S E B E T W E E N W I C K E D O R V I R T U O U S , B R U TA L O R S O P H I S T I C AT E D , R E F I N E D O R W I L D , G E N T L E M A N O R B A S TA R D .

Y O U D E S E R V E B O T H.

A N D T H AT I S W H Y R O B B R E P O R T R E C O G N I Z E S T H E D U C AT I X D I AV E L A S 2 0 1 6 B E S T O F T H E BEST WINNER.

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ROBB REPORT

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VOLUME 40

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NUMBER 8

AUGUST “The airplane wing folds away with the push of a button, so that the vehicle can be driven on the road.”

— PAGE 73 —

FEATURES

66 Finely Tuned Machine

Accompanied by a heavymetal soundtrack, Audi’s latest and greatest carbon-fiber creation, the R8 V10 Plus, screams through the North Carolina countryside.

BY SHAUN TOLSON

73 The Dream Machines That Just Got Real

The future is now for these innovative vehicles and vessels—from flying cars to stealthy superyachts—and the pioneering designers who dared to dream them up.

86 The Seoul of East Asia

With its lust for luxury and obsession with beauty, South Korea’s ultramodern capital has emerged as the region’s most captivating cultural destination. BY JACK SMITH

BONUS SECTION

AEROMOBIL 3.0

93 Robb Report Health & Wellness Our specialists uncover the new gold standard for executive physicals, the latest wellness escapes from Malibu to Manhattan, and more.

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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“WITH WHEELS UP, LESS TIME ON THE GROUND MEANS MORE TIME ON THE GREENS.�

Name: Rickie Fowler Title: Professional Golfer Aircraft: Cessna Citation Excel/XLS

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As a professional athlete, travel is a huge part of my life. With tournaments, sponsor obligations, and training, I spend up to forty weeks a year on the road. Over the course of my golf career, that can add up significantly.

The Cessna Citation Excel/XLS is spacious enough to bring friends along for the ride, and the King Air 350i can access shorter runways, bringing me closer to more remote tournaments. I train hard to be the best professional golfer, and Wheels Up is the most efficient way to stick to my schedule and advance my career.

Wheels Up acts as an agent for the Wheels Up members, and is not the operator of the program aircraft; FAA licensed and DOT registered air carriers participating in the program exercise full operational control of the program aircraft. Subject to additional terms and conditions in the Wheels Up Program documents.

AUGUST 42

DEPARTMENTS

16 Editor’s Notebook 26 Design Portfolio The world’s first supercar, and a trailblazing jeweler’s superlative designs.

32 FrontRunners

BOTTOM LEFT: CORDERO STUDIOS/CORDEROSTUDIOS.COM; BOTTOM RIGHT: LISA CHARLES WATSON, STYLING BY CHARLES W. BUMGARDNER

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A Viper you can tailor to your tastes, a polished new powerboat from Italy, cool sneakers for summer, exquisite retreats from Japan to the Netherlands, and more.

54 Robb Gallery

Autos 54, Watches 56, Jewelry 58, Travel 60, Dining 62, Golf 64

113 Wheels In a swirl of sand and speed, the new Bentley Bentayga— the world’s swiftest production SUV—takes on the Southern California desert. BY ROBERT ROSS

113

120 The Robb Reader Big-wave surfer and fitness expert Laird Hamilton discusses a few of his favorite machines, what stunt scared him the most, and the simplest steps to better health.

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BY CAROLYN MEERS

118 Classifieds 119 Advertiser Register ON THE COVER AUDI R8 V10 PLUS (CORDERO STUDIOS) AND CANEPA GENERATION III 959 (ZACH TODD)

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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REMEMBER THAT KID?

OR WERE YOU THAT KID? As long as you can remember, you’ve been resourceful. Making the most of every secondhand tool and second of daylight. You didn’t always know what you were making, but you were building a legacy that would lead to your ultimate success.

It also led you to the McLaren 570S, a sports car with supercar cred born with an endeavoring spirit. Just like you.

ATL ANTA | BERGEN COUNT Y | BE VERLY HILLS | BOSTON | CAL ABASAS | CHICAGO | DALL AS | GREENWICH HOUSTON | LONG ISL AND | MIAMI | NE WPORT BE ACH | PALM BE ACH | P H I L A D E L P H I A | R A N C H O M I R AG E S A N F R A N C I S CO | S COT T S DA L E | TA M PA B AY | WA S H I N G TO N D C | TO R O N TO | VA N CO U V E R

CARS.McLAREN.COM © 2016 McLaren Automotive Inc.

AUGUST

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVES Get more of Robb Report with these special iPad, iPhone, and online features.

Cool Pools

Digital Exclusive Life Is a Skyway

Want to see the ying cars featured in this month’s Dream Machines story (page 73) in action? Check out additional photos and footage of these futuristic vehicles in the Robb Report app or at RobbReport.com/FlyingCars.

To beat the August heat, RobbReport.com presents our picks for 20 of the top hotel and resort swimming pools.

RobbReport.com/ TopPools

Your Autonomous Chariot Awaits Rolls-Royce has entered the driverless fray in spectacular fashion with its 103EX concept vehicle.

RobbReport.com/Rolls103EX

Sail Away Spend a sublime summer aboard the 282-foot Aquijo, a sleek new sailing yacht that just became available for charter in the Mediterranean.

BOTTOM: STUART PEARCE

RobbReport.com/Aquijo

Robb Report is available as a digital edition for the iPad and iPhone via the iTunes App Store and through Zinio.

Download the iTunes versions today to access enhanced content, including photos, videos, and more.

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

Future Shocks “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.”

—Jean de La Fontaine

IN “FINELY TUNED MACHINE” (page 66), Shaun Tolson demonstrates that adventure is more about attitude than altitude. When Shaun flew through the curves of the Daytona International Speedway in Audi’s R8 V10 Plus, he nearly defied gravity. “After maneuvering through the first turns of the track, I entered the horseshoe corner on the wrong line and missed the apex of the turn.

In that moment, I discovered the R8 might be the first supercar with off-road capabilities,” he says. Thankfully, he was back on the tarmac in seconds, relieved that he did not meet his destiny on the road he inadvertently avoided.

Brett Anderson, Editor in Chief

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TOP: LEUNGCHOPAN/SHUTTERSTOCK; INSET: WOOHAE CHO/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM: CORDERO STUDIOS/CORDEROSTUDIOS.COM

MORE THAN ONE thinker has observed that the most effective method of predicting the future is simply to build it.

The South Koreans seem to believe so, as we learn from contributor Jack Smith in “The Seoul of East Asia” (page 86), his account of a chauffeur-driven romp through this futuristic, fashion-forward metropolis. In the South Korean capital, which flaunts its technological prowess in a dreamlike skyline of glass and steel, artifice and indulgence are celebrated: Many Seoulites, notes Jack, admire the flawless faces manufactured by cosmetic surgeons in the city’s famous Beauty Belt even more than they do the most impeccable productions of nature.

THE STATUS-CONSCIOUS denizens of Seoul would undoubtedly embrace the airborne autos profiled in Mary Grady’s “Vertical Leap of Faith” (page 78). These machines have largely remained a dream since Henry Ford predicted their advent, in 1940. Although Ford commissioned a single-seat plane small enough to fit inside his office, this prototype, the Flivver, never went into production.

Yet the flying car may soon take off.

“I’ve seen a lot of ‘flying car’ concepts come and go,” says Mary. “But the convergence of autonomous systems and simple, reliable electric power plants could be the combination that makes it all work.”

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Senior Vice President/Editor in Chief Editorial Director Executive Editor Executive Managing Editor Executive Editor, Style (New York) Deputy Editor Managing Editor Assistant Managing Editor Senior Editor Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Editorial Assistant Editor, Health & Wellness Managing Editor, Special Projects Digital Managing Editor Editor, RobbReport.com Senior Editor, RobbReport.com Associate Managing Editor, RobbReport.com Lifestyle Editor, RobbReport.com Staff Writer, RobbReport.com Staff Writer, RobbReport.com Copy Editor, RobbReport.com Copy Editor, RobbReport.com Editorial Intern, RobbReport.com Social Media Manager Editor Emeritus Automotive Consultant Consulting Editor Senior Correspondent Contributing Editors

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Carolyn Meers carolynm@robbreport.com Anush Benliyan anushb@robbreport.com Phoebe Neuman phoeben@robbreport.com Janice O’Leary janiceo@robbreport.com Nikki Prange nikkip@robbreport.com Danielle Cutler

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Paul Dean Robert Ross robertr@robbreport.com Jennifer Ashton Ryan jryan@robbreport.com Jack Smith Richard Carleton Hacker, James D. Malcolmson

Contributing Writers

Jane Broughton, Laura Burstein, Dana Childers, Marco della Cava, Mary Grady, Alexander Lobrano, Paige Reddinger, Regina Schrambling, Peggy Sijswerda, Shaun Tolson, Michael Verdon, S. Irene Virbila, Daven Wu Private Aviation Advisory Board

Peter v. Agur Jr. (The VanAllen Group), James D. Butler (Shaircraft Solutions), Walter Kraujalis (AeronomX), Kevin O’Leary (Jet Advisors), William J. Quinn Jr. (Charleston Aviation Partners LLC), H. Lee Rohde III (Essex Aviation Group), Keith G. Swirsky (GKG Law)

A RT & DE SIGN Senior Vice President/Design Director Art Director Multimedia & Photo Manager Multimedia & Photo Coordinator Digital Art Production Manager Contributing Designer

Ken de Bie kend@robbreport.com Rufus Agbede rufusa@robbreport.com Lauren Schumacher lschumacher@robbreport.com Adam Podolski adamp@robbreport.com Kirsten Hageleit kirstenh@robbreport.com Mary Franz

Contributing Photographers

Lisa Charles Watson, Scott Williamson

C I RC U L AT ION Senior Director, Consumer Marketing Newsstand Consultant

LANA‘I BY FOUR SEASONS

PRODUC T ION Group Production Director Senior Advertising Services Manager

Enjoy a complimentary fourth night Now accepting reservations at fourseasons.com/lanai

Amy Duca Kristy Buescher

Production Manager

Karen E. Nicolas Virginia L. Pickel Eric Walden

HERE, EVERY PLACE WILL BECOME

Y O U R N E W FAV O R I T E P L A C E .

LANA‘I BY FOUR SEASONS On an island of contrasts, you’ll find a world beyond compare.

Now accepting reservations at fourseasons.com/lanai

A DV E RT ISI NG SA L E S Vice President, Associate Publisher Jewelry/East Coast International Fashion Aviation, Travel & Automotive/Western Region Marine, Southeast Travel/Caribbean & Cigars Wine, Spirits, Cigars & Aviation Watches Travel, Consumer Electronics & Grooming/East Coast Automotive & Finance Health & Wellness Real Estate (Brokerages) & Home Furnishings Real Estate (Developments) & Home Furnishings Asia India Italy Middle East Digital Sales Director Digital Account Executive Digital Sales Planner Executive Assistant Sales Coordinators

Lindsey Levine

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Sarah Ansari 212.201.1120, sansari@robbreport.com Louis Coletti 212.201.1143, louisc@robbreport.com Marion Lowry 310.589.7732, marionl@robbreport.com Jody Dunowitz 561.417.1616, jodyd@robbreport.com Brian Cash 212.230.0295, brianc@robbreport.com Earl Estep 978.264.7557, earl.estep@robbreport.com Danya Gerstein 212.230.0215, danyag@robbreport.com Joshua Stone 212.201.1124, jstone@robbreport.com Audrey Arnold 212.230.0245, audreya@robbreport.com Abbe Smith 978.264.7567, abbes@robbreport.com Steve DiNunzio 978.264.7561, steved@robbreport.com Kim Kenchington +852.288.21106, kim@mediaworksasia.com Saurabh Wig +1.647.633.8844, saurabhw@robbreport.com Daniella Angheben +39.02.7542.3737, daniella.angheben@mondadori.it Alexandra Young +971.508.545.100, alex@konexinternational.com Mark Jacobs 212.201.1116, markj@robbreport.com Marisa Silversmith 212.201.1115, msilversmith@robbreport.com Kathleen Curtis 212.230.0200, kathleenc@robbreport.com Jennifer Haykin 212.230.0238, jhaykin@robbreport.com Chelsea Aiss, Nancy Broome, Sarah Carvalho, Laura Weig

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DESIGN PORTFOLIO

A RARE BREED OF BULL 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SVJ

F

IFTY YEARS AGO, the Lamborghini Miura was launched and the supercar was born. Three 20-something visionaries—engineers Gian Paolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani and test-driver Bob Wallace— conceived a mid-engine two-seater with its V-12 turned sideways. They worked on the project after hours, on their own time, because their boss, company founder

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Ferruccio Lamborghini, wanted to produce grand tourers, not sports cars. The car’s configuration allowed Marcello Gandini, a designer with the coachbuilder Bertone, to craft a body that was perfect in proportion and size and looked unlike any of its day.

Lamborghini produced about 760 Miuras from 1966 to 1973, in three models: the P400, P400 S, and P400 SV.

IN AUGUST, THE MIURA WILL BE FEATURED AT VARIOUS EVENTS DURING MONTEREY CAR WEEK IN RECOGNITION OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE AS THE ORIGINAL— AND PERHAPS MOST BEAUTIFUL—SUPERCAR.

SCOTT WILLIAMSON/PHOTODESIGNSTUDIOS.COM

In 1970, Wallace conjured an extreme one-off called the Jota, which conformed to the FIA’s Appendix J racing class. (Jota is the Spanish name of the letter J.) Though the Jota never went into series production (the one example was sold and subsequently crashed beyond repair), Lamborghini built a handful of a Miura variant called the P400 SVJ; some sources say

the factory produced as few as six examples. The SVJ included design elements from Wallace’s prototype, as well as engine and exhaust tuning that enhanced its power. The P400 SVJ shown here, chassis number 4892, was restored in 2007 by the Bobileff Motorcar Company of San Diego and sold at auction last year for nearly $1.9 million. —ROBERT ROSS

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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DESIGN PORTFOLIO

THE NONCONFORMISTS Gemstones set in radical new ways.

T

HE LONDON-BASED jeweler Glenn Spiro (glennspiro.com) has an audacious sense of style that combines precious gemstones and diamonds with unconventional and sometimes modest artifacts. A buffalo-bone bangle (far right) that juxtaposes elephant-tail hair with thousands of orangeybrown diamonds and two rose-cut diamonds embodies

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his nonconformist ways. “There has to be some humor and humbleness in this business,” says Spiro, who in May moved his jewelry salon into the impressive Mayfair address once occupied by Norman Bishop Hartnell’s fashion house.

Each of Spiro’s one-of-a-kind designs (prices are available upon request) starts with a unique stone

GLENN SPIRO MARRIES UNEXPECTED ELEMENTS AND UNUSUAL FORMS, CREATING PRECIOUS JEWELRY THAT IS BOTH STRIKING AND WEARABLE.

LISA CHARLES WATSON, STYLING BY CHARLES W. BUMGARDNER

or series of gems, such as the 20 carats of colored diamonds set in a pair of lightweight titanium earrings (far left). His knack for the unpredictable shines through in pieces (above) that include a diamondand-wood cuff, a diamond-and-white-gold cuff with rough-cut and faceted emeralds, a brown-and-white diamond ring in a setting of brown and white titanium,

and a 24.72-carat emerald ring with diamonds.

Another of his latest designs (not pictured) boasts a rare 21-carat antique old-mine cushion-cut diamond set in blue titanium. “It would have been a hell of a lot easier to set this in a classic ring,” he says. “But it would be such a shame to put a stone like this into something you know and expect.” —JILL NEWMAN

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Brickell Flatiron, Miami’s most anticipated new condominium tower, represents luxury and elegance in the heart of the city. Located in downtown’s most desirable neighborhood, the project’s impressive ground-level amenities and luxury retail will become a new anchor in the ever-growing neighborhood, bringing new world-class entertainment to the growing vibrant area.

Built by Miami’s premier visionary developer Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group Brickell Flatiron is set to become the next true architectural icon of Miami. Known for their built-to-last approach, Colombo’s projects are revered for the inherent quality and craftsmanship, and a consistent aboveaverage resale value.

