The Uber-Luxury Trio
Bentley, Maybach and Rolls-Royce. Apparently nobody else seems to see the absurdity of building cars priced at more than $300,000, so we will stop mentioning it. Unless you have been away on an extended trip to buy some Grey Poupon, you will know that VW now owns Bentley while BMW owns Rolls-Royce. Not to be outdone in this game of German one-upmanship, DaimlerChrysler has resurrected the Maybach name from the 1930s to create its own ultra-luxury flagship brand.
All three of the major players were assembled under one roof for the first time at the Detroit Show. Maybach had its immense, long-wheelbase 2004 Maybach 62 with pricing starting at around $350,000. Bentley's current production line-up of luxury sedans was augmented by the $150,000 Continental GT all-wheel-drive coupe that is due in showrooms by fall and that was also at the Paris show. The newcomer to the party was the $320,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom, which is scheduled to begin production this year.
The Maybach 62 is massive with 5 ft of leg room for a pair of rear-seat passengers. Every Maybach will be custom-built to its buyer's wishes. The Bentley is an attractive shape, blending modern technology with oddly traditional interior appointments of wood and leather. Fittingly as the most sporting of the trio, Bentley has announced it will continue its Le Mans racing program in 2003.
The Rolls-Royce is a large car, too, and it carries styling and a roofline that reminds one of the Hooper-bodied cars of the late 1950s. The front of the car is very vertical and creates an imposing air that seems to eschew the science of aerodynamics as mere fashion. A 6.75-liter V12 engine and six-speed automatic transmission allow the Rolls-Royce to achieve 5.7-sec. 0-to-60-mph acceleration times, so clearly somebody has done their performance homework. When these big three hit the market, ultra-rich luxury car buyers will have never had it so good.
Lamborghini
A barchetta version of the V12-powered Murcilago, the Lamborghini Concept Car is 136mm lower than its roofed sibling and has an asymmetrical colored leather interior, creating a "pilot-oriented driving machine." It's the perfect poster car for 14-year-old boys.
Race of Champions
The perfect winter break
It's Friday night by the time I arrive at the Race of Champions hotel, but Jeff Gordon is already feeling sore. Earlier in the day he endured a quintuple roll in a Peugeot 206 World Rally Car. To make a good story great, Gordon had been hitching a passenger ride with the newly crowned World Rally Champion, Marcus Gronholm, and the accident occurred at the second corner of his first practice lap.
Despite the discomfort, Gordon remains upbeat. "It's not every day that you get to roll with the best son-of-a-bitch in the world," he exclaims. His attitude epitomizes the spirit of this event, which is part motor race, part jamboree.
The brainchild of former works rally driver Michele Mouton, the Race of Champions brings together brings together stars from the worlds of two and four wheels, dirt and tarmac. A glance at the entry list reveals four current Formula One drivers, six World Rally stars, two Nascar winners, the World Superbike Champion, the CART champion and two Indy 500 winners.