The McLaren Artura was the British racing manufacturer’s first foray into the hybrid era, but forget what you may or may not already know about that—the new Spider is the next-gen upgrade your inner-petrolhound is really craving. And, yes, it really is still a hybrid.

A twin-turbocharged V6. A lightning quick E-Motor. 700PS combined. 0-62mph in three seconds, up to 205mph. Blistering pace. No roof. Welcome to sensory overload, my friend.

The new McLaren Artura Spider is all about driver engagement. Heightened senses. Sheer, unfiltered top-down joy, with a heap of performance magic at work. For a start, the hybridized V6 now has 690hp (or 700PS), up by 20hp from the first Artura. It also gets a new exhaust system lovingly crafted to make the engine sing louder in the middle to high rev ranges. Vents in the cockpit feed all that beautiful sound right into the cabin, too.

It all partners with an eight-speed close-ratio gearbox which now “pre-fills” for faster gearchanges—25 percent faster, actually. Electric mode still provides 94bhp of the total power as before, but for 21 miles this time as opposed to the previous range of 19 miles. McLaren calls it stealth mode. Handy if you’re looking to leave suddenly in the middle of the night without waking the neighbors. For a midnight drive on empty roads, that is.

Then there’s the new Spider’s incredibly light weight, all 1457kg of it, the lightest in its class. Combined with new engine mounts that keep the powertrain steady in the chassis under load, the result is an even stabler, faster and more connected Artura than the last. It begins to feel as if the steering wheel is part of you, the car an extension of your body. No limit to its grip. No end to the fun. Outside, polycarbonate rear buttresses and an aerothermal concept manage air flow, pushing air in and around the Spider’s headgear. It keeps the engine cool when it’s angry and covered in roof.

The roof system itself has been engineered to within a millimeter of perfection, retracting in only 11 seconds up to 31mph in near silence. Even the rear window has been thoughtfully set to retract just two thirds of the way down, because the aero wizards found it to be the optimal position for reducing wind buffeting inside the cabin with the top down. An optional electrochromic glass panel in the roof blocks out 99 percent of the sun’s rays if you so wish, and it has to be said, when you’re done with open-top driving, shutting the world out feels very smug indeed.

All-in-all, it’s still the ravishingly quick McLaren supercar you’ve come to know and love, this time, with a near-silent roof that eliminates the electric whoosh. It feels and looks the part, with the option to drop into “stealth mode” when the situation requires. Enormously powerful, visceral, raw – yet refined, precise and exquisitely engineered; this is a hybrid like no other. And we like it. A lot.

The post Hybrid Dreams appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

Enjoy the Thrills of Owning a Combustion-Engined Dream Car While You Still Can.

So here we are, halfway to 2030. The decade that will mark the beginning of an entirely new chapter for automotive enthusiasts around the world, with many governments committing to phasing out the majority of internal combustion engine (ICE) sales by then completely. It will be a decade where countries increasingly turn to hybrids and EVs, and the spine-tingling roar of a throaty V12 becomes no more than a bedtime story.

If waking up to the sound of a cold start in an Aston Martin Vantage is what gets you out of bed, these changes are going to feel quite different. Granted, much can still change between now and then, taking into account elections, historic policymaking and extreme U-turns in power. But this year, 2025, is a milestone. Finding a new, combustion-led model is getting harder—with some manufacturers already now declaring an end to ICE production this year.

An electric future is coming, and, sensibly, we’re all for it. But for now, there’s still time to celebrate the beauty of an empty road drenched in golden light, with nothing but the sound of a monstrous engine for company. It’s the year to take action and just drive it. Own it. Collect it. As F1’s recently not-retired Daniel Ricciardo says, the year to “lick the stamp and send it.”

So, we’ve pulled together five of this year’s must-have combustion-powered motors, from supercars with over 1,200bhp to monstrous V8 muscle power, for you to consider driving today then buying tomorrow.

One brand committed to creating extraordinarily loud and exhilarating driving experiences for as long as possible is Aston Martin. The British marque brings its new Vanquish into this half of the decade with a merciless 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12. It’ll channel 824bhp into the rear wheels, reaching 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds and a record-high top speed of 214mph. It’s the most powerful production Aston ever made. Along with its devastating power are fiendishly good looks—suave, sophisticated, a brute in a tux. The angular rear end and quad exhausts are reminiscent of classic Aston Martins gone by, bringing class and distinction to what is a thoroughbred race car built to dominate the road.

The Vanquish is a masterpiece in automotive design, the combination of a raw, snarling V12 with muscularity, opulence, assertive elegance. A seductive side profile curved in all the right places. A longer hood that harks to GT-style cruising. A leather-clad interior with gold, silver, cashmere and titanium. Knurled dials and a “Pure Black” touchscreen, 15 speakers pumping 1,170 watts through a Bowers & Wilkins audio system, with 3D sound from headliner-mounted tweeters. Everything here is a driver’s paradise. And utterly addictive.

Meanwhile, over at Ford. . .something very special is happening to Mustang. The new Mustang came out earlier this year, followed by the Mustang Dark Horse, and much to muscle car fans’ delight is still very much using a 5.0-liter thumping V8. But it’s the Mustang GTD we’re particularly interested in this year—Ford’s road-legal, track-ready supercar. A supercharged 5.2-liter V8 will lay down over 800 horsepower, with semi-active race suspension, drag reduction and carbon fiber bodywork everywhere. A huge, dynamic race car aero spoiler casts shadows on those famous three-bar taillights. Its aggressive stance and sharp, angular nose are enough to clear roads for miles, but then a near 50/50 weight distribution gives you all the poise and balance of a ballerina for dancing around twisties like nobody’s watching. Except everyone is. Mouth agape. Unsurprisingly, these will be hard to come by with waiting lists since 2023.