Miami’s new wave of ultra-luxury development can be attributed to an influx of art and design in the city, which attracts stylish brands. Luxury trade shows, including Art Basel, the New York Times

Luxury Summit, and Maison & Object America, chose Miami as the ultimate destination, as it is at the crossroads of North and South America with desirable access to their wealthy residents.

For Brickell Flatiron, the concept was to create a living work of art the ultimate amenity. Designed by renowned local architect Luis Revuelta and interior architect Massimo Iosa Ghini, this magnificent tower is clad completely with glass, with wide terraces and beautifully curved balconies.

The original lobby and common areas will be adorned with artwork from the legendary artist Julian Schnabel. Panoramic views of the Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline are offered from wonderfully proportioned floor plans, ranging from one to five bedrooms.

No detail of comfort has been overlooked in this masterpiece.

Residences feature high ceilings, premium Casalgrande Padana porcelain tile flooring,

and exceptional finishes and amenities.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors open onto wide elliptical balconies with glass railings. Recessed down lights illuminate the kitchen, bathrooms, and hallways. Every room in each residence has been conceived to provide the highest degree of quality using top name-brand manufacturers. The custom Italian kitchens have been designed with Snaidero cabinetry, Zucchetti faucets, Caesarstone counter tops, and Miele top-of-the-line appliances. The master bath features hand-selected, polished Italian-marble floors and accent walls, custom-designed double sinks, Zucchetti faucets and fixtures, and Italian Milldue suspended cabinetry.

At Brickell Flatiron, technology is paramount. Wi-Fi is available throughout the building and grounds, and each residence includes a private Wi-Fi network with highspeed Internet, plus an interactive digital concierge service and a media panel prewired for HD cable, phones, and computers.

The epitome of modern luxury, Brickell Flatiron was designed as a state-of-the-art, full-service building. Hospitality-inspired amenities include private concierge services, a billiards and cigar room, a wine room, a children’s play room and pool, a movie theater, and a 64th-floor rooftop sky club with a pool and a spa and fitness center offering limitless 360-degree views of Miami’s landscape.

(305) 400-7400 | BRICKELLFLATIRON.COM

Oral representat ons cannot be rel ed upon as correctly stat ng the representat ons of the developer. For correct representat ons make reference to the documents requ red by sect on 718.503 Flor da Statutes, to be furnished by a developer to a buyer or lessee. This is not intended to be an offer to sell, or solicitation to buy, condominium units to residents of any jurisdiction where prohibited by law, and your eligibility for purchase will depend upon your state of residency. Equal Housing Opportunity.

FRONT UNNERS s at know it company e its Bernard e Parisian afted bags, rk’s mall goods nts pieced

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE (TOP RIGHT): LISA CHARLES WATSON, STYLING BY CHARLES W. BUMGARDNER

signs age bag, der, $370; 750.

Cachet and Carry

W

HEN SAMUEL BAIL and Abel Samet

couldn’t find what they wanted in a weekend bag, they decided to make their own. The former financiers founded Troubadour (troubadourgoods.com) in London 5 years ago to offer pieces both functional and stylish, like this new khaki canvas-and-leather weekender ($850). “We wanted to make bags that men could take to the office and the gym or on casual weekend getaways,” says Samet. Their minimalist bags are made with vegetable-dyed Italian leather in small Tuscan workshops. —J.N.

COLOR PLAY FALL’S WARDROBE ESSENTIAL is a colorful and versatile sport coat, like this Brunello Cucinelli double breasted wool and cashmere purple jacket ($3,645, brunellocucinelli.com), shown with the Italian designer’s cashmere sweater, flannel pants, and suede sneakers. It delivers a subtle pop of color with business attire and creates an elegant silhouette with casual jeans. —J.N.

Personal Vision S

TYLE ICON Tom Ford is giving every man the chance to adopt his signature flair with the new Tom Ford Private Eyewear Collection (tomford.com), 11 sunglasses and optical frames based on Ford’s personal frames. Curated by the fashion designer himself, the collection incorporates such materials as buffalo horn and titanium, and the sunglasses have photochromic lenses.

Among the intriguing designs are black horn frames with a metal T at the temples, and a rounded aviator style (shown, $390) with a thick bridge. —J.N.

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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FRONT UNNERS

Three Fabulous Finds in Footwear Feit Club T

HE MINIMALIST SHOES made by Feit (feitdirect.com) have

garnered a cult following since 2005, when the Australian brothers Tull and Josh Price started the New York based company.

Created as an alternative to mass produced sneakers, the footwear styles are made in limited quantities and handcrafted from supple leathers that have been tanned with ingredients from bark, fruit, and other natural sources. The breathable leather helps eliminate odors, making it all the more likely that Feit shoes including these low and high top sneakers ($600 and $660, respectively) will be worn as intended: without socks. —ANUSH BENLIYAN

A True Classic T

RADITION REMAINS AT the heart of Bettanin & Venturi 1856 (bettanin shoes.com), an Italian brand founded in its namesake year. The company recently revitalized by a capital infusion is no longer owned by the Bettanins, but family members are still very much involved, and their focus on artisanship continues. Take, for example, the company’s latest classically designed, hand welted men’s shoes, which are made in its Verona atelier. Distinguishing each shoe are such timeless details as the oak bark tanned sole and the unique patina on this calf leather brogued oxford (about $1,015), a style that can also be made to order in a range of Italian leathers from suede to scotch grain. —A.B.

Enduring Soles R

EINTERPRETING SHOE STYLES of the 1920s and ’50s, O’Keeffe

(okeeffe shoes.com) offers fresh men’s footwear that is the brainchild of owner Maud O’Keeffe. The London based shoemaker, who founded the company in 2011, prioritizes the longevity of the shoe and the comfort of the wearer, ensuring that each handmade pair features a patented Goodyear construction and a lovingly worn look and feel. These washed leather hiking boots ($1,035; available at Mr. Porter, mrporter.com) take after ski boots O’Keeffe’s great grandfather wore and require 6 weeks to make at the company’s workshop in Le Marche, Italy. —A.B.

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Heavy Metal

SM

844.LUX.CARD | luxurycard.com

Luxury Card marks are property of Black Card LLC. BLACKCARD is a registered trademark used under license. Luxury Card products are issued by Barclays Bank Delaware.

MasterCard and the MasterCard logo are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated.

FRONT UNNERS

REFINED DESIGNS

Fit and Trim

A

LTHOUGH THE SKELETONIZED tourbillon is a much more

common sight now than it was a few years ago, outstanding examples like the new Arnold & Son UTTE Skeleton watch ($76,750, arnoldandson.com) still manage to generate excitement. The elegantly thin timepiece from the centuries-old English watchmaker has just the right measure of modern flair. The unusual, arcing arms of the tourbillon cage and architectural bridgework make for an eye-catching contrast with the radiating sunray-stripe finishing on the plates. The movement is a close, whittled-down version of the classical UTTE flying-tourbillon movement that was released in 2013. The main plate, barrel, and tourbillon bridges required a redesign, but the overall thickness of the watch remains a svelte 8.34 mm. —JAMES D. MALCOLMSON

The elegantly thin UTTE Skeleton watch from Arnold & Son.

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ROBB REP ORT.COM | AUGUST 2016

LISA C HA RL ES WATSO N, STY L ING BY CH A RL ES W. B U MG AR D NE R

SUPER MODEL

OUR FAMILY SECRET IS THE NAME ON THE BOTTLE 5000 Champagne Producers

24 Champagne Houses that are considered Grand Marques

10 Grand Marques that have been producing Champagne for over 100 years

1

Grand Marque that is owned and run by the namesake Father, Son and Daughter Team

Š2016 Kobrand Corporation, Purchase, NY www.kobrandwineandspirits.com

Clovis, Vitalie and Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger

FRONT UNNERS

Ritzy Business T

HE STORIED PARISIAN jewelry house founded in the 1940s by

the Russian born gem dealer Alexandre Reza has opened a salon in the newly renovated Ritz Paris hotel on Place Vendôme.

Reza at the Ritz (alexandrereza.com) is just a few doors away from the brand’s original private salon at 21 Place Vendôme, which is known for dressing royals and other elites in lavish ruby, emerald, and sapphire jewels. Both shops offer new one of a kind designs by Alexandre’s son, Olivier Reza, whose work reflects a bold, streamlined sensibility. —JILL NEWMAN

HIDDEN CHARMS IN HIS FIRST COLLECTION, which debuted last year, Parisian designer Elie Top (elietop.com; available at Dover Street Market New York, doverstreetmarket.com) combines old world artisanship and 3 D technology. Inspired in part by astrological clocks from the 17th and 18th centuries, the Mécaniques Célestes collection’s 22 pieces feature rotating disks that reveal previously hidden elements, such as the central diamond studded globe in the gold and silver ring shown below ($13,145). —CAROLYN MEERS

M

AHNAZ ISPAHANI BARTOS, once active as an expert in foreign

affairs, now specializes in gems, and her Mahnaz Collection (mahnazcollection.com; available at Barneys New York, barneys .com) is a premier source of jewelry from the 1960s and ’70s— eras that are clear influencers in today’s more fluid fashion styles. “These are vintage pieces with a contemporary relevance,” she says. Her meticulously curated collection includes (above, from top left) this 1970s Boucheron cuff and necklace in 18-karat gold ($29,000 and $35,000, respectively) and Andrew Grima’s ’60s amethyst-and-diamond ring, also in 18-karat gold ($18,000). —J.N.

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R I GH T: LISA C HA RL ES WATSO N, STY L ING BY CH A RL ES W. B UM G AR D NER

Golden Age

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Let us prepare the water, sun and sky for your arrival.

Let us help you remember what it feels like to be sunkissed.

Let us unroll your yoga mat at the sea’s edge.

Let us remind you what it means to relax.

3FDPOOFDU m 5IF JEFBM QBDLBHF UP DSFBUF GPOE NFNPSJFT GPS UIF entire family. Includes breakfast for two and up to a $100 daily resort credit. For reservations, contact your travel professional, call The Ritz-Carlton at 800-241-3333 or visit ritzcarlton.com/aruba.

Offer valid through October 31, 2016, subject to availability. Rate is per room/per night, based on single or double occupancy, exclusive of taxes, gratuities, fees and charges, does not apply to groups; cannot be combined with any other offer and is not applicable for Rewards redemption. Advanced reservations are required. No refund or credit for unused portion. Void where prohibited. Credit is applied per night, has no cash value and is not valid on room rate, alcohol or third party services. ©2016 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.

FRONT UNNERS

MAGNIFICENT MACHINES

In Your Own Snakeskin

“I

T’S LIGHTNING MCQUEEN!” a young

boy squealed when the Dodge Viper GTC (dodge.com) pulled around the corner and into view. Maybe he was responding to the car’s color: Go Mango, a vibrant red-orange that first appeared on the 1970 Dodge Challenger. It’s one of 32,000 hues now available with the GTC and track-tuned ACR models. Those choices factor into what Dodge says are more than 50 million possible build configurations in its “1 of 1” customization program for the Viper. To underscore that the car is one of a kind, each GTC and ACR comes with a dashboard plaque inscribed with the owner’s name.

With its long-and-low silhouette and 8.4-liter V-10 churning out 645 hp and 600 ft lbs of torque, this fifth-generation Viper is as brassy as its predecessors. The unyielding sport

suspension and stiff clutch pedal may make city driving a chore, but on a track—such as the ones at the Bondurant Racing School in Chandler, Ariz., where each new Viper owner receives a complimentary day of training (see “Learning the ABCs of SRTs,” page 54)—the car rockets down the straights and remains stuck to the asphalt as it rounds the corners. The Viper GTC has a starting price of just under $96,000. —LAURA BURSTEIN

A SINGLE BITE Fine-tuned customization of the Dodge Viper GTC ensures each car is one of a kind.

RI CH AR D PR I NCE

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ROBB REP ORT.COM | AUGUST 2016

Ring: 17.83ct Cushion Blue Sapphire Ring with 2 half-moon side diamonds weighing 2.48cts, set in platinum.

“JEWELS

THIS SPECIAL COULD ONLY COME FROM

B E V E R L Y

H I L L S

•

N E W

Y O R K

•

B E R G D O R F

Martin Kat z .”

G O O D M A N

FRONT UNNERS

A Longer Line

A

T 138 FEET long, the Custom Line Navetta 42

(customline-yacht.com) will be the largest model from the Ferretti Group’s brand of semicustom, semidisplacement yachts. The first example is scheduled to be completed in 2018. The yacht is shown here in a rendering with the 121-foot Navetta 37. The interior of the four-deck Navetta 42 is customizable, but the basic layout includes a spacious owner’s suite on the main deck and four or five guest suites on the lower deck. The beach club at the stern won’t have to double as a garage entrance and exit: Water toys will be launched and retrieved through an opening in the side of the hull.

The yacht’s starting price is available upon request. —LARRY BEAN

Dine, Recline, and Fly A

COCKPIT REDESIGN OF the popular Blue Ice 38 V powerboat (blueice

boats.it) has made the space more comfortable and more versatile.

The seatbacks of the stern-facing sofa and chaise longue—located behind the helm station—are now equipped with sunshades, and when the cockpit’s six-person dining table retracts toward the deck, the seating area converts into a sun pad. Blue Ice, which is a brand of Italy’s Sea Engineering Group, has also raised the below-deck ceiling, adding more headroom to the two bedrooms and the bathroom. The 38 V’s two 300 hp Volvo Penta engines enable a top speed of 40 knots. The boat is priced at around $324,000. —L.B.

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VICEM’S LATEST LAUNCH WITH AN 18.5-FOOT BEAM, the new Turkish-built Vicem 65 Flybridge (vicemyachts.net) is spacious enough to offer owners a variety of layout options. The first example, which debuted in March at the Palm Beach International Boat Show, includes a galley and office space on the main deck and three cabins below deck.

Space that could have been a crew room is a child’s bedroom connected to the owner’s cabin. The 65 Flybridge is made primarily of African and South American mahogany. It has a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles at 10 knots and 350 nautical miles at its cruising speed of 22 knots.

The 65 Flybridge’s starting price is around $2.75 million. —L.B.

FRONT UNNERS

GRAND OPENING

Bathing Beauty

A

MAN’S LATEST TEMPLE of luxury lies within

the dense woodlands of Japan’s Ise-Shima National Park, on a windswept bluff overlooking the tranquil Ago Bay. Amanemu (aman.com), which was designed by longtime Aman collaborator Kerry Hill Architects, complements its surroundings with a soothing palette of dark basalt stone and pale hinoki cypress wood. The resort’s 28 accommodations are connected to the park’s natural thermal springs, whose mineral-rich water feeds the in-room onsen baths.

Native therapy is also on tap at the Aman Spa—where a

watsu pool and two onsen pavilions also draw from the springs—and at the izakaya-style restaurant serving local lobster and luscious cuts of sashimi with sake, shochu, and Japanese whisky. —DAVEN WU

NACASA & PARTNE R S IN C.

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AVAILABLE AT LANDSENDSPORT.COM - FOLLOW US

FRONT UNNERS

GRA ND OPE NING

By the Book

WINNING WAYS

I

N AMSTERDAM, every canal house has a story. At the Pulitzer Amsterdam

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—JACKIE CARADONIO

SANDER BAKS

(pulitzeramsterdam.com), more than two dozen historic structures tell the tale of four centuries along the city’s fabled waterways. Reopened this month after a 16 month renovation, the hotel a maze of 17th and 18th century houses along the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals remains rooted in history, from its lobby adorned with antique oil paintings to its Dutch restaurant accessed through an old apothecary shop.

Each of the 225 guest rooms is unique, blending such original elements as wood beams and marble floors with contemporary furnishings and textiles. For guests in search of a good story, the Book Collector’s Suite (shown) includes its own private entrance from the canal side walkway, a library stocked with vintage books, and plenty of nooks for enjoying a few selections. —PEGGY SIJSWERDA

The on-demand jet charter service Victor (flyvictor .com) is taking passengers beyond the runway with a series of new bespoke journeys across the globe.

Launched in October, the company’s Art of Curated Travel program first brought travelers to Havana with the outfitters Cuba Educational Travel, for insider experiences such as cigar and rum tastings with local experts.

Victor has since taken travelers to Miami Beach’s Scope Art Show for a series of VIP events and private showings with featured artists, and partnered with Elk Mountain Expeditions, which offers whitewaterrafting and fly-fishing outings on Aspen’s Roaring Fork River. This November, the company will take passengers to Abu Dhabi and the Maldives via private jet and Etihad Airways’ exclusive residences for a high-flying winter getaway.

