The other day we told you about the gold Ferrari Enzo – now here’s the green 599. The famed Italian marque just unveiled its first ever hybrid vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show, finished in an emetic shade of green to really hammer home the point. The 599 GTB Hybrid, or HY-KERS officially, was first announced by Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo last month. KERS refers to Ferrari’s Formula One Kinetic Energy Recovery System which basically recycles energy expended in braking and decelerating.

Not too dissimilar to Porsche’s 911 GT3 Hybrid we wrote about earlier, the car is powered by a conventional six-litre V12 engine coupled with two electric motors which run on lithium-ion batteries and do some fancy footwork known as “torque vectoring”. The result of all this eco gadgetry is a boost of 100 hp in addition to considerable fuel and emissions savings if you don’t drive like Michael Schumacher. In the initial phase of the technology the vehicle is likely to be quite costly, i.e. somewhere in the neighborhood of €400,000.

Some collaborations between exotic auto tuners and fashion designers go disastrously wrong – yes, we mean you, Mr. Audigier – when the arty types get it into their heads that a Lamborghini might look good with some godawful tattoo nonsense on its bonnet. Mansory’s new confab with German designer Philipp Plein on a carbon fibre version of Mercedes’ G55 AMG, dubbed the G-Couture, is elegant and understated compared to these automotive abortions however. Limited to just seven examples, the exterior finish was achieved with an “autoclave-prepreg” process borrowed from the aviation industry.

Mansory has replaced many of the stock V8 engine’s components with ones from the SLR, giving power a boost to the tune of 700 hp and 880 Nm of torque, making an already fast ride near neck-snapping. The interior goes a bit AWOL with genuine python skin detailing in silver and crowned G-Couture logos in the headrests, but other innovations such as replacing the back bench with four single seats and a continuous central console reaching from the back seat to the cockpit with an integrated entertainment system are essentially sound.

With events like the Geneva Motor Show and BaselWorld, you’re put in a strange position as a blogger. On the one hand, you’re dealing with the crème de la crème of the luxury car (Geneva) and horology (Basel) world, and not covering atleast aspects of it will make you seem amateurish. On the other hand, it’s kind of like trying to come up with exclusive material during the Olympics. It just can’t be done if you’re not physically present at the event. That’s why we’ve decided not to try to and cover just about every car or watch that turn up at these conventions, instead opting for the more… off-beat ones. We’ll still fawn over the new Submariner, should Rolex play their cards right.

One car that definitely falls in that category is the orange-and-gray racing buggy from luxury Super-SUV maker, Fornasari. The chaps over at Autoblog didn’t seem to take too kindly to it, but hey, screw ‘em (although I’m not sold on the RR66 in the linked article, either). Not only do I appreciate the fact that this “thing” looks like something out you’d be hunted by in The Running Man, or, if you’re a bit younger, an oversized version of one of the house robots from Robot Wars. Moreover, I just have a soft spot for novelties like these (even though it probably won’t be more than just that – I can’t see anyone picking the kids of from school in one. You’d scar them for life).

Like many other luxury watch brands, it looks like Maurice Lacroix is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. While I see some form of brand DNA, it seems as though each of their new models is quite random in form. Not necessarily bad, but more like the company is simply throwing darts wishing to see which may hit closer to the bulls-eye of consumer love. The new Pontos Chronograph Rectangulaire All Black watch is exactly like this. There is nothing else in their range that resembles this piece, but at the same time the dial has some similarities to what they have done before. As a follower of the brand, you neither have any idea how this watch is supposed to fit into their existing line, nor what the point of the piece is. Maurice Lacroix is further banking on the fading “all black” theme – where watches are done all in various shades of black (even the lume). Why they wanted to apply this theme here? I don’t know. Perhaps so that they can fill in that small market segment of all black rectangular watches with classy looking dials. Must be high demand for that niche.

As I said, there is nothing inherently wrong with the watch. The case design is fitting for the brand, though not overly done. The steel watch case is 38.2mm wide and 42.8mm tall. It is actually covered in a sand-blasted black ceramic, something I haven’t heard about before. Why this odd case formulation? Your guess is as good as mine. The movement is a base Swiss ETA 7750 automatic movement, which provides enough dials and areas on the face for Maurice Lacroix to play with. The resulting dial has some mixed textures and looks attractive, but not particularly innovative. There is supposed to be some interesting hand engraving on the movement – which is exposed through the sapphire caseback window in the rear of the watch.

For some, this will be a highly desirable watch with its mix of dark tones, classy demeanor, and undeniable sport attitude (all black, rubber strap). Still, after pondering the piece for a while, I still have no idea what it means, what emotions the brand wishes to bestow in this product or how it helps the brand in the long term. Feel like just another random work of watch art from the maybe too diverse brand. And while that works for Seiko in Japan, it may not always work with a Swiss watch brand like Maurice Lacroix.

By Ariel Adams

If you, like me, have the ugly habit of manically updating the mainpage over at Autoblog, the recent TVR story that have turned up on the horizon probably hasn’t gone you by. While details are scarce at the moment, a company called Total Vehicle Remanufacturing (nudge, nudge) are releasing “remanufactured” versions of the Sagaris, Tuscan S and T350 that comply with American transportation laws. Here’s the kicker: the cars are being sold as rolling chassises (chassiae? chassiris?), meaning you’ll be providing the engine yourself.

TVR themselves don’t seem to be terribly excited at the moment. On the other hand, the Blackpoolians (Blackpudlians?) have been walking on a rather shaky path during the Smolensky era, so we’ll just wait and see what happens. We’ll be the first to tell you when more information leaks out.