Another equally lauded model returning to roads with a new look is the BMW M5, and it’s once again dividing the purists. That’s because, this time, it’s a hybrid (I know, not combustion only—but, like I said, this is getting harder). And the fact that it’s as overtly M5 as you could possibly get. Under the hood lies an enormous 4.4-liter V8, backed up by an electric motor, delivering 717bhp and a 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds. That’s supercar territory, of course, only you have four seats and a big boot. It’s 5.1m long and weighs nearly 2.5 tons, but word on the street is that this thing shifts and hides its enormity with, well, enormous power and poised performance.

The BMW M5 seems to throw its weight around with the agility of a cheetah, responding quickly and cleanly to anything you throw its way. It’s got a widebody stance that imposes itself into the rearview mirror without manners, and huge air intakes that could swallow a small bird. Great big wheel arches dominate its front and side profile, and naturally, the rear looks chunky, thick and monstrous like any fierce M5 should. Inside, of course, is more of the same new BMW tech we’ve seen over the last 24 months—big infotainment touch screens, red M buttons on the steering wheel, wraparound interior lighting and huge, huggy bolstered sports seats. Not that you’ll be paying much attention, when you’re busy throwing your head back in moments of sheer acceleration.

Back in the UK, Bentley has also been busy creating a hybrid Continental GT Speed—its most powerful production car ever, too. Gone is the W12 and in comes a 4-liter V8 and e-motor capable of 771bhp in total. So you can creep into cozy villages on full electric or open up the taps at every hairpin in the mountains. But this is a GT that still very much wafts and glides over asphalt, with a menacing throttle pedal for spirited drives when the mood suits. A cabin full of affluence and luxurious, discerning finishes in perhaps walnut, koa, oak or eucalyptus veneer awaits. Black chrome and carbon fiber. Wraparound dashes that cocoon you inside, and deep, lounge-like front seats.

Lastly, McLaren’s W1 is the successor to its heavily praised F1 and P1 models, icons in their class. You won’t be surprised to learn this is the fastest accelerating McLaren ever made, as well, using a hybrid powertrain that combines the MHP-8 V8 engine and E-module with F1-derived battery tech. The result is a McLaren that delivers a combined 1,258bhp and can reach 200km/h from stationary in only 5.8 seconds. Eye-watering.

On the outside, there is aero everywhere. With massive, F1-inspired side air intakes and an extending active rear wing which can elongate the working area of the diffuser by 300mm. Put together, the entire ground effect aero package on the car generates 1,000kg of downforce when active in Race Mode, five times that in road configuration. A total transformation at the touch of a button. Inside, a beautifully crafted wraparound interior envelops the driver, with McLaren InnoKnit—an infinitely flexible, seamlessly integrated super-light material—covering the seats, or rather what is affectionately a lightweight bathtub molded to your backside.

McLaren’s W1 is a supercar so exclusive, only 399 will ever be made, all of which have apparently been assigned. Well, there’s always hope.

The post The ICE Age appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

Get ready to play, come rain, shine, snow or storm. Let’s look at how the best sports home simulators money can buy can transport you to other worlds at a moment’s notice, from midnight gaming sessions to the ultimate sports watch parties.

Athlete or not, sometimes you don’t want to (or can’t) leave the house. But that doesn’t mean you need to miss out on your sports fix. Perhaps you want to play nine on St. Andrews, or you want the cardio burn of an uphill bike climb in the Andes—maybe you even want to race the twisties of Maggots and Becketts in the British Grand Prix. Whatever it is, technology has more than caught up to deliver lifelike experiences like these from the indulgent comfort of your own home.

Most obviously, sim racing is a good place to start. A realistic home racing simulator may have you butt-clenching your way through Spa-Francorchamp’s Eau Rouge in Belgium from the luxury of your own living room—but they don’t often look pretty. These racing rigs have been built for realism, not refined beauty, from steel bars to F1 nose shells—until now.

Produced by the motorsport company behind Aston Martin Racing, the Prodrive Racing Simulator has been designed to sit in any luxury condo as a statement art piece, in collaboration with design and engineering house CALLUM. A sculpted carbon monocoque housing the cockpit floats underneath 16 layers of birch in a lacquered black finish. Cocooned inside, you’ll experience 49” of gloriously smooth graphics across a sweeping curved screen using a 12GB GeForce RTX graphics card. A precision SIM steering wheel couples with a Simucube steering motor so you can hit the apex to within the millimeter. Whether you’re an avid F1 sim racer or you prefer swapping asphalt for dirt track drifting, you’ll also be an art collector—driving in what must be the most beautiful race simulator in the world.

With that said, if you’re into Aston Martin, why not go directly to the source? The British marque’s new racing simulator, the AMR-C01, will set you back a cool $80,000 and offer the same gentlemanly, knowingly suave looks as the real thing would. With precise seating that replicates the sill and bucket seat of an Aston Martin Valkyrie and a single 49” curved display that wraps you inside the cockpit, it’s truer to life than most. There’s a kill switch with a red cover, a race-ready steering wheel and microsuede upholstery. It’ll run any Windows-based racing game you like, and has a wireless keyboard and trackpad tucked away in the chassis. It’s certainly not the most powerful sim out there, with its 2K screen, Intel i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card, but then again—it’s an Aston Martin. It doesn’t need to be.

But racing isn’t for everyone. Sometimes something more sedate is in order. There’s nothing quite like a round of 18 on a Sunday morning, the sun beating down overhead, the sprinklers gently humming in the distance. Sure, you could fly to Augusta or Valderrama for a round any time, but what if you fancied playing nine on each? Or if it’s cold and wet? Sim tech has you covered. Again.

A Trackman 4 home set-up will take you to any of its 320 courses around the world in the comfort of your pajamas (if you wanted to). Combined with astroturf mats, a screen projector and protective enclosure, this simulator setup uses an engine called the Trackman 4, a launch monitor that uses optically-enhanced radar tracking to give you stinger-level accuracy on your shots. The software it uses is industry-leading and tour-trusted, coming with the Trackman Performance Studio for AI-powered shot analysis, putt performance, impact location and speed training. It is the ultimate caddy, coach, tour guide and driving range. Why deal with the hassle of fueling up the jet when you can play ultra-realistic golf at The Belfry at the drop of a golf cap?