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FRONT UNNERS

Three in the Bush

New exclusive-use villas make for sound choices on a South African safari.

HOME GAME ❖ In May, Kruger National

Park’s longtime standard-bearer Singita Lebombo (singita.com) debuted a four-bedroom villa (shown) with three swimming pools, a private boma, and “star beds” for adventurous overnights.

Guests of the villa—which is also available as separate two-bedroom suites—explore the 33,000-acre Lebombo wildlife concession with their own private tracker, guide, and Land Rover.

GARDEN VARIETY ❖ The 27,000-acre

Gondwana Game Reserve (gondwanagr .co.za), located near the Garden Route’s rugged coastline, recently launched Ulubisi House (shown), a three-bedroom villa adorned with handcrafted indigenous wood furniture and contemporary African art. Named after the black harrier that hunts in the surrounding grasslands, the accommodation serves as an extravagant home base for Big Five safaris, as well as fishing, biking, and hiking excursions.

Singita Lebombo

ON RESERVE ❖ Opened in January,

Gondwana Game Reserve

DARE TO DREAM

Commercial airlines fly in the face of jet lag.

ROBB REP ORT.COM | AUGUST 2016

Classic tricks for avoiding jet lag—from vitamin C to decidedly stronger substances—rarely work as planned.

But there’s new hope for time-zone-traversing travelers, as commercial airlines roll out new cabins to help you deplane rested and refueled. Qatar Airways (qatar.com) claims that its new A350 XWB aircraft diminishes jet lag with a host of technological advances, including pressurization that mimics lower elevations and LED lights that help adjust passengers’ sleep–wake cycles. Emirates (emirates.com) is betting on comfort to beat the lag with its new business-class seats, which will debut this November with features like personal minibars, 23-inch TVs, and lie-flat leather seats. (Emirates will also reportedly launch fully enclosed first-class suites next year.) In May, Virgin Australia (virginaustralia.com) redesigned its international business class to offer private suites with 80-inch lie-flat seats and turndown service. Still can’t sleep? Seek out an old, if not entirely reliable, remedy at the new business-class cabin’s bar and lounge. —J.C.

B OT TO M : M IKE R OSE

48

Mhondoro Game Lodge’s (mhondoro .com) new three-bedroom villa ensures plenty of pampering with a heated pool, a private gym and yoga room, and a staff that includes a butler, a chef, and a personal ranger. The residence is located within Limpopo province’s 86,000-acre Welgevonden Game Reserve, home to white rhinos, cheetahs, and more.

—JANE BROUGHTON

Get lost and be found For the traveler in pursuit of an extraordinary all-inclusive luxury experience, we introduce The Brando. A culturally authentic getaway and world-class example of biodiversity and sustainable hospitality on Tetiaroa,

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FRONT UNNERS CELLAR NOTES

Oregon Oeuvre PRESTIGIOUS EUROPEAN

houses have expanded their folios to include projects in New World that express their ophies in different soils. dot, established in 1859, now ent brands with the launch of st non-Burgundian venture. tinguished not only by the that Louis Jadot acquired in outed Willamette Valley but at legendary oenologist came out of retirement to on. The first example of his ce 2013 Pinot Noir Résonance obrandwineandspirits.com) sses the terroir of the 32-acre l Carlton AVA from which the uring that vintage, these vines ose glittering garnet color prelude to its deep notes of ripe berry, and currant, which are tional hints of mushroom, nd earth. —BRETT ANDERSON

Family Jewel

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CORDERO STUDIOS/CORDEROSTUDIOS.COM

California wine industry t those seeking to make a viticulture start with a large wart, a Texas entrepreneur, irement before arriving in he return on his vinous been anything but small: brought him closer to his has risen as president, and ne, who is the associate eover, Stewart’s commitment lity wines won him the logist Paul Hobbs, as well as a es from celebrated grower r’s Las Piedras Vineyard. Their the Stewart Cellars 2013 t Sauvignon ($175, m), a richly extracted but blackberry, dark chocolate, n, anise, and oak. —B.A.

FRONT UNNERS

Mezcal’s Masters F

OR THOSE WHO love fine mezcal, sampling micro-batch versions of this Mexican spirit typically means a trip to Oaxaca’s La Mezcaloteca. Founded 6 years ago by Silvia Philion and Marco Ochoa, this inviting bar presents more than 100 mezcals, all from producers that make batches as small as 100 liters or even less. Now Mezcalosfera by Mezcaloteca ($160, mezcaloteca.com), a series of limited-edition bottlings by La Mezcaloteca, brings a selection of those elusive spirits to the States. The initial release is a blend of Tobalá and Madrecuixe agaves from maestro mezcalero Felipe Cortés, whose family has been making the spirit for three generations. Aficionados who miss out on this first edition, which consists of only 220 liters, will have to wait for the next release, which will be entirely different. —S. IRENE VIRBILA

ROOTS OF LUXURY This fall, three New York City restaurants will bring a touch of opulence to the garden patch.

Agern (agernrestaurant.com), the first U.S. outpost from Noma pioneer Claus Meyer, offers a seven-course Field & Forest menu of meatless marvels.

Executive chef Gunnar Gíslason maximizes flavors in such dishes as beets baked in a salt crust accompanied by vegetables carbonized to ash, and pickled, fermented, and raw beets garnished with huckleberries and horseradish.

M

ICHAEL TUSK, the talented chef and owner of Quince in San Francisco, has created a new farmer’s-market tasting menu, which in turn inspired a Friday-morning market in front of the restaurant and a subscription program that offers boxes of produce to the public. Earlier this year, the Michelin two-star chef agreed to buy nearly all of the production of Fresh Run Farm in Bolinas, a grower Tusk has worked with since his days at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. In exchange, the farm is raising about 40 crops specifically chosen by Tusk, including nine varieties of potato, Stupice tomatoes, and fraises des bois. The Quince farmer’s-market menu ($165, quincerestaurant.com), served Monday through Thursday, has “a sense of immediacy,” says the chef, and entices diners with such dishes as wild-nettle agnolotti with Paine farm squab, porcini mushrooms, and summer savory. —MICHALENE BUSICO

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Finally, Dan Kluger, who made his name with vegetable-centric cooking at ABC Kitchen and ABC Cocina, is opening a new restaurant that will feature a wood-burning grill to make the most of late-summer corn and first-of-fall red peppers. —REGINA SCHRAMBLING

TOP: CORDERO STUDIOS/CORDEROSTUDIOS.COM; LEFT: MEG SMITH

Buying the Farm

Recently opened Günter Seeger NY (gunterseegerny.com)—the creation of its eponymous owner, the Germanborn, Atlanta-based chef—amplifies its farmer’s-market-to-table approach through New York’s green-market network. Early menus featured pickled green strawberries in a butter-lettuce salad and porcini as a meat substitute; fall will bring an overflowing cornucopia.

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GALLERY

DRIFTING ON A DESERT TRACK || BEETLE WINGS BEDAZZLED || PARIS BRASSERIES & MORE

Learning the ABCs of SRTs DRIVING LESSONS AT THE BONDURANT RACING SCHOOL COME STANDARD WITH A NEW VIPER OR HELLCAT.

F

ROM THE PASSENGER seat, my instructor barked, “Steer harder!” Too late: Our Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat spun a 180 on the tarmac at the Bondurant Racing School in Chandler, Ariz. The car was equipped with a device that looked like training wheels and enabled the instructor, with the push of a button, to make the tail end lose traction and slide across the road surface. When he did that, I was supposed to steer and counter-steer to set the car straight. On the next try I got it right. The Charger swerved and squealed and wobbled, but I regained control of it and drove on.

Y

Y

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RICHARD PRINCE

In addition to receiving driving lessons at th Bondurant school, Dodge SRT Experience participants can ride shotgun in a Viper while an instructor completes high-speed laps on the facility’s

GALLERY AUTOS

This exacting car-control exercise is part of the Dodge SRT Experience, a complimentary 1-day driving program that comes with the purchase or lease of one of Dodge’s performance-oriented SRT models, including the 707 hp Challenger and Charger Hellcats and the 645 hp Viper.

Legendary racer Bob Bondurant, now 83, has been teaching people how to drive highperformance cars for nearly 50 years. He opened his first school in 1968, a year after a crash ended his racing career. Among his first students were Paul Newman and Robert Wagner, whom he trained for their roles as racecar drivers in the 1969 film Winning. The SRT Experience serves as more of a sampler of the Bondurant curriculum than a thorough training session, especially when as many as 50 participants are rotating through the skid and accidentavoidance drills and road-course and racetrack driving lessons.

On the facility’s 15-turn, 1.6-mile main racetrack, instructors use a lead-and-follow method to teach the proper driving line, when to brake, and when to accelerate.

“This is the way Bob has been doing it for 25 years,” one of our instructors said. Participants can spend a short time driving each of the SRT models on the track. In the

Challenger I began gingerly, but after a few turns I was confident enough to grab the Hellcat by the scruff of the neck and push it hard around the corners. The Charger Hellcat has the same 707 hp engine as the Challenger Hellcat, but its longer wheelbase made it feel more stable on the track.

Neither car handled as well as the Dodge Viper, a purebred racing machine that hugged every curve.

Track-experienced owners of new SRTs

may want more than the Experience offers.

These drivers can use a $1,000 credit from Dodge toward one of the school’s other high-performance driving or road-racing programs. Classes have student-to-teacher ratios no greater than 3-to-1 and range in duration from 1 to 4 days. Prices range from $1,225 to $7,999. —LAURA BURSTEIN Bondurant Racing School, bondurant.com; Dodge SRT, drivesrt.com

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

55

GALLERY WATCHES ❖ Geoffrey Roth’s HH5—shown with a titanium-coated Damascus-steel case, $12,350—features an 18-karat red-gold dial with Super-LumiNova details.

❖

Isolated Systems

GEOFFREY ROTH ESTABLISHES AN OUTPOST OF INDEPENDENT HOROLOGY IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST.

A

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my second order,” Roth recalls, “I learned they hadn’t done anything.” The would-be watchmaker—whose love for timepieces flourished during his many years as a jewelry buyer at the annual Baselworld fair— was learning the bitter realities that confront outsiders dealing with that insular

Geoffrey Roth Watch Engineering, 480.423.3848, gr-we.com

CHRIS LOOMIS

FTER SPENDING NEARLY 2.5 years sourcing parts in Switzerland to build his first watch, Geoffrey Roth—owner of his namesake watchmaking company based in Scottsdale, Ariz.—had reached his limit. “When I called the casemaker 7 months after placing

community. But unlike many other aspirants, Roth did not let Swiss indifference end his dream. Instead, he bought a computerized machining device and began making whatever parts he could himself.

Today, Roth is a part of the small but resurgent U.S. watch-manufacturing industry, which all but died after World War II. Roth does not yet make his own movements—he is still working from his original purchase of 500 ETA 2892 automatics—but he has added his own touch to virtually everything else in his four current models, which will eventually be joined by a fifth: a diving watch. These pieces express Roth’s own aesthetic sense and are informed by his partiality to sculpture, engineering, and flowing shapes and vivid colors. “My philosophy became not only to make everything we possibly can in my studio,” he explains, “but to source the material as well.”

His distance from the world’s major watchcomponent suppliers has forced Roth to be resourceful. After much searching, he found a company in Utah that built a device to put mounting feet on his dials, a crucial step to calibrate his decoration machines. When suitable tools were unavailable, he had to create his own polishing laps to finish the concave surface of his casebacks. His soonto-be-released diving watch was pressure tested in a chamber he constructed himself.

Thanks to his meticulous construction, the watch, he claims, has survived pressures equal to a depth of over 8,200 feet.

While being located outside of Switzerland imposes substantial technical challenges, this circumstance also lends an independent spirit to Roth’s designs. “This isn’t conventional Swiss watchmaking,” he says, “because what I do comes naturally. I just woke up one day, decided to design my own watch, and picked up a draftsman’s pen.”

—JAMES D. MALCOLMSON

GALLERY JEWELRY

❖ Sapphires, tsavorites, and amethysts punctuate a bangle made from scarab wing cases ($3,700).

Below: A ring with baroque pearls and diamonds ($18,800).

❖

Beetle Mania

AMSTERDAM’S BIBI VAN DER VELDEN MAY SOON HAVE MORE FANS STATESIDE.

F

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work made its U.S. debut in 2014 at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City, and her designs are now on offer at stores including Forty Five Ten in Dallas. Shoppers might discover such striking pieces as a finely detailed snake-with-pearl bracelet carved out of a 40,000-year-old mammoth-ivory tusk, or sliced-quartz earrings that evoke jellyfish.

“What I find interesting about jewelry,”

Bibi van der Velden, bibivandervelden .com; available at Forty Five Ten, fortyfiveten.com

RAY STOFBERG

OR BIBI VAN DER VELDEN, jewelry clearly is much more than just precious metals and gemstones. During her frequent travels, the innovative sculptor and jeweler searches for the unlikely elements that define her imaginative pieces. Take, for instance, the collection that she recently created using the wing cases of scarab beetles. “The natural iridescence and colors of the wings could never be re-created outside of nature,” says van der Velden. She cast the delicate sheaths in gold or sterling silver and embellished the pieces—rings, necklaces, earrings—with a sprinkling of colorful gemstones.

Since launching her eponymous brand 11 years ago, van der Velden has been a wellkept secret among the mostly European connoisseurs who collect her designs, but the Amsterdam-based artist is fast becoming more widely known in the States. Her

says van der Velden, “is that it doesn’t necessarily need a body, an arm, or a finger to come alive. It is something which exists in and of itself.”

Van der Velden was born in 1980 in New York and raised in London and the Netherlands. She studied sculpture at the Florence Academy of Art, the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, and the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague, and in 2005 she opened the BibiMichèle art gallery in Amsterdam with her mother, sculptor Michèle Deiters. Today, in addition to making sculpture and jewelry (with prices that range from $1,000 to upwards of $20,000), van der Velden travels the globe as an ambassador for Solidaridad, an organization that promotes fair and sustainable business practices. In 2013 she trekked through the Peruvian rain forest to survey mines there. Such trips are not only part of her ethos as a jeweler but also a source of ideas. “It’s amazing,” she says, “the things that nature is able to create.”

—PAIGE REDDINGER

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H Y T WATC H E S .CO M

GALLERY TRAVEL

❖ Part of a collection that includes villas in the Caribbean and Canada, Château de Môh opened in January after a 7-year restoration.

❖

A Leisurely Loire

THE NEWLY RESTORED CHÂTEAU DE MÔH CAPTURES THE LANGUOROUS LUXURY OF THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE.

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uninhabited when the French hoteliers Monique and Didier Pignet stumbled upon it nearly a decade ago while visiting friends in the Loire Valley. The couple was headed toward retirement, a plan that the château soon put on hold. “What are we going to do with a castle?” Monique recalls asking her husband, though she concedes that she fell hard for the “soul” of the place. The Pignets also felt an immediate connection with its caretaker, Francis Katchatouroff, a talented ceramist and the son of the former owner.

And so in 2009 they purchased the château and embarked on a 7-year restoration that involved more than 100 local artisans.

Completed this year, Château de Môh is the newest property in the Pignets’ collection of private rentals throughout the

Château de Môh, +33.2.47.58.88.88, chateaudecandes.net

HADRIEN BRUNNER

T IS LUNCHTIME on a bitterly cold January day when I arrive at Château de Môh. Within moments of pulling up to the estate—a restored 15thcentury castle overlooking the confluence of the Vienne and Loire Rivers in the village of Candes-Saint-Martin—I am sitting at a long farmhouse table next to a roaring fire.

A French still life lies before me: local cheeses, a crusty loaf of bread, a salad from the château’s vegetable garden, and a bottle of Cabernet Franc from a nearby vineyard. It is as though this castle, with its old wooden beams and weathered stone walls, is a country idyll created just for me—and that is precisely the point.

