Luxury on Wheels

Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire, was in the news earlier in the year when he bought a majority stake in the basketball team New Jersey Nets. He had said at the time that it was a strategic decision and part of his plan to expand his business interests in the US.Prokhorov has been very active with his businesses and has recently introduced a new line of hybrid cars he has named Yo. The prototype of the car he introduced will run powered by both gasoline and electricity. Prokhorov said that he had two objectives in mind while developing the car. Firstly he felt that it is a socially important product and secondly he wanted to overcome the stereotype that Russians can’t make normal cars.

Yo will be sold in three models sedan, sporty and a small truck. Prokhorov is confident that they will be able to price it competitively at around $10,000. The name will be written in Russian on the vehicles. In Russian Yo will be written with the letter E with two dots over it.

Rolls-Royce, world’s renowned manufacturer of luxury cars, has tagged up with Beverly-Hills-based designer Bijan Pakzad. The two together will customise and roll-out Limited Edition Phantom models which will bear Bijan’s signature design with up to 30 units to be sold to a selected group of VIPs from 20 different countries. The first of the Bijan models will be presented in the spring of 2011. These limited editions would be costing a whopping $1 million each.

The Scorpion by Ronn Motors gets you the best of both the worlds. With this amazing automobile, you get great performance as well as eco friendly fuel solutions. It is the first supercar of its kind and is all set to revolutionize the world of luxury cars. It uses a combination of standard petroleum gasoline and pure hydrogen gas to fuel its 450 horsepower engine. With this, it achieves 40 miles per gallon and substantially reduces CO2 emissions.

Its V-6 hydrogen-injected roadster engine can produce 450 (Scorpion) or 650(Scorpion HX) horsepower and can attain speeds over180 mph while still maintaining a 40mpg range. But that is not all. The looks match the technology as well. The Scorpion comes with a hand built carbon fiber frame and wicked HID Xenon headlights, chrome molly chassis, Recaro seats, all of which make it look like a million bucks. Only 200 of these babies will be built and will be retailed for $175,000.

One of the world’s most prestigious car auctions has produced some very impressive figures this year. Part of the famed Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance, Gooding & Company’s auction has set several world records since its inception in 1990. Now it has hosted the auction of the most expensive car ever sold in the US.

The Concourse d’Elegance was started in 1950 and has since become the world’s premier auto show. Other events include the Tour d’Elegance a "driving event," not a race and an exhibition by the Automotive Fine Arts Society. Of course, the main event is the Concourse d’Elegance itself, in which the best cars in the world are judged for historical accuracy, technical merit and style.

The auction, which follows the main event, was expanded this year to two days. The final tally added up to $64.2 million–$4.2 million more than last year’s auction. Among the expensive autos sold at this exclusive auction were a collection of twelve Bugatti cars sold for $15 million, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB "California" Spider for $3.63

million and three cars fom Oprah Winfrey’s personal collection for $716,000.