Two exceptional motor cars will join the collection at the most anticipated hotel, THE 13.

Two exceptional motor cars will join the collection at the most anticipated hotel, THE 13. 

Reserved for the hotel’s most important guests, the two highly Bespoke gold infused creations will become the flagships of the 30 strong collection of Rolls-Royce Phantoms, commissioned by luxury entrepreneur Stephen Hung, Joint Chairman of THE 13 HOLDINGS LIMITED, to reflect his bold vision, as expressed in the design scheme of his refined and remarkable hotel.

Select guests will be conveyed in sumptuous style – ensconced in the world of Rolls-Royce and surrounded by Bespoke enhancements commissioned by Mr Hung – designed to make the experience as effortless and luxurious as possible.

Identified by the inclusion of 24 carat gold on both the exterior and interior, the two distinctive motor cars will be heralded as the finest in the fleet and at the time of commissioning, the most expensive Rolls-Royce Phantoms ever built.

Luxury visionaries, like Mr Hung, come to Rolls-Royce in the knowledge that the marque’s craftspeople accept no compromise. 

Characteristic care and attention has therefore been applied to the creation of one of the car’s defining features, an exterior finish enhanced with the finest particles of 23.75 carat gold, a weight chosen for even disbursement, achieving a perfectly executed finish. 

The result is the most expensive and meticulously engineered paint the marque has ever produced – a challenge welcomed emphatically by the experts at the Home of Rolls-Royce.

Giles Taylor, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented, “A Rolls-Royce motor car is commissioned to express the tastes, desires and lifestyle of its patron. 

It is testament to the skill of the artisans that so elegantly express their craft at our Global Centre of Excellence in Goodwood, that this bold and technically challenging design scheme has been executed so perfectly.”

The Surface Finish Centre at the Rolls-Royce Global Centre of Excellence in Goodwood installed new and specialist equipment to ensure no contamination could occur during the painting of the two motor cars. 

The finish uses 250% more paint than other Phantoms, resulting in an impressive 10 layers, one of which consists of a 40 micron deep layer of Gold, combined with glass and aluminium to provide an alluring shimmer. 

Rolls-Royce Material Scientist, Nick Geehan, commented, “Only at the Home of Rolls-Royce would a team embark on such an ambitious project on behalf of one of our patrons. 

We accept nothing but perfection – the finish took eight attempts to mix the perfect colour; an apt number when considering the significance of lucky number eight in Macau, the home for these precious Phantoms.”

An uplit 24 carat gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy, the graceful figurine who proudly guides every Rolls-Royce, sits atop a gold-coloured Pantheon Grille and hallmarked Rolls-Royce badge, made using 97.1gms of 18ct gold before being plated in 24 carat gold to match the interior gold highlights. 

Vitreous enamel is used to form the signature RR emblem and is surrounded by 336 pavé set brilliant-cut diamonds. A golden twin coachline is hand-painted by Mark Court, Rolls-Royce’s resident expert coachline painter, using a fine squirrel hair paintbrush.

Within the coach doors, renowned Rolls-Royce umbrellas, on hand to protect occupants from undesirable weather or awaiting paparazzi, are also personalised by incorporating a gold handle and a golden trim to match the colour themes of the hotel. 

Gold tread plates engraved with ‘PHANTOM Specially Commissioned by Stephen Hung’ remind occupants of the distinctive origins of these remarkable motor cars.

A seminal moment for any building of architectural significance lies in the breaking of the ground.  

In the case of THE 13 hotel, this historical occasion was captured in the two Gold Phantoms through the application of a starlight headliner, created to depict the Macau constellation on the night of THE 13’s ground-breaking. 

Gold thread is handwoven into the star-scape to identify this constellation and a gold plaque, engraved with the date and location, reminds the world’s elite of the position of this new centre of luxury in Macau.

The grand entrance of the hotel is strikingly echoed in the interior of these Phantoms. On entering the Extended Wheelbase Phantom, guests are greeted by a black and white seat feature which boldly reflects the chequered floor of the entrance hall of the hotel. 