Speaking of flying, how about swapping the private jet for an adrenaline-packed fighter? Yes, you can fly one of these, too, from the comfort of your study—and we’re not talking about a joystick plopped onto your computer desk. With VIPER WING, you can bring in an entire F-18 rig into the house, with rotaries, switches, rudders and an aluminum, electrically-adjustable seat. And, of course, a joystick.

Paired with an optional, immersive curved screen, this flight sim experience brings you right into the cockpit onboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers with functional tactical weapons, sensors, radar, nav systems, fuel and hydraulic simulations based on the U.S. Navy’s flight manuals for the F-18. You can quite literally jet off, anywhere.

Back at ground level, you could channel your inner Babe Ruth and practice your swing in a Batbox batting cage that uses virtual reality to slot you right into the baseball stadium. Using high-speed camera sensors and high-definition screen simulation, you’ll pitch and bat your way through home runs without so much as opening the front door.

A pitching machine with adjustable ball speed, height and direction according to the player keeps you dancing on your toes, while an automatic ball-collecting system means you can keep your feet rooted to the base. Invite your pals over for the ultimate watch party, going head-to-head in the batting cage before watching the game IRL. You’ll be the most popular neighbor in town.

Whatever your sport, hobby or fantasy, sports and gaming sims can take you there. All you have to do is decide which one you fancy turning pro at.

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The post Playing From Home appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

We are officially living through the era of the hyper SUV. And for those that have grown an impressive hatred for our larger four-wheeled friends, the time has come to start broadening some horizons. Indeed it’s true there are many SUVs rolling around cities on unnecessarily large tires and pointlessly pillowy air suspensions for their surroundings—but there are some that simply don’t need any excuses, wherever they are.

In what appears to be a monumental “can’t beat ‘em, so join ‘em” shift by the entire luxury sports automotive market, high-end manufacturers have been busy crafting their own “version” of an SUV. And it’s taken the SUV category to new heights. Well, speeds.

One such brand is British marque Aston Martin. In 2020, it lovingly created the Aston Martin DBX—its answer to the people’s rallying cries for more and more SUVs. Refined, luxurious, beautiful. Then came the DBX707 in 2022, at the time claiming to be the world’s most powerful SUV in existence. The clue is in the name: 707 metric horsepower, a monstrous, 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 and a whole lotta sex appeal. And remember, we’re talking about an SUV.

Now, along with a facelift for 2024 that grants the standard (and there is an irony to using this word here) DBX707 an even naughtier 0-60 mph of 3.1 seconds, comes the DBX707 AMR24 Edition. It’s an F1-inspired special edition released to celebrate the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team.

The DBX707 AMR24 Edition has been given the same deliciously vivid racing identity as the brand’s F1 team and the Official Medical Car of Formula One. Pictured here in the rich and vibrant Podium Green, with AMR Lime brake calipers behind 23” Fortis wheels, it also comes in Onyx Black and Neutron White. The Lime Green continues along the lower trim, bringing the world of its Formula One team onto public roads with a striking presence none can ignore. Inside, two new colorways bring the team’s racing heritage into the cockpit with Lime Green contrast stitch and piping. And you can lace the cabin with carbon fiber, dark chrome jewelry and titanium mesh if you so want. You’ll find AMR24 etched door sills and the Aston Martin logo pressed in foil onto the dash, with a hand-stitched lime saddle strap on the wireless charging station, too. It is thoroughly Aston Martin, and thoroughly F1.

The DBX707 AMR24 is a 2.3-ton SUV that not only looks the part, but acts it, too. Air suspension, with damper valving and Electronic Active Roll Control, combined with an optimized chassis, keeps heave, pitch and body roll almost non-existent, and it feels as poised, planted and precise as any sports car. Mighty impressive. Utterly charming, leather-clad and ultra luxurious, the DBX707 would be remiss without a GT mode to refine things down to handle comfortable highway cruising in an instant. But don’t be fooled—this is still a thug when you want it to be. Raucous and throaty when you squeeze the fun pedal, it sounds and handles with the potency of a true Aston Martin.

And remember—this is an SUV we’re talking about.

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The post Power and Performance appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

Get to grips with what exactly makes Aston Martin’s DB12 so irresistible.

Most exotic cars turn heads, but not all foster the same reaction. Gawping petrolheads aside, the average layman on the street, at the junction and in the traffic has already made their mind up about you. It’s not always entirely positive. But, universally, in the Aston Martin DB12 you’re almost certainly a gentleman. A driver with taste, manners and understated wealth. You are welcomed. Smiled at. Ushered into heavy traffic without hesitation. For Aston Martin’s latest creation isn’t merely a DB11 facelift, it’s an eye-catching statement of intent nobody can resist. A statement it calls the ‘Super Tourer’…

The DB12 is now more aggressive than its predecessor, sportier and clearly ready to throw you around. In the rear view mirror, its huge front grille oozes a bruising confidence but, in reality, the super GT is imposing from every angle. Yet it’s also suave, sleek and sophisticated. Sweeping lines draw your eye up its enormous hood and across seductive curves and delicately balanced haunches that slope away towards the rear. It causes the kind of involuntary stare usually reserved for real people; nevertheless those that drive the DB12 will come to realize it’s probably got more personality.

Don’t be fooled by its elegant looks. Underneath that massive hood lies a thumping 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. Though it comes from Mercedes-AMG, Aston Martin has had its hands all over it – tweaked compression ratios, modified cam profiles and, naturally, larger turbochargers among a host of modifications. The result is potent; 680PS, 800Nm of torque and 0-62mph in only 3.6 seconds. It’ll deliver ‘instant power for immediate high speeds’, say Aston Martin, and we can certainly vouch for that. The DB12 will throw your head back in a nanosecond, and accelerate with the same ferocity for what might seem an eternity, all the way up to 202mph (if you’re brave enough).

