2 minute read
Vital stats Sonos Beam 2
LAND ROVER DEFENDER V8 BOND EDITION
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Rtba / landrover.co.za
That’s not an Aston Martin. With observation skills like that, you should sign up for spy school. But 007 knows how to off-road, and Land Rover has a long lineage in the trigger-happy franchise, stretching all the way back to The Living Daylights. The mean black-on-black one above? It’s been built to celebrate the 25th official on-screen outing of Britain’s second-best secret agent (after Johnny English). Cool, how many ejector seats? Sadly, none. Unlike the tricked-out Defenders seen fleeing from evil types in No Time To Die, the V8 Bond Edition goes easy on the gadgets in favour of performance. Instead of rocket launchers or a thumbtack dispenser, it’s packing the same engine as the ‘standard’ Defender V8: a supercharged 5.0litre number good for 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds. Ideal for slipping out of trouble on the school run. Speedy. But why so much black? To match the colour of Bond’s soul after cold-heartedly bumping off so many foes? Or just because it looks so gangster. Either way, it comes with an Extended Black Pack that imbues the Bond Edition with plenty of understated menace. That includes 22in gloss black alloy wheels… and bright blue front brake callipers, which apparently didn’t get the ‘any colour as long as it’s black’ memo. When can I get one from Q Branch? Blowing your cover with a bespoke 4x4 isn’t like buying a hatchback: it takes time and tailoring, like a fine tux. Only 300 will be made, and just 5 of them will be sold in SA, with pricing yet to be announced. It’ll certainly be more costly than the standard V8 models, which start here at home around the R2.35 million mark. Probably best to abandon your spy dreams and just get the Carpathian model.
Time for some TV TLC TCL C725
Chinese tech brand TCL’s new C725 television set is due to launch into South Africa after this issue goes to print but before it goes on sale, so this’ll be out in the market by the time you read this. Available in 55in and 65in sizes, this is the brand’s take on a 4K QLED panel. It uses a directLED lighting system for a brightness of 330 nits and packs dual 9.5 watt speakers. It also, unfortunately, only has a refresh rate of 60Hz, so don’t expect to pick up a gaming superstar for next to nothing. It’ll be affordable, but it’s not about to do your PlayStation 5 that much justice. Still, it’s always nice to see a new face. R13 000 / tcl.com/za
Windows 10 Home / Windows 10 Pro Free upgrade to Windows 11* when available Up to 11th Gen. Intel® Core™i7 processor Up to Latest GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti Laptop GPU 4GB GDDR6
*Windows 11 upgrade will be delivered to qualifying devices in late 2021 into 2022. Timing will vary on device. Certain features require speci c hardware (see aka.ms/windows11-spec)