In the meantime, take a look at the remanufactured Sagaris that is available for sale on JamesList, along with a Tuscan S and T350 from Carmel Motorsports.

Porsche pulled a rabbit out of the hat, automotively speaking, when it unveiled an eco-friendly 918 Spyder Concept during the Volkswagen Group Press Conference at the Geneva Motor Show. The hybrid supercar pairs an electric battery unit with a 3.4 liter v8 engine capable of kicking out 500 hp. Flexibility is key with the attractively-styled vehicle, which has four modes of operation controlled via a button on the steering wheel: E-Drive, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid and Race Hybrid. Some greens will no doubt sniff that the first, which runs on electric power alone, only has a range of 25 km.

The Hybrid modes are where its really at. The first is designed for maximum efficiency while the Sport and Race modes obviously favor performance. Wit the pedal to the metal the roadster is capable of hitting 0 – 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 320 km/h. When driven, ahem, responsibly it’s possible to squeeze 78 mpg out of the thing, which is something of an improvement over most Porsche models to say the least. Expect the 918 to be a limited edition and extremely expensive, but hopefully paving the way for a more affordable version down the line.

James’ friends out in the far east (has this become a politically incorrect term yet, by the way?) over at Luxury Insider just posted an interesting gem from the Geneva Motor Show. It seems that legendary watchmaker Tag Heuer has decided to reminisce about their motor racing roots as well as strengthen the company’s brand identity by hooking up with none other than California’s finest, Tesla Motors.

Tesla and Tag Heuer have used the Geneva Motor Show to showcase their recent collaboration on a limited edition sports car. The vehicle boasts custom graphics and a quirky, contrasting colour scheme. In a nod to the watchmaker, one side has red callipers, mirrors and wheel rings while the other has the same features but in green. On top of that the interior houses a one-fifth second Heuer limited edition stopwatch, a Meridiist mobile phone and a concept watch due to be unveiled at the Baselworld expo later this month.

So what’s up in the football (or soccer, depending on your cultural upbringing) world – especially when it comes to Audis? Just a few months back, Lukas Podolski’s Audi R8 turned up on James, along the Polish-born striker’s very own Ferrari F430. A similar-but-different affair caught my eye just yesterday: an 2008 Audi R8 belonging to none other than Stephen Ireland of Manchester City fame. While Prinz Poldi’s Audi was nothing too eye-catching in itself, 23-year-old Ireland’s vehicle of choice is a bit more tricked out.

The car features an ibis white exterior with light blue detailing both inside and out (just like Manchester City’s team colours) along with a Superman “S” on the fuel cap. Neat, huh? Other exterior extras include 20” two piece forged one-off alloy wheels with white/blue metallic finish, exterior colour coding in blue with horizontal front grill effect, blue side blades, engine lighting upgrade, privacy glass and illuminated Audi badges in blue neon. The insides? How about full leather pack, blue door panel trims and a bespoke stereo system with 8” rear sub woofers in blue neon surround?

According to The Sun (meaning, don’t take it as gospel) the young midfielder had the car custom painted after team mates were outraged that he was driving the colours of the rival Manchester United (the R8 was originally white and red).

On your way to Manchester? The custom Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro is priced at £69,950 and is available for sale on JamesList right here.

With Hummer having been pronounced DOA, people are wondering where they now should look for their larger-than-life oversized vehicle of choice. It seems that a gentleman by the name of Jason Notte has a suggestion we all can get behind.

If the Hummer is the equivalent of the flashy, flamboyant Apollo Creed from the “Rocky” films, then the Kombat is Ivan Drago putting him to rest “Rocky IV”-style. This Russian-built behemoth’s V8 can push it to 110 mph, which is no small feat when it’s plated in steel and three-inch-thick windows. It can withstand a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade, but a proposed $1.5 million Prombron version also features bulletproof wheel hubs and a Vertu mobile phone with a panic button.

Though the costlier model’s gold-plated windows, ruby- and diamond-encrusted gauges and extra layer of Kevlar have drawn interest from the Prince of Monaco and former tennis champ Marat Safin, its production is on indefinite hold after the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace and Pamela Anderson complained about the company’s choice of upholstery material: whale penis leather. Though Dartz failed to replicate Aristotle Onassis’ use of the material as barstool upholstery for his yacht, it managed an even greater feat: winning a war of sexual euphemism with a company called Hummer.

Dartz reaching out to the mainstream media is just about the best way to finish a week – and the whale penis leather only had to be mentioned once!

At the Geneva Motor Show – or “Auto Salon” if you’re a little light in the loafers – the boys from Novitec are releasing yet another one of their fiddled-with Ferraris, this time a special edition of the 599 GTB. Dubbed the Race 848 and limited to just three examples, the numbers indicate the beast that lurks within its disarming white and black exterior – a massive dual-compressor monster kicking out 848 hp and 842 Nm of torque. That’s a boost of 228 hp for those keeping score at home.

Body mods are minimal and limited to improving aerodynamics with spoiler lips and such. What else has Novitec tweaked? The cooling systems, headers and exhaust, boring but essential for the car’s 0 – 100 km/h clock of just 3.4 seconds with 200 km/h hit in 9.6 seconds and 300 km/h at 23.7. Max speed? They stopped counting at 345 km/h which sounds good to us. You can get a pimped-out interior if you wish but this baby’s more about the performance and notable for the usual dress-to-impress scattering of carbon fibre bits everywhere.