The most
eye-catching features centre around the Boat Tail's 'aft deck' – a modern
interpretation of a yacht's wooden rear deck in a special grey and black
Caleidolegno wood veneer that is 'visually elongated' using brushed stainless
steel pinstripe inlays. At the press of
a button this rear deck opens up like sweeping 'butterfly wings' to reveal an
intricate 'hosting suite' for alfresco entertaining and displaying 'a treasure
chest of moving parts'. To the left is a double refrigerator with special
cradles to securely stow two bottles of champagne at a precise temperature. The
aficionado owner's favourite Armand de Brignac vintage - which can cost up to
£57,950 a bottle - should be stored at six degrees Centigrade for consumption -
the exact setting the fridge operates at.
The section also provides space for four glasses, napkins and other
accoutrements.
It is not
self-pity but way back in mid 1970s when we were studying – many of my
classmates would walk to school bare-footed – a good slipper was a luxury those
days ! .. .. when we finished our
College, our dream aspiration was a Bank clerk job of Rs.1000 pm salary and a
two-wheeler as a proud possession.
Life has changed
and in the days of Corona, a healthy life is the ultimate luxury !
Before one of the most
flourishing industry was Tourism – luxury tourism - affluent people travelling to exotic
locations to spend their money in peace.
Geographic distance never reduced the
indomitable spirit of spending money at locations hitherto unexplored. Perhaps this is not indexed by Nation but by
affluence ! - those who have money spend
their own money, none can grudge that – and the Communist view of giving it to
poor becomes irrelevant as they themselves have modern offices earning lakhs in
rent but would preach others to spend for others.
The dictionary meaning of
‘luxury’ is :
1: a condition of
abundance or great ease and comfort : sumptuous environmentlived in luxury
2a: something adding to
pleasure or comfort but not absolutely necessaryone of life's luxuries
b: an indulgence in
something that provides pleasure, satisfaction, or ease
In economics, a luxury
good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than
proportionally as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a
greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to
necessity goods, where demand increases proportionally less than income. Luxury
goods is often used synonymously with superior goods. The word
"luxury" originated from the Latin word luxuria, which means exuberance,
excess, abundance.
Luxury goods have high
income elasticity of demand: as people become wealthier, they will buy
proportionately more luxury goods. This also means, however, that should there
be a decline in income its demand will drop more than proportionately. Income
elasticity of demand is not constant with respect to income, and may change
sign at different levels of income. That is to say, a luxury good may become a
necessity good or even an inferior good at different income levels.
For many – a car is luxury
– those days, cars with AC were different than its normal ones – now AC in a
car is a bare necessity ! A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels
of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and status relative to
regular cars for an increased price. Traditionally, most luxury cars were large
vehicles, though smaller sports-oriented models were always produced. “Compact“
luxury vehicles such as hatchbacks, and off-road capable sport utility
vehicles, are relatively modern trends.
In case, you
are wondering what the first para describes – it is the new luxury car from the
stables of Rolls-Royce that is hyped to be the costliest one !
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Limited is a British luxury automobile maker. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited
operates from purpose-built administrative and production facilities opened in
2003 across from the historic Goodwood Circuit in Goodwood, West Sussex,
England, United Kingdom. Rolls-Royce Motors Cars Limited is the exclusive
manufacturer of Rolls-Royce branded motor cars since 2003. Although the
Rolls-Royce brand has been in use since 1906, the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
subsidiary of BMW AG has no direct relationship to Rolls-Royce-branded vehicles
produced prior to 2003 other than being a major engine and other supplier prior
to 2003.
The world's most
expensive new car has been unveiled by
Rolls-Royce – and it has an umbrella that extends out of the back! The
£20million (INR 20.60 Cr approx. ) Boat Tail convertible grand tourer is the first of an exclusive
trio of highly personalised nautically-based limousines. It
has been specially commissioned by a wealthy and 'flamboyant' couple with a
love of chilled champagne and alfresco meals - hence the vehicle's incredible
rear deck housing a dinner set, rotating cocktail tables with matching chairs
and a parasol that automatically extends out when they want to dine at the rear
of their Roller.
The British car maker has
even exclusively modified the cabin to house personalised 'his and hers' wrist
watches – either of which can be slotted into the dashboard to become the
motor's clock. Reports that the owner may be an American rapper were understood
to be 'unfounded' and 'wide of the mark'. It has taken four years of
'mind-boggling attention to detail' to design and manufacture in collaboration
with clients who wanted a unique car to 'mark a sense of occasion', says the
legendary British marque.
And to put the exclusivity
of the commission into context, the £20million price-tag would buy you the
equivalent of around 40 personalised flagship Rolls-Royce Phantom limousines
costing around £500,000 each (including bespoke extras). It is also double the
cost of the previous two most expensive new cars in the world: Rolls-Royce's
own £10million coachbuilt Sweptail of 2017 - the car that sparked new Boat Tail
project; and Bugatti's one-off £11.5million 'La Voiture Noir' hypercar that was
first shown at the March 2019 Geneva Motor Show. The reason for the vast expense is that the
car has been engineered and designed from the ground up as a near one off.
With production cars, the total costs are spread across the number of cars produced – which in the case of Rolls-Royce will go into hundreds and thousands of vehicles over time. With mainstream car-makers those costs will be spread across millions of vehicles. In the case of the Boat Tail, the 'Coachbuild' construction means the chassis, engine and underpinnings may be based on the existing Phantom limo, but everything above that and every detail - from the largest ever hand-made panels, to the most intricate mechanism, and clock - has to be designed and created from scratch. It is therefore not a 'standard' car with a lot of bespoke extras and luxuries added. It is a brand new car – effectively a one-off model – though in this case the total costs have been shared across three vehicles, each of which is personalised to the owner. In artwork terms, is the difference between hanging a high quality print on your wall, or owning the only original oil-painting.
When mainstream
manufacturers launch a new model, they usually have to invest around £1billion
before the first car comes off the line. But that average cost is reduced every
time an additional car comes off the line, so the average costs reduce
significantly. Rolls-Royce's new Coachbuild arm has been set up specifically to
capitalise on the growing number of similar such super-rich customers who want a
luxury limousine that they can help to create and is unique to them. It is
left-hand drive suggesting it will be driven mostly on the European Continent. To keep time, two reversible 'His
& Hers' two-sided timepieces by Swiss-based 'BOVET 1822' – either one of
which can be taken off the owner's wrist and mounted on the dashboard fascia as
a clock, while the other is stored in a special tray compartment.
Interesting !
28.5.2021.
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