The former summer residence of the bishops of Tours, Château de Môh was

French-speaking world, which includes 15 villas on the Caribbean island of St. Barts and six chalets in the snowy woods of Quebec’s Charlevoix region. Unique among the group, the château consists of the sevensuite castle, a tower for private dining experiences, a pool house and spa, a venue for weddings and other events, and 11 apartments, houses, and suites adjacent to the castle. The estate—which is available either as a buyout or as outbuilding rentals for two to six people—is still overseen by Katchatouroff, whose attachment runs deep. “I love this château because it exists on a human scale,” he says.

The property’s intimate scale owes in part to Monique, who led the interior design herself, filling the castle with contemporary amenities and art installations that live harmoniously alongside centuries-old elements. Her design also embraces the outdoors, with large windows that look out to the storybook landscape. “The castle is like a big tree holding onto the village and river below,” she says.

A hub of activity from May through September, this part of the Loire Valley is home to several of the grand French castles, including Château de Chinon, Château de Saumur, and Château de Montsoreau, which reopened this April as a contemporary-art museum. Guests can also visit Michelinstarred restaurants and antiques fairs in local villages and sample vintages at estates such as Domaine de la Paleine, which hosts sublime wine-tasting floats down the Loire River. Whatever the activity, the Pignets hope to offer an experience that is both luxurious and simple, capturing the essence of the Loire Valley—and the hearts of their guests. —DANA CHILDERS

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GALLERY DINING ❖ At Champeaux, Alain Ducasse (right) and chef Bruno Brangea lighten the menu with savory and sweet soufflés.

❖

Bolder Brasseries IN THE HANDS OF TOP CHEFS IN PARIS, A CULINARY TRADITION RISES AGAIN.

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other, both by design and by chance,” says Ducasse of his loftlike new space. “Brasseries are different from regular restaurants because they serve nonstop and, in the best Gallic tradition, make good food widely available to all pocketbooks.”

Brasseries were invented in Paris during the 19th century to serve a new class of restaurant-goer created by industrialization and rail travel. Some of the first—notably Bofinger, which opened in 1864—are still serving today. But brasseries really took off after 1870, when the Franco-Prussian War brought Alsatians and their culinary traditions to the French capital. Choucroute garnie (sauerkraut garnished with sausages and cuts of pork) became a staple on brasserie menus, which also featured oysters shucked at stands out front and simple dishes

Champeaux, restaurant-champeaux.com; Lazare, lazare-paris.fr; Le Mini Palais, minipalais.com; L’Étoile du Nord, thierrymarx.com

PIERRE MONETTA

FTER 150 YEARS as a fixture in the Parisian culinary landscape, brasseries are joining the ranks of the city’s most exciting restaurants.

Eric Frechon, who holds three Michelin stars at Epicure at Le Bristol Paris, started the trend in 2011, when he revived Le Mini Palais, a beautiful brasserie inside the Grand Palais. Most recently, the gastronomic titan Alain Ducasse cut the ribbon at Champeaux, a striking new brasserie in the Forum des Halles; and this fall, Thierry Marx, who helms the Michelin two-star Sur Mesure in the Mandarin Oriental, will unveil his brasserie at the Gare du Nord train station.

“I wanted to do a contemporary brasserie that would serve a diverse clientele, everyone from the big boss to his secretary, and to create a place where people meet each

such as roast chicken and steak tartare.

To modernize the food, Ducasse created a set of savory and sweet soufflés as the centerpiece of his menu. Their lightness conveys the move to healthier eating in France, as do many of his other dishes, including a salad of raw and cooked vegetables with herbal pesto. Champeaux, which was designed by the architectural collective Ciguë, also offers heartier fare— but the menu’s carefully calculated modernity says a lot about contemporary French cooking, and the same is true at Frechon’s two brasseries.

At Frechon’s newest—Lazare, in the busy Gare Saint-Lazare train station—the plat du jour ranges from quenelles in crayfish sauce to an irresistible saucisse de Toulouse served with gravy-lashed potato puree.

Other standouts include shrimp-andvegetable beignets with ginger-coriander ketchup and a sublime baked-to-order apple tart. Frechon’s other brasserie, Le Mini Palais, draws a stylish crowd with witty decor

by Patrick Gilles and Dorothée Boissier and contemporary dishes such as watercress soup with smoked-herring foam. “The brasserie,” Frechon declares, “makes as much sense today as it did when it was first invented.”

Count Marx among those who agree: His brasserie L’Étoile du Nord is designed to feed 600 people a day. —ALEXANDER LOBRANO

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GALLERY GOLF

The Loving Touch HILTON HEAD’S ORIGINAL COURSE COMES BACK TO LIFE IN THE HANDS OF LOCAL BROTHERS.

T

HE OCEAN COURSE at the Sea Pines Resort opened in 1962 as the first golf course on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island. Today, the 42-square-mile barrier island is home to more than 30 courses, several of which now overshadow the original design by George Cobb. Among the more prominent layouts are the Ocean Course’s younger siblings at Sea Pines—Heron Point, a Pete Dye design built in 2007, and Harbour Town Golf Links, a Dye course from 1967 that hosts the PGA Tour’s annual RBC Heritage tournament.

Both of the Dye designs have benefited from significant investment in recent years, part of a multimillion-dollar transformation of

Sea Pines that will soon conclude by going back to where it all started.

Set on the southernmost tip of Hilton Head, the 5,200-acre Sea Pines Resort comprises four neighborhoods with distinct dining, shopping, and entertainment options. Competition from other nearby golf resorts—namely Kiawah Island, just south of Charleston, S.C., and Sea Island in southeastern Georgia—prompted Sea Pines to embark on a renovation that, to date, has included the additions of a beach club; a 23,000-square-foot clubhouse for the freshly redesigned Heron Point; and, last year, a 44,000-square-foot clubhouse for Harbour Town. Later this year, the resort will cap off

its upgrades by unveiling an all-new Ocean Course created by Love Golf Design, a local firm run by Mark Love and his brother, Davis Love III, who won the RBC Heritage tournament five times during his PGA Tour career.

According to Mark, the new Ocean Course will be a more forgiving resort-style course, with expanded landing areas and elevated edges of play on either side of the fairway.

“It’s not nearly as intimidating for the average player,” he says.

“In our design, we want to bring an ocean feel back to the course,” adds Davis, who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour.

“You only see the Atlantic once, but the course needs a style and look that lets you know you are at the beach.”

The Love brothers have good reason for wanting to emphasize the course’s coastal connection: The 15th hole—a 210-yard par 3 that plays right to the edge of the beach—is one of only two holes on all of Hilton Head with an Atlantic-front green.

Being first, it seems, has its advantages.

—SHAUN TOLSON The Sea Pines Resort, seapines.com

❖ Highlights of Sea Pines’ transformation include a new 44,000-square-foot clubhouse at the famed Harbour Town Golf Links.

❖

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P R O M O T I O N

Of

Note From David Arnold

Executive Vice President/Group Publisher of Robb Report

FOUR SEASONS RESORT LANA‘I fourseasons.com/lanai | 800.321.4666 A brand-new resort experience that comes with its very own island: Where to begin? Start in the highlands, under the canopy of Cook pines, as you explore the island on horseback.

Try an off-roading tour on one of the resort’s state-of-the-art UTVs. Take to the freshly manicured fairways of our Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course or let NOBU LANA‘I entice you with exceptional dining. This is Lana‘i by Four Seasons, a Lana‘i beyond your expectations.

SUNSEEKER sunseeker.com Launching this fall at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Sunseeker’s new Manhattan 52 redefines space, light, and sociability. A redesigned hull incorporates expanses of curved glass to emphasize its sleek lines and maximize light throughout. Space flows from the roomy bow seating and sunbathing deck to the open cockpit and upper aft galley, raising the bar for smaller flybridge motoryachts. Capably governed by powerful Volvo Penta engines, it cruises at 24 knots (31 knots at full throttle) with a 250-nautical-mile range that gives plenty of scope for adventure.

PUERTO RICO TOURISM COMPANY seepuertorico.com Puerto Rico’s Luxury Paradise Is Waiting for You The All-Star Island’s luxury offerings combine the best of all worlds: breathtaking natural beauty, five-star services and amenities that care for your every need, and many world-class attractions ready for you to explore. Come to Puerto Rico and start enjoying our award-winning beaches, historic and unique sites in Old San Juan, over 20 world-class golf courses, and unique dining experiences with renowned chefs. Book your trip today at seepuertorico.com to start enjoying the All-Star Island’s luxury offerings.

The second-generation Audi R8 V10 Plus strikes the right notes on the Blue Ridge Mountain roads and the Daytona racetrack.

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S H A U N

T O L S O N

“MY HEART

Y HEART!”

Vince Neil shrieked as the new Audi R8 V10 Plus de, nhe ne R en nd ga

JIM FETS

ive th

FINELY TUNED MACHINE

The R8 V10 Plus can sprint from zero to 60 mph

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of the second-generation R8. It went on sale in April for a starting price of $190,000. The car’s mid-mounted naturally aspirated V-10 produces 610 hp, which is 60 hp more than the previous version. The base-model R8 is also powered by a V-10, which produces 540 hp; that car’s starting price is $163,000. (Audi has discontinued the V-8 variants of the R8.)

By using carbon fiber for the firewall and some of the external body elements, such as the splitter and rear wing, Audi has made the new V10 Plus as much as 15 percent lighter than the last version. It can sprint from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, according to Audi, and

JIM FETS

No need to kick-start my heart, though, not when I was behind the wheel of Audi’s fastest and most powerful production model. When the road became curvy, the Quattro all-wheel drive kept the car glued to the asphalt through the turns, and the S-tronic transmission, which shifts gears in less than a 10th of a second in dynamic mode, enabled assertive downshifting into— and aggressive acceleration out of—the corners. The stiffened steel-spring suspension produced sharp, precise cornering, while the racing-shell seat kept me snug and surprisingly comfortable.

The latest R8 V10 Plus is the high-performance version

The cockpit now includes digital instrument clusters on the dash and a control button on the steering wheel for setting the driving mode.

in 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 205 mph. reach a top speed of 205 mph. In addition, the new car is more rigid than its predecessor, enhancing agility and responsiveness when it’s pushed to its limits.

Audi also made improvements to the cockpit, introducing digital instrument clusters to the dash and placing four control buttons on the steering wheel, including the one for selecting the car’s driving mode and the one for engaging the sport exhaust.

The exterior changes are subtle. “In the old car, there was a hint of an angle here,” said Alwyn Watkins, project manager for Audi’s modular sports-car system, pointing to where the front quarter panels connect to a wider,

lower, and more angular grille. “Now it’s nice and sharp; it’s a crisper design.” The V10 Plus is visually distinguished from the base R8 primarily by the fixed rear wing. On the R8, the rear spoiler extends automatically when the car reaches 75 mph.

Watkins was speaking at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., where the drive began. It ended at the Primland resort in Meadows of Dan, Va. The road trip was followed by a day of driving at the Daytona International Speedway (see “Closely Related to the Racecar,” page 72).

The idea was to show that the car is equally suited to backcountry roads and banked racetracks.

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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To my surprise, the car was traveling at a triple-digit speed. It felt more like a trot than a gallop.

The R8 V10 Plus shares 50 percent of its components with the R8 LMS racecar that won its class at this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

THE EARLY-MORNING sunlight painted strokes of orange

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JIM FETS

and pink on the limestone facade of Biltmore House, the estate’s 175,000-square-foot mansion, which served as the family home for George and Edith Vanderbilt. It was built over a 6-year period from 1889 to 1895, and its architecture was inspired by the 16th-century châteaux of France’s Loire Valley. Now a tourist attraction, this Gilded Age relic, its surrounding gardens, and the rest of the 8,000-acre estate draw nearly 1.5 million visitors each year. Yet on this brisk spring morning, the center

of attention was the group of three red and three white V10 Plus coupes parked in the estate’s courtyard. (The V10 Plus is available only as a coupe, and Audi offers a choice of 11 exterior colors.)

Following a brief overview of the car’s updated features, styling changes, and engineering enhancements, I jumped into the driver’s seat, adjusted the mirrors, activated dynamic sport mode, and turned up the audio system’s volume to hear the first selection on Audi’s playlist: the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up.” Outside Asheville, Interstate 26 plunges into a valley and then climbs uphill. As I approached the valley, the minimal traffic and maximum visibility enticed me to stomp on the throttle. The car immediately sprinted forward with a growl from the V-10. A quick flip of the right paddle shifter freed the engine to produce even more acceleration.

FINELY TUNED MACHINE

“You have instant throttle response, instant power,” Anthony Garbis—Audi’s product manager for the A4, A5, Q5, and R8—had noted back at the Biltmore. “You don’t wait for any turbos to spool. It’s supersmooth and crazy fast.”

A glance down at the instrument panel indicated—to my surprise—that the car was traveling at a triple-digit speed. It felt more like a trot than a gallop. I eased off the gas and applied the brakes, which quickly and smoothly brought the car back to a legal speed.

IN ADDITION TO more power, the engine of the V10 Plus

delivers more sound than that of the standard R8 because of its sport-exhaust feature and dynamic sport mode, which is one of four engine and transmission settings. “The car just screams,” Garbis said. “It has such a growl. [In dynamic sport mode], when you get off the throttle and it starts crackling and gurgling at you and you hear it popping—it’s

exactly what it should do. It sounds like a true racecar.

“It hits all the right notes in the sound department, and sound is such a big deal on a supercar,” he continued. “There are all these cool things that the car does that excite you when you’re driving. But if you want, you can put it back in normal and comfort modes and just cruise along quietly.”

No thanks. I wanted to hear the growl of a sports car that Audi says features 50 percent of the parts—including the same engine—of the R8 LMS racecar that won its class at this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. So the V10 Plus remained in dynamic sport mode, and the exhaust continued to pop and crackle all the way to Virginia. Besides, as the Audi-selected playlist suggested, this car, versatile as it may be, really isn’t built for cruising along quietly.

Audi, audiusa.com

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FINELY TUNED MACHINE

CLOSELY RELATED TO THE RACECAR

ROBB REP ORT.COM | AUGUST 2016

T

JIM FETS

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O FURTHER DEMONSTRATE the capabilities of the R8 V10 Plus, Audi hosted a second day of driving, at Florida’s Daytona International Speedway. There, in January, the R8 LMS (the racing version of the R8) finished first in the GTD class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. “To race in GTD, the racecar has to have a very close connection to the street car,” said Dion von Moltke, a professional driver who piloted an R8 LMS in the Daytona race. “There are 15 or 16 manufacturers that race in GTD, and none of their cars has a closer tie to a street car than the Audi R8.”

After gradually building up speed through the first four turns, I felt confident enough to slide the R8 V10 Plus through the horseshoe-shaped fifth turn and then accelerate hard toward the sixth, a sweeping left that leads to a banked corner. On the corner—while pitched 31 degrees toward the infield—I rifled through the gears, flirting with the 8,400 rpm redline. The speedometer climbed steadily and peaked at 163 mph before I applied the brakes on the back straightaway.

With the tires squealing and the exhaust cackling, the car careened through the track’s chicane before I could apply the throttle again and sprint toward the final banked turn. The g forces grew stronger as I powered through the turn and then crossed the finish line at 181 mph.

“How I drove the corners, how the car reacted, the throttle response—it was really similar to the racecar,” von Moltke said after completing his own hot laps in the V10 Plus. “It’s the same chassis and the same bloodline. It’s the same engine. The characteristics of the car feel the same, and it sounds the same. It’s really not much different at all.” —S.T.

THE VEHICLES SPOTLIGHTED on the following pages use cutting-

edge technology and engineering to offer better ways to travel—by sea, land, or air. The Wider 150 yacht, in

addition to many other alluring features, is equipped with a novel propulsion system that enables it to cruise

in near silence. Canepa, a California

company that customizes and restores classic cars, has overhauled the leg-

endary Porsche 959 to maximize its power and modernize its ride quality. And startups around the world

are creating double- and single-seat aircraft that—like drones delivering packages—will autonomously take

THE DREAM MACHINES THAT JUST GOT REAL A perfectly quiet superyacht launches, a seminal supercar returns, and flying cars prepare for takeoff.

LEFT: JEFF BROWN; BOTTOM: ZACH TODD

passengers to their destinations.

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT.COM

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DREAM MACHINES

JEFF BROWN

A VISION TO BEHOLD AND NOT BE HEARD Genesi, the first Wider 150, is rated the quietest yacht in its class.