Despite the loud V12 no longer being an option, the V8 in the DB12 still produces that smile-inducing, burbling purr we’re all accustomed to in an Aston Martin. Granted, it’s a bit quieter – but that won’t matter when the road opens up. The acceleration is savage. Brutal. Unforgiving. It keeps going and going and going. And the engine note that goes with it is just as indulgent, popping and cracking down through the gears. A 7% increase in torsional rigidity has given the car tighter control and a 140% increase in stiffness between the shocks a more direct and precise driving dynamic. Through corners, the DB12 is pointed, connected and sharp; you feel as if the road is glued to the tires, belying the reality of how heavy this GT actually is.

An automatic ZF 8-speed transmission pairs up with an electronic rear differential, the first DB to have it, that will lay down power individually into each wheel according to your drive set-up. The transmission has been built to give shorter gear changes, particularly mid-range, for acceleration and speed all the way through. Yet the mass of the car will also comfortably swallow miles of grand touring. You might assume rough city roads would present a bit more of a problem, but the DB12’s ‘comfort’ setting is delivered by a chassis and suspension that truly can handle it all.

Inside, the cabin has been given a new look too. The 10.25-inch screen is now baked into the dash instead of sticking up over the top. It’s touchscreen too, at last, and packed with tech befitting of its luxury status. Heavy, knurled dials surround a start button encased in metal that smoothly twists to switch drive modes. A 1170w Bowers & Wilkins sound system immerses you in recording studio sound, amped from 15 speakers that bring the stadium to you. In the front seats, you’re enveloped in craftsmanship, cocooned into a plush interior clad in hand-stitched leather. You can’t help but feel special. It produces the kind of leather scent that follows you around, long after parking up – a luxurious giveaway that tells those around you you’re driving an Aston Martin.

We’re starting to see Aston Martin’s reliance on Mercedes loosened, with an infotainment system completely designed in-house – voice control joins for the first time, along with app-controlled connectivity meaning you can update the car from the palm of your hand. It’s nothing new among the wider industry, but it’s the first of its kind in 110 years for Aston Martin.

The DB12 is more than a drive; it’s an experience. Soulful yet subtle, charming yet ruthless. It is a hedonistic example of supercar ownership for all the right reasons, gently concealed behind beauty and artisan craft. And when a car like this rolls downtown, past shops, across junctions, through traffic and the world simply smiles, you know that it’s a supercar done right. And one that nobody can ignore.

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The post Love at First Sight appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

The Luxury Automotive Brands Making Waves with Things that Aren’t, Well, Cars.

Enter a world of opulence and beauty, where luxury automotive brands turn their discerning eye from four wheels to favored possessions. Here, we examine the luxury lifestyle masterpieces of the motoring world’s finest design teams—from Aston Martin to Mercedes-AMG, sports car soundbars to handcrafted cellarettes. It is where beauty and perfection collide, away from the road and into the destination.

Porsche Design
Porsche HEAD 8 Series Rally Skis, 911 Soundbar 2.0, Porsche eBike Sport

Think of Porsche, and you think of power, beauty and refined luxury. Porsche Design takes all of this and carefully applies it to the luxury lifestyle products it knows you yearn for. Take its Porsche HEAD 8 Series Rally Skis—all-mountain skis that can take it all, based on the Dakar design of the Porsche 953. Fast, stable and fat at tip and tail, they use a World Cup sandwich construction with a solid wood core, strengthened by carbon and Titanal layers. But you can also take Porsche into the study or the living room, with the 911 Soundbar 2.0—made from the original air intake grille on a 911 GT3 Touring.

Among a plethora of other luxury goods, for instance its high-end fashion collab with Puma, Porsche Design also makes a high-performance electric mountain bike, with lashings of carbon fiber, Fox Factory suspension and Crankbrothers Carbon wheels, which means you can now take your Porsche off-road. And there’s also the 718 Spyder RS Chronograph watch for those that prefer to wear Porsche on their wrist, inspired by its namesake with Spyder RS embossing on the strap, a carbon dial, lightweight titanium case and a rotor styled like a Spyder RS wheel.

Mercedes-Benz Style
AMG GT², Maybach Eyewear, VIP Aircraft Cabins

The German manufacturer has taken the same unflinching approach to its design as it has its motoring, which spans pillowy comfort all the way through to buttock-clenching adrenaline. If you want all of that in a boat, you’re in luck—the “Silver Arrows of the Sea” is a collaboration between Mercedes-Benz Style and world-renowned marine architects. The 14m Arrow 460 Granturismo has 906hp, luxurious curves and flowing lines and windows that tint in the sun.

Though it has space for 10, it might not be your scene with a young family in tow but fear not—Mercedes also makes a baby stroller. The limited-edition AMG GT² boasts “sportiness and maximum ride comfort,” and is made in collaboration with Hartan. It sports swiveling wheels, cross-spoke wheels, the AMG pattern in “hyper-blue,” even a handbrake. For parents unwilling to release their grip on motorsport, this is a pushchair that turns heads. But the design department at Mercedes-Benz has also had its hands on eyewear, creating a bespoke collection under the MAYBACH umbrella including shades that feature turquoise-marbled, natural horn and 22-carat gold titanium. And, of course, Mercedes-Benz has also taken on all manners of luxury throughout its past, from VIP aircraft cabins to even private helicopter design.

Aston Martin
Aston Martin Residences, Aston Martin .1R, AM37 Speedboat

You’ve long known Aston Martin for its suave, leather-clad supercars, unleashing devastating horsepower in a way only a refined Aston Martin can. Using this charming sex appeal, its design team has approached real estate, speedboats and road bikes. New for 2024, are the Aston Martin Residences in Miami, an ultra-luxury, 66-story architectural masterpiece home to 391 condos on Miami Waterfront. The sail-shaped building has been immaculately created with the same Aston Martin design philosophy. Bespoke Aston Martin handles, number plinths and kestrel tan leather line each floor, and a “Sky Amenities” common area features a striking glass staircase, art gallery, two movie theaters, virtual golf sim, spa and two-floor gym. The British marque has also been at work on the Aston Martin .1R, a 3D-printed titanium and carbon fiber road bike made bespoke for every rider using the same colors and materials on offer for its high-performance sports cars. And, who could ever forget, the AM37—a luxury powerboat with all the understated elegance and ferocious power of an Aston Martin on water.

Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini 60°, Strada x Automobili Lamborghini Bike

For the Italian luxury supercar brand’s 60th anniversary, it made the Automobili Lamborghini 60° in collaboration with Montegrappa—a fountain pen that puts Lamborghini in your fingertips. Inspired by super sports cars in the sixties, the pen is handcrafted in an ultra-light hexagonal shape numerically-milled with aerospace aluminum and covered in forged carbon fiber. The automotive maker has also been busy creating its own high-end performance road bikes with 3T carbon components—fast, light and completely Italian. Its Racemax x Automobili Lamborghini gravel bike and Strada x Automobili Lamborghini bike come in a set of striking colors, as any Lambo would. Of course, the heady scent of leather is never far away, and Lamborghini’s set of leather goods ensures you can carry it with you, while its partnership with Master & Dynamic takes Italian supercar luxury and places it all up in your ears with a set of wireless active noise-canceling headphones and earphones. These stylish, lightweight aluminum, Kevlar fiber headphones are made with the best of the best, just like a Lamborghini.

Bentley Design Collaborations
Bentley Home

At Milan Design Week, Bentley unveiled its latest collection of luxury homeware for those that want to take the brand into their living rooms. This year, a first foray into the home office, with a new take on the Bentley Desk. It’s sleek, minimalist design hides two drawers inside the shell, with a “Liquid Amber” finish across the piece. Among the collection is also the modular Loftus Sofa, with flowing lines and floating cushions that seem to sit on thin air, much like the comfort of its motorcars.

The Langport Bed is completely customizable, with veneer, black lacquer, fabric or sustainable leather all in play. Smart reading lights sit seamlessly in the headboard, inviting warmth, relaxation and quiet mindfulness. The British automaker has also partnered with Ducatti to deliver the light, richly crafted Ducati Diavel For Bentley, one of only 500 exclusive motorbikes based on the ultra-rare 740 PS W12 Bentley Batur. Then there’s a swath of high-end luggage, eyewear and wireless speaker technology reimagined with the Naim for Bentley Mu-so Special Edition, featuring design elements inspired by Bentley’s high-performance luxury vehicles.

House of Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Cellarette

Its opulent motor cars are treasured collectables, and the luxury design products the British manufacturer creates are no different. The brand’s artisanal design collective can turn its hand to anything, elevating beyond the ordinary. Take the Rolls-Royce Cellarette, an indulgent whisky and cigar chest created for the most glorious of gatherings. Crafted with the most exclusive materials, its polished aluminum and Rolls-Royce Havan leather-clad body mechanically opens to reveal two hand-blown lowball glasses finished with the “RR” monogram, which rotate outwards as it does so. Surrounded by Armagnac leather inside, soft lighting sets the mood—and a leather-lined bottle holder reveals itself in unison, while on the other side a humidor offers cigars protected in Spanish Cedarwood and monitored by its in-built hygrometer.

The Cellarette’s accompanying accessories are as intricately made as the main event, with a cigar cutter and lighter crafted by S.T. Dupont, Paris. Of course, the British automaker turns its hand to far more as well, like its Kinetic Luggage Collection—based on the techniques of a top London Head Butler—and its Escapism Luggage Collection, designed for the “wandering spirit” with bespoke leather and canvas.

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The post Form Meets Function appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

On a former RAF base in the middle of the English countryside, Grand Prix racing has been making history since 1948. World Champions and legends of the sport have all made names for themselves here: Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark. This fast, historic circuit is a favorite for drivers and fans alike, and notoriously difficult to get tickets for. Bringing with it an iconic glitz and glam to rival any of the flashiest tracks throughout the season, from Monaco to Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi, and often draws out the A-list crowd in spades.

Of course, with that comes some of the best hospitality on the F1 calendar. Revered by regulars, sought-after by first-time grid wanderers, The British Grand Prix certainly delivers a special experience when done right. To find out how, Jetset Magazine set out on adventure up into the Cotswolds and the honey-hued village of Silverstone, to experience the best the British Grand Prix has to offer. This is your first-person guide to watching the British GP like an elite traveler.

Arriving in style

Most choose to arrive by car, and so did we. Since we were headed to one of the track’s top tier hospitality venues, our tickets came with VIP parking. This is a must. It’s only around 60 minutes south of Birmingham and 90 minutes north of central London if you drive, but if you’re in something a little sexier – choose a route with the roads to match. We arrived in an Aston Martin DBX707; devastating horsepower for the journey up through the twisties, with millisecond precision adaptive suspension, and chunky enough to tackle a wet and rainy field to park in. Hospitality parking is practically opposite the entrance gate, inside the track gates, unlike public parking or the park and ride which can take up to 45 minutes to get to the track from. You’ll be entering the track alongside the likes of McLarens, Ferraris and maybe even a driver or two (we saw Lando in a limited-edition chromed Shelby Cobra).

But if driving, or even being chauffeured, really isn’t your style, Silverstone has a permanent helipad and those in the know will often touch down by chopper on one of the track’s many VIP shuttle flights. You’ll take off from a discreet heliport in the Oxfordshire countryside, after a champagne breakfast.

Into a world of style

Silverstone is a huge circuit, and it takes about an hour to walk around the outside from one end to another. There are plenty of incredible corners and grandstands to watch from, like Woodcote and Farm Curve. But we were destined for the prestigious Fusion Lounge, run by MATCH Hospitality, the track’s top hospitality venue aside from getting paddock-side. Just before Vale, the final technical part of the track before the finish line, it sits merely 20m or so from the asphalt. Only a personal invite to one of the team garages or The Paddock Club, or a room at the Hilton on the Hamilton Straight, does one better.