Drawing on skills from artisans at the Home of Rolls-Royce who trained in saddlery, the seats are covered in large scale hand-woven black and white leather panels providing a three-dimensional texture to the interior cabin. 

A new gold coloured pearl effect leather has been created to edge the seats, ensuring occupants enjoy a stately experience as they are cosseted from the environs of bustling Macau.

Extraordinary attention-to-detail informs every Rolls-Royce Bespoke Design. This is boldly expressed in a beautiful treatment of the instrument dials and clock with both referencing THE 13‘s red and gold theme. The clock was designed in collaboration with master jeweller, Graff.

All 30 Bespoke Phantoms, that represent the largest single commission in Rolls-Royce history, are destined for THE 13.

Infiniti Red Bull Racing Previews the Monaco Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo

Q1: So, you're the unofficial chief cheerleader for the Monaco circuit, what makes you like it so much?

Ricciardo: From the driver's point of view – and maybe teams see it differently – the best thing about coming to Monaco is that it's a circuit where the driver has more influence on events. Driving a Formula One car anywhere is special: The speed, the power and the acceleration just blows you away. But here it's like trying to do a lap in a supermarket, and that's just so, so cool. 

I know there's that quote about racing at Monaco being like riding a bicycle around your bathroom. Well, when I was a kid, I used to love riding my little bike around inside the house. It was more fun. There were more obstacles and a bit more danger. 

That really is what this is like. You have the walls around the circuit and the bumps on the track that make it a bit more real. The circuit has a lot of character. You can feel that in the car. You can't afford mistakes. 

Your concentration levels rocket and you tend to amaze yourself with how quickly you manage to do everything. Just completing a lap feels like an achievement. It feels like a challenge.

Q2: Is it all about the track?

Ricciardo: Not at all. The Monaco Grand Prix is the real deal. There's so much energy surrounding it: the big boats, the big spenders, the cool people, the Hollywoods – it's all there. I wouldn't say I'm massively into that stuff at any other time of the year, but it creates a crazy atmosphere over the weekend here, and that really makes the adrenaline rocket.

Q3: You're now a resident of Monaco. Will you walk down to the paddock and take it all in over the weekend?

Ricciardo: I could – but I won't. I'll be in team kit and I reckon I'd end up stopping for a chat every 10 paces and get to work a couple of hours late. People in the garage tend to frown on that! Maybe I could wear a disguise. Hey! Perhaps I'm that guy with the moustache, sunglasses and baseball cap standing next to you right now.

Q4: What's Monaco like for the other 11 months of the year? Where do you hang out?

Ricciardo: You'll be shocked to hear that there are some cool clubs and restaurants. You can't see it from TV but there's a really nice place – it keeps changing its name but I think it's one of Flavio's – underneath the entrance to the tunnel with a really nice view out into the Mediterranean. 

Then there's the bars around Rascasse; they're always fun – not that I'm a big hitter on the club scene or anything.

Another fairly regular place for a lot of the guys is Sass Café. It has the advantage of being open seven nights a week and even on a Sunday night it's open until 3 a.m. That can be pretty handy if you're getting back late from a race or team event and don't fancy a dinner of instant noodles.

Daniil Kvyat

Q1: It's often said that Monaco presents drivers with the ultimate test. Is that a fair description? Is it a daunting prospect for a racer?

Kvyat: It's a real "confidence" circuit. You need to be in tune with it. You need to find yourself – find the flow. You need to find the right approach mentally, and with the car you just have to make it happen.

In the beginning it's a big test. To go out and find that confidence is not easy, and you always question yourself, asking: "When is it going to happen? When am I going to feel it enough to really go for it?" But at some point in the weekend, it just happens. You find the rhythm and the lap time comes. When it works like that, when you get yourself in the right place and you find a good understanding with the track, it's great.

Q2: It's a circuit you've only ever raced in Formula One. Are you still discovering new things about it?