By Michael Verdon

YOU KNOW THAT a superyacht runs

quietly—almost silently—when you look out a window and are surprised to see that the boat is under way. Such was the case during a recent day cruise in the Mediterranean aboard Genesi, the appropriately named first example of the Wider 150, a 150-foot semicustom design from Italy’s Wider Yachts. A group of passengers were chatting in the sky-deck lounge when one mentioned that Genesi had left the dock. None of us had heard any accelerating engines or felt any hull vibrations.

As it continued to operate in zeroemissions mode, the 391-ton yacht smoothly cut through the waves while its propulsion system registered only 37 decibels, which is three decibels quieter than a refrigerator hum. The wine in the glasses sitting on the sky deck’s bar passed the yachter’s vibration test: no ripples on the surface.

The Registro Italiano Navale, the Italian organization that classifies and certifies ships and yachts, measured the sound and vibration levels aboard Genesi during sea trials and was so impressed that it gave the

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D R E A M M A C H I N E S ❘❘ W I D E R 1 5 0

The beach club at the rear of the Wider 150 (above) includes a pool that converts into a garage for the Wider 32 (opposite, middle).

The owner’s suite (opposite, bottom) covers 850 square feet.

ROBB REP ORT.COM | AUGUST 2016

had never been done in yachting.”

Antonelli saw diesel-electric propulsion as the solution to multiple issues dogging superyachts, including space constraints, vibrations, noise, and emissions. Instead of having two monster diesel engines and large generators taking up room at the rear, Genesi has banks of batteries just forward of the tender garage and four generators near the front of the boat. “That gave us 28 percent more interior volume,” says Antonelli.

The configuration created space for the swimming pool/tender garage and allowed for two supersized VIP staterooms below deck.

While running in zero-emissions mode, on battery power, Genesi can travel as fast as 5 knots for 8 hours.

At 10 knots, it consumes only 17 gallons of diesel fuel per hour, giving it a range of 4,700 nautical miles. Our trip was much shorter: We departed from Cannes, cruised around the nearby Iles de Lérins, anchored for

lunch, and then returned to Cannes.

Guests enjoyed time on the open sky deck, which includes a Jacuzzi and reclining lounges, and at the foredeck seating area. It’s covered with a hard top on pillars that folds down when the space is not in use, maintaining the yacht’s streamlined look.

At the stern, the transom door lifts up and platforms fold down from the sides of the hull to create the beach club, a wide deck between the pool and the ocean. When the yacht is under way, the pool becomes a garage for the Wider 32 that serves as Genesi’s tender.

The owner’s suite encompasses 850 square feet, has a ceiling that is 7 feet 2 inches high, and is divided into a bedroom, an office, and a bathroom with marble walls and an oak tub. The suite’s terrace features a teak deck that slides out from the hull when the balcony folds down.

“We could have built it the standard way, but that would’ve meant

JEFF BROWN

76

vessel a rating of 100—the first time the organization has awarded a perfect score to a superyacht.

The whisper-quiet ride is merely one of the alluring features of the Wider 150, which is priced at about $29 million. Genesi woos guests with 3,700 square feet of exterior space spread across four decks, as well as a 950-square-foot beach club, a tender garage that converts into a 23foot-long swimming pool filled with seawater, and a spacious master suite with a 60-square-foot folddown balcony.

The sophisticated diesel-electric propulsion system that can operate in near-silent zero-emissions mode is a first for a vessel this size and has established new fuel-burn and emissions standards for superyachts.

“I wanted to design a boat around a new type of propulsion system,” says Wider CEO Tilli Antonelli, who conceived the 150 about 5 years ago.

“I wanted to build something that

Love You, Tender THE WIDER 32 CAN FERRY OR ENTHRALL PASSENGERS.

T

HE WIDER 32 was conceived as the tender for the Wider 150 Genesi, but company CEO Tilli Antonelli also envisioned it as a stand-alone day boat. He wasn’t alone: Wider has sold a dozen examples of the $384,000 vessel since launching it 2 years ago.

Skipping across 1-to-2-foot waves in the Mediterranean, Genesi’s Wider 32 was fast, nimble, and a lot of fun. It’s powered by twin 260 hp MerCruisers with Bravo 1 drives. They enable a top speed of 37 knots, and with power steering, trim tabs, and trim and tilt on the drives, the boat is easy to handle.

It’s also easy on the eyes. The curved bow flows backward into a wide-open cockpit that drops into a tumblehome at the stern. The cockpit is furnished with a U-shaped lounge that converts to a sun pad. The decks—including the foredeck and swim platform—are covered with teak.

The 32 can accommodate 12 passengers, which is ideal for a tender that ferries guests to and from port, but it also has deep storage lockers for wakeboards and other water toys that you could use with a speedboat.

The cabin appears spartan, but the cabinets contain a microwave, a fridge, and a stove. The head in the bow is large enough for a shower, and the lounges along the sides of the cabin can serve as beds.

The 32’s exterior can match the mothership’s, as that of Genesi’s tender does, or it can be ordered in a range of colors including white, blue, and orange. —M.V.

having a teak wall on the interior,” says Antonelli. “Instead, we built a special sliding mechanism so that the space remains consistent with the rest of the wall.”

The slide-out deck, the beach-club design, and the quiet and efficient propulsion system are all consistent with Antonelli’s reason for establishing Wider, which he did in 2010 after running the Pershing yacht brand for 25 years: He wanted to create an entirely new type of yacht. “It was exciting to think about something that didn’t exist in yachting,” he says.

“This was a new frontier.”

Wider Yachts, wider-yachts.com

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DREAM

INES “MARK MY WORD,” Henr y Ford

Right: e-Volo’s Volocopter VC200.

Opposite, from top: the Pal-V One; and the Terrafugia TF-X, which fits in a standard garage.

78

declared in 1940: “A combination airplane and motorcar is coming. You may smile, but it will come.” If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic, you’ve probably wished that such a conveyance had arrived, and that you were driving a flying car—a ground-bound vehicle that could sprout wings and take off toward the sky, above the crowded roads and highways, to transport you quickly and easily to your destination. But this dream has proved elusive, mostly because cars need to be sturdy and durable—to meet federal crashworthiness standards for road vehicles—where airplanes need to be relatively lightweight.

But new technologies are transforming both automobiles and airplanes and bridging the differences between them. Ten or 20 years from now, your car likely will be fully autonomous. As such, it may be far less likely to crash than today’s cars are, and this will allow manufacturers to use lighter and more efficient designs. Airplane manufacturers are relying more and more on autonomous systems and looking at the remote-control systems now used for drones. They are also experimenting with vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) designs. New electric motors can drive a suite of small propellers, providing the safety of redundancy with less noise and greater efficiency than today’s gas-guzzling engines.

These new, converging technologies could lead to the production of flying cars. They may not be what Henry Ford envisioned—you might not be able to drive them on the road—but they would combine the utility of an automobile with the convenience of an airplane. These flying cars would be compact, lightweight, quiet, efficient, safe, and easy-to-operate aerial transportation that doesn’t require runways or extensively trained pilots.

The Volocopter VC200 fits this description of a flying car, though it doesn’t resemble a car or an airplane: It looks like a tiny two-seat helicopter suspended beneath a circular canopy.

ROBB REP ORT.COM | AUGUST 2016

e-Volo, the German company developing it, bills the VC200 as “a new era in urban mobility.” More than a million people have viewed the YouTube video of the vehicle’s first piloted flight, which took place in April. Alexander Zosel, a cofounder and the managing director of the company, flew the aircraft. Eighteen small rotors, powered by nine independent batteries, provide both lift and thrust. Zosel

these rules will change when fully autonomous aircraft become available. He argues that you won’t need any such training, because you won’t be piloting the aircraft. “Autonomous flying means that the pilot does not have to have any flying skills whatsoever and has only to enter his or her destination in the touchpad,” he says.

“The aircraft would then bring him or her to the destination absolutely

operated the VC200 by manipulating a single, intuitive joystick, while the aircraft’s autonomous systems took care of the rest and delivered a stable, comfortable ride.

International regulations require the presence of a pilot in the cockpit of aircraft that carry people, and that pilots complete extensive and periodic flight training. Florian Reuter, a managing director at e-Volo, says he hopes

safely, quietly, and without any large environmental impact.”

Like the VC200, the EHang 184 is a battery-powered VTOL aircraft, and it’s designed to be fully autonomous. EHang, a Chinese drone manufacturer, displayed a full-size version of the single-seater in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company claims that the aircraft has an airspeed of about

VERTICAL LEAP OF FAITH

Instead of developing automobiles that transform into airplanes, some companies are focusing on ďŹ&#x201A;ying-car designs that are more akin to helicopters or giant drones.

By Mary Grady

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D R E A M M A C H I N E S ❘❘ F L Y I N G C A R S

EHang 184

SMALL VTOL AIRCRAFT COULD USE THE SPACE NOW DEVOTED TO FREEWAY CLOVER LEAFS AS LAUNCHPADS.

60 mph and can operate for 23 minutes on a single charge. In June, EHang announced plans to begin testing and developing its flight systems later this year in Nevada.

NASA is also looking at the possibilities for VTOL aircraft. Mark Moore, a researcher at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, completed a study that shows how VTOL aircraft could provide a new transit network for California’s densely populated Silicon Valley. On highways during rush hour, Moore says, commuters average 22 mph or less in cars. Small VTOL aircraft could use the space now devoted to freeway clover leafs as launchpads, he says. He believes the convergence of electric propulsion systems—which are easy to use and quiet—and autonomous technology will make this kind of transit system possible within the next 10 years.

“There are about 12 private companies right now that are really well funded and looking at creating this efficient urban VTOL type of aircraft that could provide a brand-new transportation option,” says Moore. “Most of them have not gone public yet, but they are making good progress. So that makes it meaningful for NASA to step up and show how the complete system could make sense.”

EHang, ehang.com; e-Volo, volocopter.com

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By Wheel or by Wing WHILE THE VOLOCOPTER VC200 resembles a helicopter and the EHang 184 a drone, other flying cars that have been in development for the past few years or longer are more like the combination airplane and motorcar that Henry Ford promised. In fact, a few are just that: road-going vehicles that convert into airplanes.

Terrafugia TF-X Terrafugia (terrafugia.com), a small Massachusetts company comprising mainly MIT grads, has been working since 2006 to develop the Transition, a street legal airplane. After landing at an airport, the pilot can push a button, the wings fold in, and the aircraft can be driven home, where it fits in a standard size garage. The prototype has flown successfully, and while the company works to get that design approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, it’s moving forward with the TF-X, a semiautonomous VTOL design.

Moller Skycar For more than 30 years, California based Moller International (moller.com) has been developing a VTOL Skycar that would be “as safe, efficient, affordable, and easy to use as automobiles.” The company has built and tested several versions of the Skycar, but so far none has flown untethered. The latest design, the four seat Skycar 400, is propelled by four rotating ducted fans that deploy vertically for takeoff and landing and then swing to a horizontal position for forward flight.

Pal-V One The Pal V One (pal v.com) has been in the works since 2001, in the Netherlands, and a prototype flew in 2012. The design is essentially a two seat gyroplane that can be driven on the road. The company says the vehicle is easy to fly and takes only 10 minutes to convert from flying to driving mode (or vice versa).

AeroMobil 3.0 The two seat AeroMobil 3.0 (aeromobil.com) first flew in 2014, but the prototype later was damaged in a crash. Despite the setback, the Slovakian company hopes to bring the vehicle to market in 2018. Like Terrafugia’s Transition, the AeroMobil 3.0 flies with a traditional airplane wing that folds away with the push of a button, so that the vehicle can be driven on the road. —M.G.

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DREAM MACHINES

BRUCE CANEPA EASED his white

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model from 1986 through 1988 (and as many as eight more in 1992 and ’93), and with it introduced such innovative features as sequential twin turbochargers, a suspension system (for the Komfort variant) that automatically adjusted the car’s ride height to enhance stability, and an all-wheel-drive system that adjusted the torque distribution between the front and rear wheels under hard acceleration or in accordance with the road conditions. The Sport variant of the 959—which featured a lighter coil-over-shocks suspension—could

rocket from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and achieve a top speed upwards of 197 mph, making it the fastest production vehicle of its time.

Canepa’s eponymous car-sales, -customization, and -restoration business, located near Santa Cruz, Calif., offers an overhauled version of the 959 like the one he was driving. He believes the Canepa Generation III 959 realizes Porsche’s ultimate vision for its groundbreaking machine.

The Gen III begins as an original and preferably low-mileage 959 sourced by Canepa or provided by the

ZACH TODD

Porsche onto a highway on-ramp and stabbed the throttle with his foot.

The tires hooked up, our heads snapped back, and the scenery blurred, evoking the moment in Star Wars when the Millennium Falcon leaps into hyperspace. “This is the ultimate Porsche 959,” Canepa declared through a Cheshire Cat grin.

He would know: The former pro racer may be this country’s foremost expert on the 959, Porsche’s first supercar. The company built only 292 examples of the production

THE 959 THAT PORSCHE WOULD HAVE BUILT Canepa introduces its latest upgraded version of the legendary 1980s supercar.

By Marco della Cava

client. The Canepa team then performs a nearly complete rebuild that includes modifying the car’s original 450 hp flat-6 with screaming twin turbochargers from Borg-Warner, rendering the engine capable of producing 763 hp and 635 ft lbs of torque.

“The car started with 450 hp, but Porsche’s engineers were building a racecar that could handle up to 750, so in many ways the car is now finally what it could have been,” said Canepa.

Porsche developed the 959 as a Group B rally car and put it into production to satisfy FIA homologation

rules. It also built a racecar variant, the 961, which debuted at the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In addition to boosting the 959’s engine, Canepa updates the suspension so that the car rides more smoothly. The price of a Gen III upgrade varies depending on the condition of the original car and how much refurbishment it requires, but it will cost in the same range as a highend European exotic. On top of that is the price of the Porsche 959, which can range from roughly $1 million to close to $2 million.

When it was in production, the Porsche 959 was not certified as street legal in the United States, and so it was not available in this country. In the late 1990s, Canepa helped Microsoft cofounders Bill Gates and Paul Allen—both fans of the 959— successfully lobby Congress for the passage of the Show or Display legislation, which established guidelines for legally importing cars to the United States that do not meet federal safety standards. Because the 959 is now more than 25 years old, the regulations no longer apply, and the car

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As many as 50 Porsche 959s— which once were deemed not street legal—have been imported to the United States.

Canepa, canepacollection.com

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THE TEAM PERFORMS A NEARLY COMPLETE REBUILD THAT RENDERS THE ENGINE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 763 HP AND 635 FT LBS OF TORQUE.

ZACH TODD

can be driven on U.S. roads as long as it meets state emissions standards.

Once 959s started arriving in the United States—it’s believed that about 50 have made it here—Canepa began modernizing examples of the once state-of-the-art coupe. Initially he swapped out the turbos and improved the fuel-injection components. For the Gen II 959, he also tweaked the engine-management system. “Gen II really woke the car up,” said Canepa.

“That one was 2.9 seconds, zero to 60. It squats, and it’s gone.”

During the highway romp, he used his manual-shifting prowess to show how the Gen III can reach 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. “I love the new hybrid supercars,” said Canepa, who also owns a McLaren P1 and a Porsche 918 Spyder, “but they require total focus and can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Besides, it’s hard to do this in them.”

With that, he ripped through a mind-warping 60-to-120-to-60-mph run, smiled, and said, “I could do this all day.”

D R E A M M A C H I N E S ❘❘ C A N E P A G E N E R A T I O N I I I 9 5 9

Original Value

BECAUSE OF ITS RARITY, innovative engineering, and performance capabilities, the Porsche 959 is highly coveted by car collectors in general and Porsche aficionados in particular. Especially in recent years, the car’s allure has grown. Though the 959 was a technological triumph for Porsche—and much of its technology would eventually trickle down into later models—it was a financial failure during its brief production run. —LARRY BEAN

◗ When purchased new in 1986 in Germany, a Porsche 959 sold for what would be the equivalent of about $420,000 today. However, Porsche reportedly lost a significant amount of money on each sale because of the cost of building the car. ◗ According to the collector-car-insurance company Hagerty, the average value today of a 1986 Porsche 959 Sport is just over $1 million. In the last 3 years, the value of a concours-condition 959 Sport has nearly tripled, from about $625,000 to $1.85 million. ◗ At the Pebble Beach auctions in 2015, a 1987 example of the 959 Komfort sold for nearly $1.5 million, and a 1988 Komfort went for more than $1.7 million. ◗ Porsche is said to have built a total of 337 examples of the 959, including 37 prototypes, preproduction models, and as many as eight examples that were constructed in 1992 and ’93 from leftover parts.