We quickly found gate six, a small, secluded entrance reserved purely for hospitality guests. No queues. No hassle. A quick dash over to Copse tunnel to get under the circuit and make use of our exclusive inner-track access, and we were on the complimentary shuttle to The Fusion Lounge. No sooner than we’d taken in the filling grandstands across the track, we’d arrived and were welcomed by a team of hostesses running a slick operation. In we go, wristband on, lanyard draped over our necks, and around the corner into a vast hospitality tent clad with six-seater tables and silverware, high-end chef stations, big screens, a live DJ and F1 simulators.

A decadent feast

Whilst the day’s feature races laid rubber down on the track outside – the F2 and the Porsche Carrera Cup – rain doing all it could to remove it as it lashed down on the tarmac, we lazily sat back at our table for some lunch. The Fusion Lounge is possibly the best hospitality tent for catering in the entire season, or so we were told by a guest that regularly traveled to every race on business. Another told us we “wouldn’t stop eating for the whole day.” They weren’t wrong. There were over six chef stations laying on feasts that spanned artichoke Caesar salads, freshly made Italian pea ravioli, roasted beef shin, charcuterie, hand-wrapped California rolls and pork belly Asian bao buns from the grill. I’m hungry just writing about it now. To wash it all down, we were supplied with free-flowing Ferrari Trento Champagne, beer, wine and English Garden cocktails.

The rain now stopped, outside the garden terrace was coming alive with live saxophone, more street food and the sounds and smells of screaming engines and burning rubber. The F1 cars were now on track, warming up for the epic battle yet to come. We took our place on cushioned sofas overlooking the short straight before Vale, whilst the Red Arrows danced overhead. We were so close, in fact, we could see the whites of Lando Norris’s eyes as he paraded around the track in an open-top McLaren.

Up close and personal

As the drivers prepared, former Haas Team Principal Guenter Steiner took to the stage in the middle of the Fusion Lounge for an up close and personal interview with Jodie Kidd, in a way only Guenter can deliver. This was top tier access, the fans across the road from us could only really dream of from their tightly packed grandstand seats.

No sooner than one spectacle had ended, the next was about to get underway. Lights out. Silverstone roared into action, Formula 1 cars ripping past our previously sedate and comforting sun deck. A stone’s throw from the action, the English Pimms was flowing. Afternoon tea was being served, with tea and fancies on decadent five-tier towers, from scones with jam and cream to passion fruit possets and colorful cheese boards. As Lewis Hamilton made history with a 9th home win at Silverstone, we celebrated with loud cheers and the clink of Champagne flutes in style. Fans basked in the Briton’s glory as the podium celebrations were played out on the big screens around The Fusion Lounge.

The party after the party

After the race, there are plenty of after parties to go to. You could end up at the Mahiki after party, perhaps, or the main stage in the thick of it if you prefer. But at The Fusion Lounge a private after party had gotten underway. After trying our hand at Silverstone on one of the many F1 simulators lining the hospitality tent (and failing), we found the ‘main stage’ trackside, where a live band had started blasting out chart-topping classics on a violin, saxophone, drums, and keyboard.

The crowd merrily bobbed and threw its hands in the air, whilst the outdoor BBQ continued to fire up burgers and bao buns for those that had started to get the munchies after one too many. Though the track’s sponsorship hoarding had already begun to pack down, with cranes and utility vehicles now flooding the circuit and the grandstands empty, the atmosphere here was still buzzing. And the bars still churning out unlimited booze. This would certainly be a race to remember, and one that will go down in history as the most luxurious British Grand Prix this Jetset writer has ever been to.

The Fusion Lounge is run by MATCH Hospitality. You can book tickets for next year here.

The post The Luxury Traveler’s Guide to the British GP appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

The Fusion Lounge is ready for you.

This year’s Formula 1 season is heating up! Red Bull’s dominance appears to be over, Mercedes shows signs of better performance, and McLaren’s Lando Norris is in scintillating form, so much so that the British driver — now second in the 2024 driver standings — could well see his first ever home win at this year’s Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix.

Whether you’re an F1 enthusiast, an armchair critic, a Max Verstappen fan, or merely watching for the glitz and glam of the world’s most elite and luxury sport, this year’s race is not to be missed.

If you don’t have tickets yet, Silverstone’s prestigious Fusion Lounge is ready and waiting for last-minute expeditions to the next grid on the calendar.

Unless you’re about to receive a personal invite to one of the team garages or the Paddock Club, there is no better place to watch the British GP than in one of the track’s luxurious, top-tier hospitality areas.

Top of the list is the Fusion Lounge, poised between Stowe and Vale, the final technical corners of the circuit before the Hamilton Straight. It’s here where driver battles are sometimes won and lost, and last lap trepidation and jubilation begin to take hold. With unrivaled views of the final dash to the finish line from the garden terrace outside, the atmosphere is electric — a super screen keeps you clued up on the action. Amid the British summer, there are few moments harder to beat than the warmth of the blazing sun beating down on your deckchair, as you sip free-flowing champagne to the sounds and smells of screaming engines and burning rubber.

Of course, the elite hospitality inside offers plenty of respite from the octane. Under the canopy you’ll find a vast dining area with tables under white linen and silverware. Feast on fare throughout the day with breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea from high-end chef stations that stretch from Japanese BBQs to Italian pastas. Better yet, it’s all on the house, along with wine, beer, and plenty of cocktails to wash it down.

While you dine, the stage centerpiece of the tent serves up celebrity hosts and guest speakers throughout the day. There is also a live DJ, opulent automotive displays around the hospitality suite, and a Fusion after-party for those who just don’t want the day to end after the checkered flag is waved. Indoor and outdoor lounge areas provide a space to kick back, while a set of racing sims offer a flavor of the adrenaline-fueled action on the track. The Fusion Lounge also comes with inner track access, and a shuttle service to and from the outer world, where you’ll find the grandstands, also included in your hospitality pass.

