Celebrity Life

Beyond even the average billionaire’s wildest dreams.

At a time when everyone with the wherewithal to do so is thinking of sailing off into the sunset and leaving a problem-stricken world behind – or at least until the most pressing of those problems resolve themselves – Italian yacht-builder Benetti has just revealed details of an ideal vessel in which to do it.

Designated FB272 and named, for obvious reasons, Luminosity, it’s a 108-metre-long floating “palace of light” that’s almost guaranteed to float any self-respecting ultra-high-net-worth individual’s boat.

Designed by Zaniz Jabukowski, Andrew Langton and Giorgio M Casseta, this 5,844-tonne giga yacht’s main Owners deck is surrounded by 800 square metres of 3-metre-tall windows that during the daytime let uninterrupted sunshine in and after dark turn this impressive vessel into a shimmering cascade that illuminates the ocean surrounding it. Among its amenities are – deep breath – 12 luxurious suites that together can accommodate up to 27 guests, a spa, a gym, a 30-metre swimming pool, a helipad, a dance floor, a medical centre, a pair of custom-built 40-metre-long luxury tenders and a landing craft. It can even accommodate two cars (one being a Rolls-Royce Phantom), a 24-foot sailing boat and a pair of motorbikes.

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Glazed surfaces throughout, virtual artworks and the use of materials such as malachite, lapis lazuli, onyx, marble, ceramics and gold leaf enhance not only the pervading air of luxury but also an impression of ever-changing light, which combines with the constantly shifting views outside. There are even coloured circles by the artist Damien Hirst on the main-deck lobby’s French limestone floor, while pillars are engraved with the opening sentences of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

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Although saving the planet is rarely high on the agenda with yachts such as these, whose hourly running costs dwarf the monthly salaries of even the reasonably well-off, its owners will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that Luminosity’s hybrid propulsion system employs twin Caterpillar diesels and two 2,200kW Azipods that together run six 1,000kW generators, with 36 tonnes of batteries that can store sufficient electricity to provide 12 hours of power without the use of generators. And though that doesn’t exactly endow this otherwise hugely impressive ship with especially green credentials, let’s say it achieves an indeterminate shade of yellow.

The post Benetti’s New Giga Yacht Is a Floating Palace of Light appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Not that anyone living in this city needs the ability to gallop across the Gobi or trek across the tundra, but intrepid explorers of the urban wilderness will doubtless be delighted to learn that, almost a year after it was first revealed, the new Land Rover Defender has arrived in Hong Kong at last.

And though by all accounts infinitely smoother and more civilised than its predecessor – a car whose essential design dated back to the late 1940s – this reborn Landy is in every way the real and thoroughly up-to-date deal, as it combines unstoppable off-road capability with a hitherto unknown daily-driving liveability.

Unlike the old car, which was built atop a separate chassis and designed initially as a workhorse for farmers and the military, this new Defender was intended from the outset to spend as much – if not most – of its life traversing urban freeways as being up to its axles in muck, mud, sand and snow. Modern in appearance, though bearing a distinct resemblance to its forebears, it combines ultra-strong aluminium architecture with – on the 110 long-wheelbase version (the short-wheelbase 90 is available later) – a rugged intelligent air-suspension system that offers increased ground clearance, the ability to wade through water and Configurable Terrain Response programmes that optimise traction for any conditions.

Vehicles shipped to Hong Kong are powered by Jaguar Land Rover’s mildly hybridised three-litre Ingenium straight-six whose maximum output approaches 400bhp – a marked jump in power over previous Defenders that should translate into sparkling on-road performance. Creature comforts, too, exist in quite another dimension: although the interior contrives to look as if it’s been designed with wipe-clean practicality and the great outdoors in mind, the cabin is built from premium materials, is beautifully put together, as well as being packed with thoughtful storage space and all the latest infotainment systems, including an intuitive touchscreen. Defender 110s can be ordered with 5+2 seating in three rows (the one in the back being for children only), as well as with an additional central folding seat at the front – in other words, plenty of room for large and especially active families.

As for other options, the list is pretty much endless: there are four main accessory packs – Adventure, Country, Explorer and Urban – and you can even order it with a bumper-mounted electric winch for when you, um, well actually we can’t think of a situation when you’d normally need one. And if you like your new Landy so much that you’d rather sleep in it than your own bed, they can also kit it out with a rooftop tent. So that whenever you’re cruising through Central you can pretend you’re really heading out into the Serengeti (and that number 5 bus is actually an elephant).

The post Intrepid Urban Explorers Rejoice – Land Rover’s New Defender Is Here at Last appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.