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THE

SEOUL OF EAST ASIA

Propelled by a lust for luxury and beauty, South Korea’s ultramodern megacity has become a new capital of culture. BY JACK SMITH OF THE MANY enigmatic sights in East Asia, perhaps none are as indicative of a cultural creed as South Korea’s burial mounds. For hundreds of years, the structures—hillocks constructed over clay-sealed timber coffins—were filled with gold, jewels, and other valuable items to accompany the deceased on their voyage into the hereafter. The practice lasted until the 6th century, when the adoption of Buddhism,

VIRGILE SIMON BERTRAND

which mandated cremation as the standard posthumous rite, prompted a change of heart. Soon the custom of burying treasure with the deceased all but disappeared; instead, the ancient Koreans erected ornate temples and opulent palaces adorned with precious metals and stones. What followed was a golden age that lasted for centuries.

➞

THE SEOUL OF EAST ASIA

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in Seoul, then Gangnam—the glamorous shopping district immortalized in the record-breaking song “Gangnam Style”—is the city’s epicenter of status. The district is home to flagship boutiques from Hermès, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, and Cartier, to name but a few. But the social value of a label can change quickly in these parts.

Louis Vuitton was until recently the most popular luxury brand—so much so that its handbags became known as “3-second bags,” because that was how often you would see one.

But that’s so yesterday, says Sunny.

They have since been replaced by

brands like Givenchy and Céline.

Following Sunny’s keen eye for the label du jour, we head to Gangnam’s new Burberry store, a 13-story wonderland at the Cheongdam intersection marked by an oversize tartan facade. Inside, we move to the scarf bar for a moment of cashmere fondling before entering a room playing British rock music. “This is a VIP room,” says Doy Wi, the store’s senior private-client consultant. “The music has been personally selected by our CEO, Christopher Bailey, for the enjoyment of our VIPs.” And who, I wonder, are the VIPs? “Anybody with money,” Doy says.

CENTER AND BOTTOM RIGHT: LEE SEONGIL; TOP RIGHT: KYUNGSUB SHIN

Today South Korea has entered a second golden age. The country’s capital is as formidable as it is fashionable, with a booming economy, a lofty cityscape that makes Dubai look quaint, and the most imageconscious population on the planet.

“Ours is a glamour culture,” says Sunny Kim, my tour guide in Seoul.

“Everyone is a celebrity waiting to be discovered. It’s all about beauty and fashion and trend.”

Dressed in a tailored pantsuit and Doc Martens and lounging comfortably in the back of an Equus limo, Sunny indeed looks the part of an aspiring A-lister. The car—a luxury offshoot from Hyundai with a sixfigure price tag—slowly rolls away from the new Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, where I spent the previous night absorbing the floor-to-ceiling vistas of a glittering city center. The hotel is a fitting starting point for my day with Sunny, who plans to show me just what makes this city of 10 million Asia’s new capital of luxury.

From the vantage point of its trafficsnarled streets, Seoul appears to have been built in a hurry. There is no unifying look to the downtown streetscape, in which high-rises jostle cheek by jowl with tiny restaurants, bars, and boutiques topped with colorful pennants flapping in the wind.

Most of all there are cafés and coffee shops: Every doorway seems to lead to one—some of them intimate spots tucked away in hidden alleyways, others large, multitiered spaces packed with stylish 20-somethings gripping cups of java.

According to Sunny, coffee itself has little to do with it. “Koreans don’t usually drink coffee as a morning pick-me-up,” she explains. “As with so many other institutions in Seoul, the cafés are places to see and be seen. For the cost of a coffee, you can spend 2 hours or more seeing what everyone else is wearing and what they’re saying. For some women, a cup with the Starbucks logo is the equivalent of a Gucci or Prada bag.”

If labels are the definitive currency

Seoul’s glamorous Gangnam district is a veritable wonderland of luxury boutiques, including Burberry (left and bottom) and Dior (below). Previous spread: Zaha Hadid’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

IF LABELS ARE THE DEFINITIVE CURRENCY IN SEOUL, THEN GANGNAM— THE SHOPPING DISTRICT IMMORTALIZED IN “GANGNAM STYLE”—IS THE CITY’S EPICENTER OF STATUS.

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TOP: KYUNGSUB SHIN; BOTTOM: BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

Flagship stores such as Dior and Gucci lure big spenders with sleek architecture and VIP shopping experiences.

A short stroll away, Dior’s flagship store opened its doors last summer in a sculptural structure by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc that resembles a giant tulip. I wander inside to find an ethereal landscape designed by Peter Marino, where curved mirrors and glass create a sleek backdrop for the fashion house’s latest trends. The fabulous illusion, however, is shattered when, in an attempt to make my way down the spiral stairway, I nearly miss the reflective steps, catching myself before bouncing down and out into the street. “Everybody does that,” says a nearby salesclerk with a smile.

South Korea’s affinity for the biggest and best extends far beyond fashion. Seoul’s Internet service is the world’s fastest, its innovative subway system the longest. The golfing options—and, more important, golfers—are great; the republic’s 200-odd courses have produced 38 of the world’s current top 100 female players. The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, completed in 2014 as one of the last buildings by the late Zaha Hadid, created a new style standard in the city’s futuristic skyline thanks to a gravity-defying shape and rooftop park. For locals, of course, it is essential to note that the building is the largest asymmetrical free-form structure in the world.

Particularly subject to Korea’s competitive nature is personal appearance. “Koreans aren’t willing to settle for inherited beauty; they see good looks as something to be attained,” Sunny tells me as our limo pulls up to the curb along the so-called Beauty Belt, a row of more than 500 clinics specializing in plastic surgery. Inside the ID Hospital—a high-tech clinic where many of the country’s actors and K-pop stars are rumored to be clients—an attendant explains that Korea’s beauty imperative is not restricted to women; about one-third of the hospital’s patients are men.

She gives me an appraising look and whispers something to Sunny that

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THE SEOUL OF EAST ASIA

SOUTH KOREA IS THE FIRST COUNTRY IN HISTORY TO MAKE “COOL” A NATIONAL PRIORITY, INVESTING BILLIONS IN PROMOTING LOCAL MUSIC, FASHION, AND CUISINE OVERSEAS. draws a laugh. “She says they are sure they can help you,” my guide relays.

Given Seoul’s quest for perfection, it is no surprise that South Korea has claimed a prominent place on the global stage, emerging as a major exporter of popular culture and style.

But the Korean Wave, as it is known, isnorandomphenomenon.According to Euny Hong, author of The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World through Pop Culture, South Korea is the first country in history to make “cool” a national priority, investing billions of government dollars in promoting local music, film, television, fashion, and cuisine overseas. The impact on neighboring countries, and even farther abroad, has been massive. A “made in Korea” label now approaches the kind of

cachet that “made in France” and “made in Italy” possess. Korean skincare brands such as Sulwhasoo and Amarte have become coveted names in the beauty industry worldwide. And in 2014, when Microsoft unveiled its newest tablet to the U.S. market, it was with a commercial featuring a song by the Korean band 2NE1.

Of course, Koreans still covet the creations of Europe’s luxury stalwarts. “We see that in the cars in Seoul,” says Vince Kim, a sales manager at the Ferrari showroom in Gangnam. Standing in front of four new models from Modena, he attests to the South Korean preference for imported cars. “For McLaren, Korea is the world’s fifth biggest market.

Lamborghinis sell well, too, but Ferraris have the greatest demand

of all,” he says. “But we only sell new Ferraris. This is Korea—our customers don’t want a used car.”

Still, adds Vince, Korean-made cars sell much better than Japanese cars.

“Korean carmakers are very quality conscious,” he says. “The people who build Hyundai and Kia represent a tradition of high standards. They won’t tolerate shoddy work.” Indeed, it was a source of glee and pride to Korean car buffs when the 2015 J.D. Power ratings listed Hyundai over Toyota in initial build quality.

On this note, Sunny and I rise to continue our tour through the city, climbing into the capacious rear seat of our shiny dark-blue Equus. Seeing us off, Vince leans in the window and looks around approvingly.

“Now that’s a nice car,” he says.

Seoul’s Newest Stunner

T

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, fourseasons.com

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KEN SEET

HE SOUTH KOREAN capital’s luxury-hotel scene heated up with the October debut of the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul. Located just a short stroll from the 14th-century Gyeongbokgung Palace, the 317-room property is a modern marvel in the historic Gwanghwamun district. A collection of contemporary Korean art and pottery decorates the public areas and guest rooms, the latter of which feature floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views of the north-bank cityscape and distant mountains of Bukhansan National Park.

Though central to Seoul’s business center, the hotel is equally suited to leisure, with amenities that include a golf simulator and a 57,500-square-foot spa complex. Locals and in-the-know guests end their evenings with a nightcap amid the tufted leather banquettes and velvet tapestries at Charles H., a speakeasy-style bar located behind a secret entrance hidden beneath a staircase. —J.S.

ANNA B EL L E B R EA KE Y

HEALTH PORTFOLIO 94

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THE $25,000 EXECUTIVE PHYSICAL 100

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HEALTH PORTFOLIO

H E A R T H E A LT H

LATER, TATERS

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Users must exert their own strength to get the SkillMill moving.

FITNESS

This Machine Has Skills DO NOT BE FOOLED by the seemingly low-tech aspect of Technogym’s new nonmotorized treadmill, the SkillMill.

Despite being powered by the user’s own might, this piece of home gym equipment is still very connected and can be programmed to boost stamina, strength, and even agility. Most traditional treadmills provide the means for a heart-pounding run or walk, with adjustments that can be made only for speed or incline, and users risk their lives if they try to get on or off mid-walk. But

this new machine adds a safety factor because it will go only as fast as the user can push it. It is also much more versatile: Users can walk or run backward or even practice a sidestep. The self-powered nature of the SkillMill (starting at $6,890) means that metabolic rate will increase as it takes effort just to set the machine in motion. Our favorite feature, however, is the sled push. Increase resistance and use the sled setting for maximum activation of glutes and hip extensors. » technogym.com —JANICE O’LEARY

GEAR

BAND TOGETHER

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study participants who ate four or more servings of potatoes per week had an 11 percent increased risk of hypertension. That risk jumped to 17 percent for those consuming french fries. No link between potato chip consumption and higher risk for high blood pressure was found.

—J.O.

RIGHT: ABRAKSIS/SHUTTERSTOCK

THE LATEST FITNESS TRACKER to wrap the wrist is also the first to measure body composition. The new InBody Band ($180) calculates the wearer’s lean muscle and fat mass, metrics that may be more accurate for assessing health and caloric burn than weight or BMI (although it includes that as well). These metrics help wearers go beyond logging 10,000 steps per day and show the positive changes that take place as a result. The band also tracks sleep, calories burned, heart rate, and the number of minutes spent active each day. Its sophisticated companion app includes goal setting, calories burned at rest, and graphs of daily, weekly, and monthly activity. Most welcome is the ability to delete some activity (the band might read two inactive hours of movie watching as sleep) and easily add others. A helpful list of activities—from curling to snorkeling—is included. » inbodyusa.com —J.O.

While the blighted potato became a scourge across northern Europe in the 19th century, the popular tuber may now be contributing to the root of a modern public health crisis. A recent study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health discovered that frequent potato consumption (whether mashed, baked, fried, or boiled) was associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure in adults.

Compared with eating one or fewer servings per month,

HEALTH PORTFOLIO

FITNESS

RAW RESULTS The new Aja Malibu features a completely vegan menu sourced from on-site gardens.

D E S T I N AT I O N

EDENIC ESCAPE Perched on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the canyons and peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains, Aja Malibu is an oasis in which to both unplug from the world and reconnect with one’s vision of a more healthful self. Opened in June, the seven bedroom property offers 23 lush acres that include crystal embedded gardens dedicated to each of the seven chakras, an oxygenated pool, a tea room, a water bar, and a spa. Every detail here has been planned with thought, from the edible and medicinal plantings to the organic bedding, mosaic artwork, and custom tea blends. Much of the inventive raw, vegan cuisine is culled from the private gardens. More for a spiritual rather than physical reboot, the weeklong program of

restoration here includes lessons with the on site chef in preparing the artful, plant based dishes such as layered tomato tartare with nettle pesto, workshops in making essential oils, alfresco yoga, meditation classes, and four treatments daily in the serene spa. Treatments range from traditional massages and facials to sound and vibration therapy as well as energy balancing with one of the country’s only John of God healing lights a fixture fitted with colored, lit crystals that correspond with each chakra.

Individual rooms feel like sanctuaries with an elegant and modern mixture of woods, marbles, linens, cottons, and other natural textiles.

Packages begin at $10,000 per person for an all inclusive one-week stay. » ajamalibu.com —J.O.

R E J U V E N AT I O N

Elegance on the East Side THE SISLEY-PARIS SPA opened its first stateside location in the glamorous Carlyle

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GOOD NEWS for the time

crunched: Just 10 minutes of interval training can have the same metabolic and cardiovascular benefits as 45 minutes of continuous moderate exercise. The study from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, examined the effects of a 12 week cycling program in three groups of sedentary men in

their 20s. The control group did no exercise; one group cycled for 45 minutes three times per week at moderate intensity; and the third group interspersed 20 seconds of all out sprints with two minutes of recovery pedaling for 10 minutes three times per week. At the end of the 12 weeks, both exercising groups had nearly identical improvements in blood sugar control, cardiovascular fitness, and muscular fitness at the cellular level. So swapping 150 minutes of moderate intensity workouts for just 30 minutes of interval training every week will help maintain fitness and free up two hours per week. —J.O.

R IG HT: STO CKL IT E/SH U T TE R STOC K

hotel, a treasured New York destination that draws locals and visitors alike for its celebrated Bemelmans Bar and intimate performances at Café Carlyle. Now guests can indulge in an equally elegant spa that offers a range of services, from calming aromatherapy massages to results-driven purifying facials. Anyone familiar with Sisley’s botanically infused skincare will want to book a customizable Phyto-Aromatic facial (starting at $200) that applies products instilled with essential oils and plant extracts to hydrate and brighten skin. Also offered are a menu of massages, scrubs, and oxygen experiences, and there is a hair salon on-site to ensure guests depart ready for drinks or dinner at the Carlyle. » thesisleyspa.com —JILL NEWMAN

SHORT BUT SWEAT(Y)

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these three practical questions can help move you in the right direction and increase the likelihood that a surgery will be a success and that you’ll avoid complications.

How many times has this surgeon or hospital performed the procedure?

Practical Magic THESE THREE KEY QUESTIONS CAN TRANSFORM HEALTHCARE DECISIONS. B Y P E T E R P R O N O V O S T, M D , P H D

W

HEN ONE NEEDS a serious

medical procedure—the kind that can determine future quality of life or chances of surviving a disease—it can send one on a quest for the right surgeon and hospital. Who do other physicians recommend? Are there any public ratings of these physicians? And

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if so, how valid are they? What are the hospital’s mortality and complication rates? You and your loved ones can spend days seeking information to guide your choices.

Even after extensive research, you may still be unsure where to get care or want to confirm you’ve made the right choice. Rather than relying on magical or wishful thinking,

ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS | AUGUST 2016

Research has shown repeatedly that surgical volume matters: Patient outcomes are better, complications are lower, and the risk of death is less when a procedure is performed by surgeons who (and in hospitals that) have greater experience with it.

And yet, an analysis of 11 cancer procedures in California during 2014 found a surprising number were performed by hospitals that had done just one or two that year.

This was the case in 63 percent of esophageal cancer surgeries and 48 percent of bladder cancer surgeries, for example. What’s more, the study found that 70 percent of the cancer patients in the one- or two-procedure hospitals needed only to drive 50 miles or less to find another hospital that was in the top 20 percent in volume.

What is an acceptable procedure threshold is up for debate, and it varies based on the type of procedure. Last year, three large academic health systems—Johns Hopkins Medicine, University of Michigan, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock pledged to meet what we felt were reasonable thresholds for major surgeries. We took a conservative approach, aiming to ensure that no surgeries were performed by doctors with annual volumes in the 20th percentile or lower.