The circuit helipad is only a short ride away too, if you’re flying in. The luxury package also comes with parking, if you need it, right next to the track. If you’re in the mood for a quick trip to this storied British circuit for a weekend of action, high-end luxury hospitality, and plenty of champagne celebrations, we recommend the Fusion Lounge. While spots last.

hospitality.silverstone.co.uk

For more content like this, check out our other articles here.

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A hop skip from 11th-Century Windsor Castle, iconic residence to the late Queen Elizabeth II, an equally regal affair awaits you. The Fairmont Windsor Park is a luxurious countryside hotel brimming with elegance and charm, set on 40 acres of manicured grounds next door to Windsor Great Park. Wind your way up its long and twisty driveway, past the padel courts and over the quaint, fairytale bridge atop its magnificent lake, and you’ll arrive at a faux Jacobean mansion intended to make grand impressions.

We are at the edge of Windsor, a market town steeped in royal history in Berkshire, England. It is to many, the quintessential English town, speckled with tiny tea rooms and cozy, oak-beamed pubs. Royal Ascot sits to one side, Eton College to another, and the historic towers and ramparts of Windsor Castle loom above it all. Wander its cobbled streets, stroll along the banks of the River Thames, gorge yourself on homemade English fudge, Time seems to move slower here, and it’s only an hour’s drive from London.

A stay at the £200 million built-from-scratch Fairmont Windsor Park is just as indulgent, where the world fades away and a side to Windsor saved for only the most leisurely luxury travelers is revealed. Step through its towering entrance and you’ll find yourself in the grandiose lobby, a domed glass roof flooding the marble-clad atrium with light as a roaring fire warms fingers and toes. Magnificent fresh flower displays, changed weekly, are a spectacle for the eye, and little boutiques line the entrance—offering items from fragrances to candy for childish minds. To the left, an afternoon tea parlor, to the right, a library lounge with chess boards and a Macallan whisky corner. Contemporary, traditional luxury meets the eye at every corner, every touch, every smell.

For those in search of a royal retreat, there is only one room to see and remain unseen in. The Signature Royal Suite is an apartment-style home stretching across 2,230 square feet, laden with opulence. Two huge ensuite bedrooms sandwich separate lounge and dining rooms, with a butler’s pantry, wine fridge, kitchen and alternative entrance. Chandeliers hang above, Swarovski crystal artwork lines the walls and a cocktail bar waits to provide the evening’s entertainment.

Of course, no royal suite is complete without its own elevator down to the private spa suite, right? It’s yours to use and yours alone. Everything in the Signature Royal Suite feels exquisite, right down to the throne in the bathroom—a warmed, automatic, Japanese smart toilet with more settings than you could dream of. With the large, round jacuzzi bathtub, the enormous bedroom flatscreen TV, the four-poster beds and the regal balcony overlooking soothing park views, this seems an experience made with Royals in mind (and though the hotel is sworn to secrecy, we suspect it’s likely been put to the test).

Whether guests are hungry or thirsty, a plethora of bars and restaurants cater for special dinners, casual lunches, decadent breakfasts and tiny tummies. Its MOREISH restaurant serves Middle-Eastern dishes in a relaxed setting, while in the summer, The Terrace pumps out freshly-baked pizza. For those looking for something more luxurious, 1215 Restaurant—so named after the date the Magna Carta was signed in not-too-far-away medieval Runnymede—serves British fine dining at its best. Choose between à la carte or a set tasting menu across five or eight dishes, all using ingredients with local British provenance. We chose the tasting menu, and it was divine.

Often, you can tell a lot about a restaurant by its bread; here we had a freshly baked mini loaf of honey-crusted oat and rye, slices of warm stretchy sourdough and a stunning soda bread, all with freshly whipped butter. Following on, the delicate cod with smoked carrots and a rich bouillabaisse lingered on our palette, the rich, local venison with celeriac and walnut was seared to perfection and the creamy duck liver parfait was lifted by pickled beetroot and plum ketchup. After dinner, head to the 1215 bar for shorts, with its magnificently lit ceiling and one of two impressive Renaissance fireplaces saved from the previous stately home.

The Fairmont Windsor Park’s award-winning spa has been voted “Best in the UK” on multiple occasions and exudes peace and tranquility. In the main spa, there is a 20m indoor lap pool, a thermal suite with detoxifying sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, Himalayan salt room and a Japanese Ashiyu foot ritual bath. A courtyard vitality pool, lined by hanging chairs, awaits for summer dips and winter reinvigoration. The wellness complex sprawls across two basement floors, with a cryotherapy chamber, traditional marble hammam, dark and silent quiet room and a finishing studio for precision mani and pedis. The FaceBible, a doctor-led wellness and aesthetics clinic, has taken up residency here, and, of course, there is a beautiful gym to sweat in, too.

But the area you’ll be using is off-limits to all others, a retreat inside a retreat for royal exclusivity. The Salutaris Suite, with direct access by elevator from your apartment upstairs, is a private spa with two treatment beds, a hot tub, rasul steam room, day bed and showers. For couples, friends or those traveling solo in need of extra solitude, it is a space for total decompression. The spa treatments are exceptional; sink into the heated treatment bed as your therapist carries out a ritual personalized to you, ranging from deeply hydrating facials with cryo spoons to warming salt stone massages. Whatever it is you choose, you’re sure to leave royally rested.

The post Fairmont Windsor Park: A Quintessentially British Retreat appeared first on JetsetMag.com.

The automotive world is in a state of uncertainty, there’s no doubt about that. Electric-only brands are making rapid advances into the unknown while commentators tout hydrogen and synthetic fuels as a better solution, and armchair critics brand EVs as being farcical in the first place. It’s no wonder consumers don’t know what to do. One thing all can agree on is that the climate needs an answer. Will EVs go on to become the more widely-adopted and accepted solution? The truth is, no one really knows what’s going to happen.

