Aston Martin – iPhone / iPod Dock

Do you have someone on your Christmas list that is just plain hard to buy for; the person who has everything and the money to buy it?  Oh but wait, you know they are an Aston Martin road and racing car enthusiast that already has (well almost) everything. What do you do ?

Now, the world renowned London-based Aston Martin Heritage specialists, Nicholas Mee & Co. has come up with the ultimate Christmas gift ideas for the racing car enthusiasts. Nicholas Mee & Co has entered into an exclusive relationship with artisan engineers “Racing Gold” to “upcycle” auto parts once used in Aston Martin racing or road cars to create clean and modern furniture pieces.

The classic British sports car company and has come up with a new way of refurbishing parts that were once junkyard bound making them into beautiful and functional pieces.

Performance Artworks (P.Arts), the brand name, has a talented design team chosen for the project.  Bursting with ideas, they have started by creating four stunning Aston Martin items which include:

· “Brake caliper” iPhone / iPod dock (compatible with iPhones 4, 4S and 5, and recent iPods. With its in-built phonic transfer speaker, the caliper’s mass enhances low frequency sounds through the table’s surface. Lithium ion battery plus charging and audio leads supplied. Available in a range of colors.)

· “Crankshaft’ coffee table  (“upcycled” from an Aston Martin GT4 race car, with a stamp for authenticity and a brake disc and brake bell from the same car.  Standing 65cm tall, it is currently fitted with a 65cm diameter glass top, but if required the dimensions of the top can be altered to individual requirements.)

· “Propshaft” coat stand (crafted using “upcycled” components from an Aston Martin GT4 race car including two reengineered and refurbished wheel rims that have been chrome polished for a stunning appearance, relocated wheel nuts that have also been chrome polished, a previously raced brake disc and brake bell, and the upstanding, refurbished carbon fibre propshaft. It stands 165cm tall with the ‘wheel’ base being 50cm in diameter. The coat-hook wheelrim has 15 spokes.)

· “Tweed covered” racing seat (a period bucket seat that was previously used in a period Aston Martin racing car has been exquisitely trimmed in official Aston Martin Racing/Hackett ‘Prince of Wales’ tweed. The legs of this highly comfortable yet practical 95cm tall chair have been engineered to replicate the look of the spokes of a Nardi wooden steering wheel common to many Heritage Aston Martins.)

Furniture made from previously used components has always fascinated auto enthusiasts and the exquisite yet practical furniture item would make the perfect gift !

To view and purchase items, visit Nicholas Mee & Co’s West London Brackenbury House showroom  located at 158-160 Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith or online at www.astonstore.co.uk.

Full details can be found at http://www.nicholasmee.co.uk/

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO – Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

The 2012 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will be held next year from March 9-11 on the 10th and 18th fairways of The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach next to the luxury The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island.

1962 marked the iconic debut of this most significant Ferrari – the Ferrari GTO. 2012 will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the classic Ferrari GTO.

This will be a rare gathering at 2012 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, including legendary GT racers that made its international debut at the 1962 12 Hours of Sebring and proceeded to rule international GT racing for three years.

The Ferrari GTO was built between 1962 and 1964, but yet only 36 three-liter cars and two four-liter cars were created by the factory. Ferrari 250 GTOs were constructed to meet new racing rules for the FIA’s World Championship Grand Touring category.

The stylish racing car’s name is derived from the Italian language as GTO means “Grand Turismo Omologato” and translates to “Grand Touring Homologated.”

Racing was Enzo Ferrari’s life. As the legendary GTO went from drawing board to metal, shockingly a civil war within Ferrari rocked the organization to its foundations. The disagreements left 26 year-old Mauro Forghieri to pick up the pieces and bring Ferrari’s newest GT racer to life.

Due to its limited production numbers, sleek GT styling, and rich competition history, Ferrari GTOs are highly prized and considered a work of art by collectors and automotive journalists around the world.

The Ferrari GTO sold originally for about $18,000 in the United States. On the rare occasion when one does change hands, it is usually in extremely private circumstances and the price tag is easily in the multi-million dollar range.

Motion Pro II Racing Simulator – CXC Simulations

CXC Simulations manufactures what is widely known as the most realistic – and the only professional grade – full-motion motor racing simulator practical for home use.

CXC Simulations offers the Motion Pro II racing simulator which is an amazing experience.