According to an analysis by John Birkmeyer, a general surgeon and researcher at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, just eliminating these low-volume surgeries would save 1,300 lives a year.

Few states publish surgical volumes for hospitals on the Internet, but for patients in California, this data is available for some

Your chance of survival is 30 percent higher when the ICU is managed by physicians who specialize in the care of critically ill patients. procedures at calqualitycare.org. Hopefully more states will follow this model.

Is the intensive care unit staffed with doctors who are specially trained to care for critically ill patients?

After any major surgery, you can expect to spend some time in the intensive care unit.

Yet not all ICUs are equal. Your chance of survival is 30 percent higher when the unit is managed by physicians who specialize in the care of critically ill patients. ICUs with this staffing model are known as “closed.” In an “open” ICU, care is overseen by various physicians who have significant duties elsewhere—perhaps the surgeon who performed your procedure.

Why is ICU staffing so important? First, critical-care specialists have focused training on how to heal patients in their most vulnerable state, when the risks of infections and other complications are high. Second, these specialists are constantly focused on management of ICU patients, while in an open ICU the physician overseeing their care might

be down the hallway, performing another case in the operating room, or even in an off-campus medical office. They may conduct rounds on their ICU patients in the morning but depend on nurses to page them with updates or urgent requests at other times.

Finally, when you have dedicated ICU physicians, they are more likely to standardize practices so that care consistently follows medical evidence and the entire care team works together in a more coordinated way.

To find out how a hospital’s ICU is staffed, simply ask them. You may also find it on hospitalsafetyscore.org if the hospital submitted patient safety data to the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that uses transparency to improve the health care system.

According to Leapfrog, of roughly 1,600 hospitals responding to its ICU physician staffing question, nearly 47 percent fully met the standard. Hospitals can meet Leapfrog’s measure either by having an intensivist on site at least 8 hours every day, or through a combination of 24-hour telemedicine and on-site intensivist time.

MINIMUM NUMBER FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS Three large academic health systems—Johns Hopkins Medicine, University of Michigan, and DartmouthHitchcock—outlined procedure thresholds for major surgeries. Here are some of the results.

PROCEDURE

HOSPITAL (minimum per year)

SURGEON (minimum per year)

Lung Cancer

40

20

Pancreas

20

5

Carotid Artery Screening

10

5

Mitral Valve Repair

20

10

Hip Replacement

50

25

Knee Replacement

50

25

SOURCE: Johns Hopkins Medicine

Does the surgeon invite conversations about goals, treatment options, and preferences?

Surgeons undergo years of training to hone their craft. They know what the evidence says about how to achieve the best outcomes and what steps will reduce the risks of harm.

But as a patient, you know your story: your goals for your care, your fears, the risks you are willing to take. The best physicians take the time to understand that story. They take your questions seriously and help you make informed decisions that work best for you.

This is not easy. It means that they not only lay out your treatment options, describe the procedure, and prepare you for care, but also engage you in a conversation. This might help you to decide which side effects or risks you are more willing to tolerate.

An example: When patients have a heart valve replacement, the surgical team will often decide against re-starting bloodthinning medications in order to reduce the risk of internal bleeding. Yet the bleeding risk must be balanced against the risk of stroke, which can be reduced with the same medication. In my role as an ICU physician, I have had complex conversations with patients about this risk, and sometimes they decide that they are more concerned about the stroke risk. Those patients get re-started sooner on the medication.

There is no perfect method for picking the best surgeon or hospital for a procedure.

Still, by knowing the right questions to ask, we can make informed decisions that make the most sense to us and have the best chance of improving our health without magical thinking, based on solid data and personal comfort. ✦ Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, is the senior vice president for patient safety and quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS

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THE $25,000 EXECUTIVE 100

ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS | AUGUST 2016

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This next-generation health exam unites genetics, high-tech imaging, and cellular data so we can know more about our own health than ever before.

BY JANICE O’LEARY

AUGUST 2016 | ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS

101

THE $25,000 EXECUTIVE PHYSICAL

ago—Neanderthals generally making the European tour and the less populous Denisovans hooking a right into Asia. I’m tickled to learn the population on the planet that has the most Denisovan DNA (which is only about 3 to 5 percent) in their genomes resides in Papua New Guinea. It is a sharp turn from my more recent ancestry, which the binder confirms as straight-up northern European with a splash of Native American. Go great-great-great grandma.

Images are crafted into a digital avatar… [which] will then present results, uniting all aspects of the testing in one place and in context.

ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS | AUGUST 2016

A NEW GOLD STANDARD Most executive physicals are annual undertakings, but the Health Nucleus program is something you might undergo every five years, depending on health goals.

Although, as Dr. Messier adds, “There is power in doing more frequent assessments of things that can change rapidly, such as your metabolome and microbiome. These will respond fairly quickly to certain diet and lifestyle changes and can be used for monitoring these changes.”

Unlike the executive assessments offered at major hospitals, however, this physical is meant to be more diagnostic than clinical; the doctors here may direct patients to specialists if asked, but they themselves do not treat patients. The Health Nucleus testing includes such standard executive-physical components as a gait and balance analysis and a DXA (dual-energy X-ray) body composition and bone density scan. However, each client also receives a knee-to-crown, 75-minute MRI—a scan usually performed only if cancer is suspected through other means, such as blood tests or symptoms of unexplained pain. The MRI’s 3-Tesla magnet, custom made by General Electric, is so powerful that even with the copper-lined walls and floor in the room where it lives, Venter worried that it might draw up cars parked in the lot below. Its scans are the most in-depth and clear that are currently available.

The Health Nucleus also includes tests for sleep apnea, carotid intimal thickness (an ultrasound that quantifies plaque in the carotid arteries), neurocognition (memory, attention, and executive function), an electrocardiogram, the DNA sequencing of the microbiome (the billions of bacteria that reside in the intestines), and an analysis of the metabolome (all the chemicals and molecules that result from biochemical reactions in our biological and cellular processes). Imbalances in the metabolome, such as an abundance of TMAO (a metabolite produced by the digestion of choline, which is present in eggs) detected in a blood sample, can be precursors to disease.

In the case of TMAO, too much may be a risk factor for heart disease.

In addition, there is the 4-D echocardiogram, one step beyond the 3-D tomography angiogram considered best practice elsewhere. The 4-D image, which appears on screen in the round in full color, shows the magnificent but eerie nitty-gritty of the heart, including its valves and vessels. Looking into your own body in such fine detail engenders a fascination that feels like a morbid prurience. But knowledge is power, one can argue, especially with regard to health.

Once armed with the data, patients can relay it to their primary care physicians and specialists, although Dr.

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Helen Messier, MD, PhD, and fellow Neanderthal, is the medical director of genomics at the Health Nucleus in La Jolla, Calif., which offers a new species of health evaluation that integrates genomic data with sophisticated diagnostic imaging and assessments. At $25,000, it is an amped-up and next-generation version of the executive physical, which began as an investment in the health of C-suite employees by large corporations in the mid-20th century. She is the one who explains my ancient roots to me, as well as the clinically relevant findings of the genetic testing.

The Nucleus program is the brainchild of health entrepreneur and scientist J. Craig Venter (also a member of the Neanderthal club). Venter has long been part of the avant-garde of science. At the start of the new millennium, when the National Institutes of Health was spending billions to sequence the human genome, Venter, working outside of academic medicine at the privately funded Celera Genomics, believed he could map the genome faster and for less money. And he did, sequencing his own in 2000 for $100 million. Ever since, he has been innovating, often toppling the prevailing wisdom and courting controversy, such as in the case of creating synthetic bugs, designed to devour pollution or help crops. The Health Nucleus is his latest start-up, under the Human Longevity umbrella, and is a practical application of the results from his earlier race to sequence the human genome.

The whole genome sequencing I experienced is only one component in the library of knowledge to be gained through this full day of tests and scans. It is also, surprisingly, one of the less expensive facets: approximately $1,500 if it were parsed out separately and minus a consultation with an expert such as Dr. Messier. Testing at the Nucleus is intended to detect genetic risks or physiological signs of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration, arguably the top three health concerns for the majority of adults.

“What is really exciting,” says Dr. Messier, “is that we are obtaining large amounts of ‘omic’ data, including whole genome sequencing, metabolome, and microbiome as well as in-depth imaging data that will allow us to integrate and understand both sets of data better. The Nucleus can not only identify existing disease and make

predictions on future risk for disease, but it also provides a fabulous baseline for comparison as each individual changes in the future.”

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THE $25,000 EXECUTIVE PHYSICAL

Messier makes recommendations where possible. In my case, adding magnesium to my diet to increase my body’s production of telomerase, which should help lengthen my rather disappointingly stubby telomeres (the caps at the end of each chromosome that wear away with age, like the plastic tips of a shoelace). She also recommends that I get a regular dose of interval training and CoQ10 supplements to boost the low number of mitochondria in my cells. (The amount of mitochondria and the length of telomeres may be biomarkers for longevity.) After all, the point of having this knowledge, as Venter tells me in an earlier conversation, is not to divine a kind of genetic fatalism, but rather to make lifestyle changes— or, worst-case scenario, enroll in clinical trials or enter treatment—that can extend our lives and keep us healthier during that time.

DNA isn’t everything—it only relays susceptibilities— so other assessments at the Nucleus complement the genomic deep dive.

PUTTING THE OM IN MRI

The Health Nucleus is the brainchild of scientist J. Craig Venter… and is a practical application of the results from his earlier race to sequence the human genome.

ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS | AUGUST 2016

DIGITAL ME Long before I slid into that giant magnet or set foot in the spacious suites of the Health Nucleus, the physical began with a vial of saliva I sent to their labs for the whole genome sequencing, a discussion of health and family history over the phone, and registration on a secure digital portal where scans and test results can be posted for reference. A coordinator sent me e-mails about what to expect, what to bring with me, and what not to wear (no metals in the magnet). The care continues even after I leave, with follow-up videoconferencing with the radiologist and Dr. Messier, so I am not at the mercy of the Internet to further interpret my test results.

There is one final, digital component that completes the feeling that this executive physical is truly on the cutting edge of wellness. Before you leave, a technician takes dozens of 360-degree photos. These images are crafted into a digital avatar and loaded into a program with all final test results and then onto an iPad, given about eight weeks post-visit either in person with a follow-up visit or through the mail. I will be able to tap on my avatar’s head, zooming in like I would with a Google Earth satellite image to go deeper and deeper inside. My avatar will then present my test results: my brain volume or the bone density of my skull, the significant mutations on my genome, uniting all aspects of the testing in one place and in context. This might be the most tangible— and meta—experience yet of taking my health into my own hands: I will be able to explain me to myself. » Health Nucleus, healthnucleus.com, 866.565.5633 ✦

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The experience at the Health Nucleus is as luxurious as diagnostic medicine can be. My private suite feels more executive than medical with its flat-screen television, polished hardwood floors, sleek cabinets and closet, and leather sofa. The minibar is stocked with healthy snacks, waters, juices, and sodas. A nutritious lunch is served, and there is even a selection of new hardcover books artfully displayed that tempt me when I enter. The Wi-Fi signal is strong, so work can go on between scans.

A nurse preps me for what is to come and hands me my new garments for the day: a complimentary T-shirt, pajama-like scrubs, some cozy socks, and a spa robe—no paper johnnies here. Ten minutes later I lay on the narrow bed that carries me into the tight bore of one of the most powerful magnets in the country. A lavenderscented cloth covers my eyes, and through earbuds I can connect to my smart phone and listen to the novel I have in queue, coincidentally titled The Testing.

For the first 30 minutes of the MRI, I surprise myself by dropping off to sleep, finally relaxing after the rush to arrive punctually at the facility. Too soon, it is time for a break and a shift in position so the machine can focus on my upper torso and head for the next 45 minutes. Only toward the end of that stretch of time do I feel the constraint of the straps preventing me from itching my nose. I take comfort in the emergency squeeze ball that signals the technicians if I need escape. I don’t use it, but I feel better knowing it is there. Afterward, the technician shows me a few of the images, and I can see my brain’s vasculature like a surreal X-ray of tossed fettuccine and angel hair suspended in air.

I get to speak directly to the radiologist, and I am relieved that the MRI does not show signs of early

degeneration in my brain or of cancer. My organs look healthy.

The radiologist pays particular attention to my kidneys because my genome sequencing marks me as having a high risk for kidney stones. Not a one spotted. I was also concerned about early onset of neurodegeneration, because I have a strong family history of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The MRI amplifies the relief I felt earlier during my discussion with Dr. Messier when I learned that I do not have the evildoing allele, E4, on my APOE gene that has been linked to Alzheimer’s. Instead, Dr. Messier tells me that I have the E2 and E3 alleles. E3 appears to be neutral for Alzheimer’s, and research says the rarer E2 may be protective against the disease.

While I am disappointed to learn about my short telomeres and low number of mitochondria per cell, that dismay is outweighed by the relief I feel on other fronts.

Venter believes that easing patients’ minds about their health concerns with such tests is a beneficial side effect because it eliminates a source of longevity-reducing stress.

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WELLNESS RETREATS

Cal-a-Vie

The Cali Connection PRESS RESET FOR THE MIND AND BODY AT THESE THREE HEALTHY DESTINATION RESORTS.

BY JANICE O’LEARY

T H E M U LT I - W E E K

Cal-a-Vie V I S TA , C A L I F.

WHEN IT COMES TO beautiful resorts dedicated to results-driven weight loss, Cal-a-Vie, just an hour outside of San Diego, might be the reigning roi. Private villas, set amongst the rolling hills covered by orchards, vineyards, and gardens, are designed in a modern Frenchcountry style that suits the landscape. The look carries over into the dining room, study, spa, chapel, and even into the exercise studios where chandeliers instead of pot lights dot the ceilings.

One of the most appealing components about the programming is that they really do count the calories if guests so desire. Plans

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ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS | AUGUST 2016

include 1,500- and 1,200-calorie-per-day options, and the chefs are intent on dishing up healthful, gourmet cuisine. Fresh ingredients hail from the property’s own gardens and from local farmers. Guests unconcerned with calorie consumption may always ask for more.

And the spend-worthy boutique carries the resort’s irresistible homemade granola. Executive chef Curtis Cooke also teaches cooking classes and demos for the at-home gourmet.

Mornings at Cal-a-Vie are devoted to exercise—every day kicks off with voluntary hikes that progress in difficulty as the week proceeds. After breakfast, the classes begin, with about 30 offered each day, from rowing, boxing, interval training, and underwater spin to Zumba, TRX, meditation, and stretching. With only 32 rooms on property, classes are small, nearly private. The wellness staff will create a custom program for you, based on personal goals and interests, but many guests go off plan and fill in their own itineraries.

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Golden Door

Guests also receive evaluations at the start and completion of their weeks to assess progress as well as determine next steps.

Afternoons are filled with tee times, poolside relaxation, and spa appointments with two or three treatments per day to speed well-being and recovery from the morning’s exercise. Therapeutic massages, facials, scrubs, reflexology, and the ultimate bubble bath all help with rejuvenation. Plans begin at $8,650 per week; threeand four-night petite plans are also offered, beginning at $4,150. » cal-a-vie.com THE WEEK

Golden Door FOUNDED BY ONE OF THE spa industry’s

visionaries, Deborah Szekely, Golden Door has long been a destination for rejuvenation with its manicured Japanese gardens and contemplative koi pond. Its legend has been recently polished with a renovation and a renewed focus on healthy gastronomy. This summer it launches its first cooking school, a weeklong culinary immersion running from July 31 to August 7 ($10,850). For three hours each morning, guests will work with the resort’s culinary team and head chef, Greg Frey Jr., learning knife skills, cooking basics, sauces and stocks, as well as vegetable preparations. Tours of the property’s gardens, citrus and olive groves, and bee farm alternate with workshops focused on nutrition, gardening, and fishmongers. Guests still experience the

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ROBB REP ORT HEALTH & WELLNESS | AUGUST 2016

treatments and facials the spa is known for, as well as yoga, Pilates, meditation, and light hiking. Fencing is not to be missed. » goldendoor.com THE LONG WEEKEND

Rancho Valencia R A N C H O S A N TA F E , C A L I F.