According to the website Insideevs.com, the US electric vehicle market saw its best year of sales yet in 2023. The research firm Canalys is predicting the global EV market will grow by 27 percent in 2024, although this will represent a slowing in growth overall. But the problem for many consumers who are still on the fence, not least petrolheads fighting the tide, is that the upfront carbon emissions created by EV production are massive. This “carbon debt” gets delivered with the car, paid off as you drive until you reach a zero emissions “breakeven point,” typically within the first one to two years of ownership.

Decarbonizing the supply chain and eliminating emissions during production, however, could go some way to increasing consumer confidence in EVs. And it would, obviously, make it a far more scalable solution for our climate. But such a challenge might not sound possible, when you consider the number of processes, materials and suppliers needed to create a car. But perhaps it’s not impossible.

That is the belief of Polestar 0—an ambitious research project designed to decarbonize the supply chain and create a truly carbon neutral car by 2030. But can it really be done? During an interview at Polestar’s Swedish headquarters, Fredrika Klarén, head of sustainability, sat down with us to help dissect the answer.

“This is a moonshot goal,” says Fredrika, “but the purpose of the project is really to develop climate neutral materials that will be pivotal not only for Polestar, but for the industry as a whole. Even if we get to 95 percent, it will have an amazing impact.” The core belief of the project is to focus on carbon elimination—rather than using carbon credits to “offset” its emissions through green projects. “It’s great that we have programs that are supporting forestry, cultivation and renewable energy production. We should do all of that. It will have a climate impact,” says Fredrika. “But it’s just a connection to a product that has been used in the wrong way. So we’re researching and innovating within the project, rather than buying a certificate that doesn’t really mean anything.”

Since Polestar 0’s inception in 2021, Polestar has brought over 20 partners onboard to help it move closer to its goal, all of which are on the same page. “The partners that have joined Polestar 0 have joined because they believe in what we have set out to do. It’s very much a 50/50 collaboration,” explains Fredrika. “What I really love about it is when you put an engineer to the task, things start happening. But the engineers haven’t been put to the task before, previously they’ve been focused on quality or lowering costs. What we’re doing here is using this brain power we have together and asking them to eliminate climate emissions.”

This includes suppliers covering flat rolled and recycled aluminum, biomaterials, carbon neutral and fossil-free steel engineering, textiles and, crucially, rare earth minerals. As one of the largest carbon-emitting activities in production, the mining and making process for battery components is also being addressed. “If you go to the Nordics and you look at the way Swedish companies have developed the mining of the mineral used, you see that there are electric dumpers around in the mines,” Fredrika says. “If you look at the climate accounting of a mine, you can really start conceiving the different measures that would eliminate emissions. We have a British company mining rare earth elements, for example, and (the rare earth deposit developer) Pensana will join the initiative as well. They are really planning to bring in loads of renewable energy to their production sites to make this happen.”

As a Swedish electric performance car brand, Polestar says it prides itself on transparency, and it would seem Polestar 0 is the value’s poster child. The brand publishes the carbon footprints of all its models using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that takes into account a range of factors, from supply to manufacture and recycling, and summarizes its footprint in one number. The measurement takes into account the EV’s “cradle-to-gate” emissions—essentially those produced during production. It’s with this LCA Polestar plans to measure its Polestar 0 project. Presumably, that means Polestar 0 would roll off the production line starting at 0 tons of CO2e, or perhaps even carbon positive—if successful.

You can see the impact of its research beginning to show through other models. In 2022, the brand reduced its CO2e emissions per car sold by eight percent compared to 2021, and its recent 2023 model, Polestar 4, achieved the lowest carbon impact so far. That includes using new interior materials like tailored knit textiles made from 100 percent recycled PET (commonly from plastic bottles) and floor carpets made using ECONYL, which includes reclaimed fishing nets. It also uses bio-attributed vinyl that replaces crude oil with pine oil when made and NFPP for specific door trim panels that use 50 percent less virgin plastic. Polestar 4’s LCA has a footprint of 19.4 tons of CO2e at launch, a number steadily decreasing from 26.2 tons of CO2e for the Polestar 2 in 2020.

Polestar is already using blockchain technology to trace the lithium and cobalt it uses back to their source, in an effort to move towards transparent carbon neutrality. “We know that we have so many risks in our supply chains, which can be everything from environmental pollution to human rights violations, corruption to animal welfare, and so on. If we know where the materials are coming from, we can go in and check everything is acceptable,” Fredrika explains. “The problem is that many companies haven’t really asked where the material is coming from, especially in the mining industry. Blockchain creates transparency.”

They are also hoping to rally the rest of the automotive industry, and to use collaboration between OEMs to improve sustainability as a whole. “When it came to climate, we asked: “What do we need to do, and what has the industry been asked to do?” And we didn’t really find an industry-shared view on this. So, we actually commissioned a report together with Rivian (a US EV maker) and a consultancy to figure out the carbon budget for the industry,” says Fredrika. “In that work, the findings were shocking—we are currently overshooting our carbon budget by at least 75 percent as an industry. We will spend all of it by 2030.” The report found three key levers that could help, among which one was to decarbonize the supply chain. It’s Polestar’s hope that this work won’t simply benefit its own brand, but the industry as a whole. “Supply chain projects like Polestar 0—figuring out how to produce materials that are climate neutral—have been met with such enthusiasm and curiosity. And we’ve spoken to a lot of other OEMs. It’s ongoing advocacy work. We’re not done at all.”

As for whether creating a truly climate neutral car is, in fact, possible, Fredrika has an answer: “We don’t know—but we’re certainly going to try.” Despite the uncertainty, this is the moral of the Polestar 0 project. If more brands take an attitude like this to sustainability within their portfolio, the world’s 1.5C degree target will surely fall easily within reach.

The post Lofty Ambitions: Polestar 0 Aims To Be First Climate Neutral Car appeared first on JetsetMag.com.