Kvyat: Yes, definitely. I did pretty well in qualifying last year (9th), but I only did a handful of laps in the race because I had a problem with the car, so I would yes. I'm not sure there's a special secret about it, and there's no one area that holds the key. It's just a really massive lap. The whole thing seems to go by in one breath. It's just as well it's a short lap.

Q3: What about the sense of history in Monaco and the crazy atmosphere on the streets? Do you find yourself getting caught up in those things or do they get in the way?

Kvyat: In terms of the atmosphere and so on, I'll be perfectly honest and say that, for me, it's not the best. It's really confined and there's not much chance to get some space for yourself. It is totally unique, and it is an amazing place, but for me the trick is to try to remove myself from that and focus on what we're there to do.

New Ferrari Land to open in Spain, in 2016

PortAventura Entertainment S.A.U., a subsidiary of Investindustrial, has signed a licencing agreement with Ferrari to build Ferrari Land, a new Prancing Horse theme park, inside the PortAventura resort and theme park outside Barcelona in Spain.

Ferrari Land will cover 75,000 square metres and include a variety of new and exciting attractions for Prancing Horse enthusiasts of all ages, including Europe’s highest and fastest vertical accelerator. An opportunity for the whole family to experience and discover the world of Ferrari.  

More good news is that the first Ferrari-themed hotel is also to be built inside PortAventura and will be a luxury five-star establishment with 250 rooms, restaurants and a driving simulator.

The project will involve an overall investment of 100 million euros and the Ferrari theme park itself officially opens in 2016. PortAventura already welcomes 4,000,000 visitors a year, of whom 50% come from outside Spain.

Acquired in 2009 by Investindustrial, PortAventura has been going from strength to strength and is now the Mediterranean’s top amusement park as well as the second-ranked in Europe, thanks in large part to an investment of over 125 million euros spread over a four-year period in addition to the initial sum invested in the purchase.

Andrea C. Bonomi, Senior Partner Investindustrial, explained the motivation behind the partnership with Ferrari thus: “PortAventura is one of the leaders in Europe’s tourism sector, while Ferrari is an iconic company that represents the very best of Made in Italy. The synergy between the two groups creates a powerful combination that means we can offer clients of both brands a unique experience. We are proud to be able to make this contribution to fostering the growth of the Ferrari brand and Made in Italy across the world. This partnership has been made possible by Investindustrial’s ongoing investment plan and the talents of the Italian management team brought in from Gardaland who have turned PortAventura into Europe’s best destination resort. Our recent collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, this new agreement with Ferrari and our partnership with KKR will help us expand PortAventura even further in the longer term.  The agreement with Ferrari is another essential stage in our strategy of positioning PortAventura as one of the best family destination resorts in the world.”

Andrea Perrone, CEO of Ferrari Brand, the Ferrari subsidiary company that manages the Prancing Horse’s brand-related activities, added: “After the success of Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, we received many, many requests to develop new amusement parks. We carefully sifted through the various proposals and decided to accept Investindustrial’s because it is a very solid plan developed by competent people that will bring the magic of Ferrari to Spain, a nation where we have many supporters and enthusiasts, and to which large numbers of tourists flock each year, in part thanks to PortAventura. This new licence further underscores our brand’s presence in this area. Ferrari Land will delight the whole family and not just Formula 1 fans. We will continue to evaluate other proposals for theme parks outside Europe at our leisure: the brand is our most important asset and we have to enhance its value without diluting it.”

Sergio Feder, Executive President of PortAventura, also declared: “After our successful experience with Gardaland (Italy’s leading amusement park with almost 3.5 million visitors a year), we developed a long-term business development plan with Investindustrial to make PortAventura one of the best family destinations in Europe.  Right from the start we have always been clear about our desire to develop the resort with high-profile international brands to ensure we achieve our target of around 5 million visitors a year.  Ferrari was an obvious choice for this, not merely because of what the brand itself represents but also because of its experience with the Ferrari World Park at Abu Dhabi. It is also a source of great pride to us to be able to support such a world-famous and internationally-respected brand.”