OPENED AS A TENNIS RESORT, Rancho

Valencia has fitness embedded in its DNA. While tennis remains a focus with its 18 courts overseen by pros on staff, the 49-suite resort has recently upgraded its offerings to an even more robust program of 95 classes per week.

For no extra fee, guests can choose among daily sessions of mat and reformer Pilates, meditation, barre, spin, and yoga, the latter of which is held in its own serene pavilion within the spa and fitness center. A tennis TRX class conditions the muscles most used in tennis: biceps, hip extensors, lats, and the core. Fitness is completely at guests’ leisure here, and while there are always healthier menu items, no one is counting calories. Exercise is balanced with rejuvenation at the 7-suite spa, where new tailored treatments include the Wellbeing Ritual, an algae and mineral soak and body wrap that delivers “transdermal nutrition,” says director of spa and fitness Kristi Dickinson. She intends to further the resort’s focus on the mind-body connection with future full-week immersion programs devoted to cognitive fitness and biofeedback programming. Suites begin at $675 per night. » ranchovalencia.com ✦

GOLDEN DOOR: JESSICA SAMPLE; RANCHO VALENCIA: ROUSE PHOTOGRAPHY

S A N M A R C O S , C A L I F.

Rancho Valencia

What if you could live a healthier life? Get to the core of you at Health Nucleus, a clinical research program in La Jolla, California, that combines advanced genomic information with a comprehensive suite of health evaluations to empower and inform you and your physician. Call your personal Health Concierge today at 866-565-5633 or visit healthnucleus.com for more information.

Look and Feel Better...NOW! 3K\VLFLDQV GLVFXVV WKH SHUVRQDO EHQHILWV RI LQ KRPH FHOO WKHUDS\ DQG ZK\ HYHU\RQH QHHGV LW As founder and head physician of the Hall Longevity Clinic in Miami Beach, Dr. Michael Hall treats some of the most affluent patients in the United States. Dr. Hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clients are sophisticated, keenly attuned to personal wellness, and knowledgeable about combatting the aging process. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are people who, in my experience, care more about good health and the way they look than anyone else in the country,â&#x20AC;? says Dr. Hall, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and they have the means to seek out the best treatments available in the world.â&#x20AC;?

A top practitioner in his field, Dr. Hall is constantly on the lookout for treatments to benefit his patients. As a result, he sees an ongoing barrage of nutritional supplements and other treatments on the market that promise much and deliver little.

Most, he says, are â&#x20AC;&#x153;utterly bogus and are not worth a second lookâ&#x20AC;?.

Not so, he says, of Celergen, the Swiss formulated cell therapy treatment that offers relief from a variety of ailments including chronic pain, various dermatological conditions, and a lack of energy, while increasing metabolism, sexual vitality, mental focus, and improved sleep. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had read much of the literature about Celergen and was struck by the scientific research behind it,â&#x20AC;? says Dr. Hall. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Still, I was skeptical until I tried it myself.â&#x20AC;? The results, he says, are significant. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is definitely a regenerative component to Celergen. I noticed almost immediately that my skin was softer and more elastic, and my hair was fuller and not as brittle. There was also something that I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite put my finger on except to call it a general sense of well being. I now recommend it to my patients without reservation and have heard countless stories about how Celergen has improved their lives.â&#x20AC;?

:KDW LV &HOHUJHQ" Celergen is a potent transformative therapy that stimulates the human bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural healing powers. Celergen Swiss Cell Therapy triggers the repair and rejuvenation of individual cells. One of its key ingredients is a proprietary Cellular Marine Complex. The complex is extracted from the DNA of deep-sea, pollution-free marine life which has powerful anti-aging properties. Other ingredients include Peptide E Collagen, which reinforces skin elasticity, and Hydro MN Peptide, which plays a critical role in the rejuvenation of cartilage. Unlike other cell therapies which involve injections, Celergen comes in an oral soft gel.

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In one such instance, a female patient had long been suffering from acute pain in her lower spinal discs. She had been treated by numerous doctors, undergone repeated surgeries, and took several pain medications daily. Dr. Hall recommended she try Celergen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pleased to report that for the first time in recent history she is living without chronic pain,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Celergen is the next step in promoting wellness and fighting the aging process.â&#x20AC;?

Celergenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effectiveness stems from innovative advancements in the cell therapy field. Celergen researchers extract essential proteins from marine life living in pollution-free, ocean waters through Swiss Cold-Process DNA Extraction Technology.

This process allows bioactive marine DNA and peptides to repair damaged cells, effectively reversing signs of aging. The body sends these micronutrients to the areas requiring repair, whether in the joints, blood, brain, or skin.

&HOHUJHQ 3URYLGHV WKH 7RROV 2XU %RG\ 1HHGV WR +HDO ,WVHOI Dr. Stephen Spates, founder of the Vital Life Health Alternatives Clinic in Clarendon Hills, Illinois has been plagued for years by the lingering symptoms of Lyme disease. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For some reason, year after year, everything seemed to come to a head in the month of November. Novembers were always awful for me; I dreaded them every year. I would feel lethargic and just not want to do anything,â&#x20AC;? says Dr. Spates. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But last October, I started taking Celergen, and when November arrived it was as if I was a new person. I felt revitalized and ready to take on the world. I looked better, felt great, and my libido increased too.â&#x20AC;?

One longtime patient of Dr. Spates, a 50-year-old woman, wanted badly to start a new aerobic fitness class, but worried that she just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the energy to complete a workout. Dr. Spates recommended Celergen and the woman soon reported back that it had restored energy she hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had in years. Another patient, a former professional baseball player, was afflicted with a number of chronic ailments resulting from years of wear and tear as an athlete.

A Celergen regimen brought notable across-the-board improvement to him as well.

Dr. Spates also recommended Celergen to his wife and she, too, began to experience energy that she had not felt in years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My wife is a molecular biologist, so she was highly skeptical about Celergenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effectiveness,â&#x20AC;? says Dr. Spates. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She is now convinced that it absolutely works. And it works wonders.â&#x20AC;?

7KH 1H[W %LJ 7KLQJ IRU 7KRVH 6HHNLQJ 2SWLPDO +HDOWK DQG %HDXWLIXO 6NLQ Researched and developed by Swiss, French, and German scientists, Celergen was launched into the European market in 2009 with tremendous success and has quickly found similar success in North America.

Since being introduced into the North American market in 2012, doctors have recommended Celergen for patients to combat a wide variety of maladies, from strengthening the immune system and improving stamina to increasing blood circulation and warding off arthritic pain. Many Celergen users report that one great benefit is improved skin and hair quality. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My hair stylist asked me if I had gone to someone else to color my hair,â&#x20AC;? says Dr. Spates. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe that it was all the result of taking Celergen.â&#x20AC;?

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Back-Road Benchmark THE BENTLEY BENTAYGA IS THE FASTEST PRODUCTION-MODEL SUV ON THE ROAD, AND IT’S NO SLOUCH OFF-ROAD. BY ROBERT ROSS One of the four off-road settings for the Bentayga’s permanent allwheel-drive system is Sand Dune.

NTIL NOW, BENTLEY owners seeking to satisfy their itch for an SUV have had no choice but to betray the brand and drive another marque’s ultra-luxury offering. But the arrival of the Bentayga, named after a rugged peak in the Canary Islands, saves Bentley loyalists and label-conscious customers the indignity of settling for an SUV that lacks a pair of silver wings perched above a wire-mesh grille. (Alas, the mesh is made of plastic, as mandated by pedestrian-impact safety regulations.)

The base price is just over $229,000 and can rise above $300,000 when various options

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Though it weighs 5,379 pounds, the Bentayga can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 4 seconds— on asphalt.

are added. High as the vehicle’s price may be, Bentley will have to sell quite a few examples before the revenues match the development cost, which was around $1.2 billion, according to Bentley CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer.

Prior to the Bentayga’s arrival, the Range Rover Autobiography series and a fully optioned Porsche Cayenne Turbo were among the few series-production SUVs to push past the $200,000 mark.

The Bentayga’s price buys an SUV that, with a top speed of 187 mph, is the fastest production model on the

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market and is as opulent as any luxury sedan; its nearly silent cabin is lined with quilted leather and features book-matched veneers and 2-inch-deep lamb’s-wool carpets.

And as the Bentayga demonstrated in the Southern California desert, it also offers off-road capabilities approaching those of a half-track military vehicle.

It’s unlikely the average Bentayga owner will do more than crest a curb on Rodeo Drive. Nevertheless, Bentley engineers insisted on making an SUV that can tackle the Gobi Desert or a New Guinea swamp. The Bentayga’s capabilities are tied primarily to its permanent all-wheel-drive system and sophisticated suspension. A dashboard-mounted rotary dial gives the driver a choice of four on-road and four off-road settings,

from Sport to Sand Dune, and the computer-controlled air suspension selects from four preset ride heights.

The active roll-control technology minimizes body roll and optimizes steering feel, handling, axle articulation, and wheel grip.

In the desert, where we arrived following an hour-long helicopter ride from Rancho Mirage and across Anza Borrego Desert State Park, the Bentayga easily scaled 150-foot-tall sand dunes, while daredevils on sand rails (dune-buggy-like vehicles with rasping engines and the comfort of an iron maiden) swarmed like horseflies around us. These machines were frequently airborne, in stark contrast to the Bentley, which fairly glided over the sand, unperturbed by the most challenging angles of ascent and descent and remaining reassuringly in control and capable regardless of the extremity of the terrain.

The Bentayga further demonstrated its capabilities with some off-road antics on an obstacle course that included rutted dirt trails strewn with boulders twice the size of a full-grown Galápagos tortoise. It conquered these impediments, often on three wheels,

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and at one point, as if performing a highas adaptive cruise control, active lanewire act, it drove across a parallel pair of maintenance assist, night vision, head-up slender logs that spanned a canyon deep display, trailer assist, and trailer-sway enough to swallow multiple Bentaygas. mitigation. An 8-inch touchscreen controls Out of the sand and on the asphalt under the information and entertainment systhe desert sun, the Bentayga shined with tems, which include an optional 1,950-watt, its flawless paint job. Bentley offers a selec18-speaker Naim for Bentley Premium tion of 17 standard and nine optional colors sound system. for the exterior. The choices for the interior Watch-savvy customers not content with include 15 leather colors and seven wood the vehicle’s standard Breitling-branded veneers. If you want even more exclusivity, clock can consider the aforementioned Bentley’s bespoke diviMulliner Tourbillon by sion, Mulliner, offers Breitling, a $169,000 opThe Bentley fairly nearly infinite options tion that is available at that include a picnic hamthe rate of about four per glided over the sand, per, Champagne packs, year. The timepiece’s typunperturbed by the and a special tourbillon. ically fragile mechanical The Bentayga’s look is movement is engineered most challenging athletic and unmistakto withstand the vibraangles of ascent and ably that of a Bentley. Its tion induced by off-road design is similar to the terrain. It mounts in a descent and Continental GT’s, feapod atop the center of the remaining in control turing a high beltline, a dash and can be quickly power line that extends and capable regardless removed before the vehifrom the front fender cle is left unattended. of the extremity of vent to the rear haunches, Capable and comfortshort front and long rear able though the Bentayga the terrain. overhangs, a low hood, is, it impresses most with and a fastback rear winits power, speed, and handow. It appears as though Bentley has added dling, especially when you consider that it only height and ground clearance to the weighs 5,379 pounds and rides a foot or more Continental GT design. higher than single-purpose sports cars. The Though it’s a spacious SUV, the Bentayga engine is a new, more-efficient version of does not look big from the outside; instead the 6-liter, twin-turbocharged W-12 that has it appears almost compact. It shares basic been a mainstay of the Continental range platform dimensions (and a few engineersince that car’s development in 2002. It’s ing features) with the Q7 produced by impressively compact and 66 pounds lighter Audi, which like Bentley is owned by the than its predecessor. In addition to producVolkswagen Group. But where the A7 can ing 600 hp, it churns out 663 ft lbs of torque accommodate as many as seven passenat a dawdling 1,350 rpm. Power is delivered gers in three rows of seating, the Bentayga to the wheels through an 8-speed ZF autohas only two rows and can be configured matic transmission. Straight-line accelerawith four passenger seats and a rear cention from a standstill to 60 mph takes just 4 seconds, and the handling dynamics are ter console or five without the console. The cargo capacity ranges from 15.2 cu ft with on par with those of the best sport-oriented the rear seats in place to 17.1 with them sedans and SUVs. folded down. With a towing capacity that With its combination of all-terrain capaexceeds 3.5 tons, one Bentayga could easily bility, wide-ranging utility, unabashed haul another. luxury, and unprecedented performance, From behind the hand-stitched leatherthe Bentayga has established a new benchcovered steering wheel, drivers will apmark for SUVs. preciate a host of driving aids, including various cameras and optional systems such Bentley Motors, bentleymotors.com

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THE ROBB READER What’s something that you consider scary?

Rope jumping. It took a lot of faith. All the BASE jumpers said it was crazier than BASE jumping. I subscribe to the philosophy that it’s good to scare yourself on a regular basis.

But nowadays you have to have a certain mastery in multiple disciplines to be able to do some of the newer extreme sports. They demand that you be good at parachuting, skiing, and mountain climbing—and then you can do proximity flying. There are all these different hybrids.

Will we ever run out of ideas for new extreme sports?

As long as man has imagination, I don’t think it’ll ever end. These hybrids are only going to lead to more. Often, when we see somebody do something new we say, “Oh, I can do that,” which is true, but there’s a lot of carnage along the way, a lot of debris, that no one sees. You only see the guy doing it well, but you don’t see the other five guys before him who burrowed in. Bright light, dark shadow: That’s the nature of the beast.

Laird Hamilton

A CONVERSATION WITH THE FITNESS EXPERT, ENTREPRENEUR, AND EXTREME-SPORTS PIONEER.

I

T’S BEEN 16 YEARS since Laird Hamilton rode a sevenstory wave off the coast of French Polynesia, a feat that immortalized him in the surfing community and opened the

door for modern-day big-wave riders. Today, the 52-year-old athlete— who hosted the second annual Robb Report Health & Wellness Summit in Deer Valley, Utah, in July—has branched out into everything from designing extreme golf carts (golfboard.com) to developing a training program, called XPT (xptlife.com), that revolves around high-intensity aquatic workouts. He and his wife, beach-volleyball champion Gabrielle Reece, split their time between Malibu and Kauai, bound in their quest to

Where might your adventures take you next?

I’m really interested in the Kamchatka Peninsula. They say that’s one of the only places in the world that didn’t freeze during the Ice Age. It has some incredible volcanoes.

I’m also interested in the lower Himalayas, but not necessarily Everest; I want to go more to the outskirts.

Mountains over waves?

Mountain traveling holds more interest for me than traveling to surf. I always have interest in traveling for surfing, but only if I know there’s going to be waves. The mountains are always there, but the waves, they’re a little more elusive. I go to Alaska every season. I have a friend who has a helicopter-ski and -snowboarding lodge there called Tordrillo. It’s a remote lodge on a little lake about an hour-and-a-half flight from Anchorage. There’s nobody for 100 miles in any direction, and something about that brings peace. The mountain range there is incredible, and we go up to places on top of these peaks where only a goat has been before.

perfect human function through fitness and nutrition. —CAROLYN MEERS

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ROBB REP ORT.COM | AUGUST 2016

BRUCE MORSER

You’ve pushed the boundaries of what the human body can achieve. What do you look for in machines?

I love fast. I like utilitarian. I love military. I’ve had a bunch of military vehicles over the years. I’ve owned a Deuce and a Half military dump truck, a Gama Goat, and an ammunition platform. I love function and things that can climb hills and go through mud. I’m not a real sentimental guy; I like stuff that I can use. I also feel like whenever I put too much value in something, it usually blows up or breaks.

What would you say to someone looking to improve his or her well-being?

If I had to choose one thing, I’d say breathe. And then I’d say hydrate. Drive a car without water in it and watch how far that thing goes—if there’s no coolant, the engine blows up. And how do you make a car go fast? You shoot more air in it. The more air you ram into a car, the faster it will go, and we’re the same. In a way, breathing is probably the pinnacle of nutrition, of health. We take it for granted. We don’t have any kind of relationship with our breath. Most athletes do because they have to. Breath has some of the biggest health benefits, and it’s right there, it’s free.

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