The client base of CXC Simulations encompasses not only pro drivers and race teams, but a high number of enthusiasts who have neither the opportunity nor the time to compete on the track.

These racing fanatics still demand the best and desire the ultimate experience and accuracy of a true simulation.

Sadly, there are too many of the game-oriented, so-called “racing simulators” in arcades and on the market today that tarnish the simulation industry.

Just a sample of people who love the Motion Pro II Racing Simulator by CXC Simulations, include champion racers like Alex Gurney, Stefan Johansson, Townsend Bell, Patrick Long.

Other high-value customers include Mid-East royalty and corporate officers from Apple and Patron.

The Motion-Pro II comes with three 46-inch Full HD 1080p LCD displays, a 505-watt 5.1 surround sound system, in addition to a full body support fiberglass shell.

Motion Pro II Racing Simulator – CXC Simulations

You can check out the Motion Pro II Racing Simulator at www.cxcsimulations.com.

See the flexibility of the L.A. California based CXC Simulations, their production process and how the company personally customize each Motion Pro to fit each customer’s needs and desires.

VisionRacer VR3

If you are looking for the best racing simulator anywhere, then we have found what you are looking for.

The new VisionRacer VR3 is the ultimate luxury entertainment experience. One try and you’ll never play a racing simulation game the same again.

VisionRacer is based in New Zealand, and the company designs and manufactures the sexiest looking virtual racing simulator on the planet.

Danica Patrick began racing when she was only ten years old. She began racing in the Indy Racing League in 2005, competing for the Rahal-Letterman team, becoming the rookie of the year.

She is currently married to Paul Hospenthal, a physical therapist, who helped Danica recover from an injury she suffered while filming a morning television show.

“My goal is not to be the first female to do things or to be a poster child or a calendar girl. It’s to just win, because everything takes care of itself if you win.”

Photo: Graham Watson

The Tour de France is considered to be the greatest cycling race in the world. It got its start in the early 1900s and it didn’t take long before it became fiercely competitive. It attracted thousands of viewers right from the start. Its long legacy of riders going to crazy lengths to win started in 1904 with the first reports of cheating.

The Tour de France was founded by Henri Desgrange. The first Tour de France was in 1903, taking 19 days at six stages and covering 2828 kilometers.

Cyclists were expected to pedal through the night. There were no actual breaks for sleep. Bike changes weren’t allowed. No outside assistance was allowed for repairs and punctures. It was all entirely up to the cyclists.

The race started as a publicity stunt for a French sports newspaper called L’Auto. This was a phenomenal success; it destroyed its competitor, Le Velo. Sixty of the bravest, gutsiest, toughest cyclists of the day started the race.

Maurice Garin dominated the race from the beginning. Garin was nickname the “Chimney Sweep.” He still holds a record today for the win with the greatest margin– a remarkable 2 hours and 49 minutes! More than 20,000 people watched Garin cross the finish line in Paris.

The Tour de France bicycle race has 20 stages, covering over 2,000 miles (3,300 km) through four countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Spain). Racers have to battle the summer heat, long climbs through the Alps and Pyrennes mountains and the taunting and teasing from spectators.

Dress has always been important during the history of the Tour de France. The leader of the race always wears a yellow jersey to show he is the rider to beat while the rider who is leading the mountain portion of the race always wears a red and white polka dot jersey.

Until 1937, racers at the Tour de France were not allowed to use bicycles with systems which allowed them to automatically change gears. Riders had to get off their bikes and turn their wheel around every time the road changed from uphill to downhill.

Since 2000, the Tour de France has been dominated by Lance Armstrong. Lance achieved a record breaking total of seven victories in the Tour de France – the most victories ever by a single rider.

Even more impressive, is he won seven-in-a-row. Despite many setbacks including his bout with cancer, Armstrong shows that focus and precision pay off.

Marion Jones has been the queen of women’s sprinting.  She racked up three Olympic gold medals and five total medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia.  The U.S. Olympic team once named her the “the world’s fastest mom.”

Well, she won’t be running any longer as she announced her retirement after pleading guilty to charges of steroid use. The allegations have hounded Marion Jones for many years.  For sports fans,  yet another idolized sports hero has admitting to using steroids.  Who’s next?  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/10/04/jones.ap/index.html – Full article