On the Thermal Club’s South Palm circuit, a 1.8-mile racetrack set amid the desert landscape of Southern California’s Coachella Valley, a Porsche Cayman blazes along at 120 mph as it nears the end of the track’s 2,500-foot straightaway. Just ahead lies Turn 7, a 180-degree bend. The car, operating in fully automatic mode, belongs to the club’s fleet of Caymans that serve as instructional vehicles. In another car up ahead is the track manager, Jeff Rodrigues, who is providing the Cayman’s driver, a visitor to…

The market for vintage pinup art changed dramatically in June 2007 when the fourth of five Gil Elvgren paintings crossed the block during a Heritage Auctions sale in Dallas. At that time, the record price for an Elvgren pinup at auction—$93,500—had stood for almost a decade, though that particular result seemed to be an outlier. During the first six years of the new millennium, original Elvgren oil paintings exchanged hands for much less, and based on the results of regular Heritage-hosted auctions, their valu…

Auralic, a relative newcomer to the audio scene, has taken the hi-fi world by storm in the last few years with a portfolio of front-end equipment that combines audiophile-grade sound quality with foolproof functionality and minimalistic aesthetics. The Chinese company’s latest products—the new Gemini 1000 and 2000 headphone docks, which Auralic expects to begin shipping next month—are so much more than mere headphone saddles. Incorporated into the chassis of each model is a headphone amplifier with a state-of-…

The 150-foot Benetti Panthera was launched late last year and recently unveiled to the press. Constructed at Benetti’s shipyard in Livorno, Italy, Panthera sports gracefully undulating lines that mirror the waves passing beneath it. The yacht’s all-aluminum hull, the second in the builder’s 500 series, was designed by Benetti to minimize noise and vibrations during operation, ensuring maximum comfort for many as 10 guests.
The yacht owner’s designers worked closely with Benetti’s in-house team to fashion clea…

Mercedes-Benz has developed a tendency to make bold promises with its concept cars. And at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the German carmaker has done so again with its latest design and technology showpiece, the Concept S-Class Coupe. The car’s exterior lines appear borrowed from the brand’s CLA-Class cars but with more chiseled side panels and an overall sportier feel. The two-door car’s chrome frame surrounds both the front and rear windows, which are free from B-pillars,…

Sunday marked the conclusion of the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the 14-day automotive extravaganza that hosted a bevy of noteworthy reveals from the world’s leading luxury marques. For its part, Porsche unveiled the 2014 911 Targa, the latest in its line of roll-bar-equipped convertibles that originally debuted in 1965. The inclusion of a roll bar—or Targa bar, as Porsche calls it—increases the stiffness of the car’s chassis, which translates to better handling during sharp tur…

While the Motor City has hosted an automotive trade show every year for much of the past century, the event did not become the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) until 1989, which made this year’s installment the 25th anniversary of the show. Running this year from January 13 through 26, NAIAS 2014 welcomed more than 30,000 attendees to Detroit and saw the global debut of 50 vehicles—some mere concepts and some with dates set for actual production. And while this year’s show was the launch pad for …

Allagash Curieux
This well-balanced tripel-style golden ale exhibits a dense, foamy head that dissipates quickly. The nose offers delicate hints of wheatgrass and lavender and rich aromas of Belgian yeast. A smooth body of oak and bourbon accompanies flavors of coconut, vanilla, and grilled pineapple. (11% ABV; typically about $20 per 750 mL) www.allagash.com
Stone Quingenti Millilitre Highway Scotch Ale 2013 Series Batch No. 1
A blend of heavy, malty beers aged in a variety of Scotch-whisky barrels, this c…

At the 2014 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva (January 20 to 24), the watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the latest addition to its renowned Grande Reverso series, the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin 1931. The new watch pays tribute to the art deco design of the original Grande Reverso, which was created at the request of polo players who wanted a way to protect their watches’ crystals during hard-hitting matches. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s solution was to design a case that allows its wearer to flip …

Although Jim Beam popularized the term small-batch whiskey in the 1990s, the practice of distilling limited editions of the spirit has actually been going on in United States for more than two centuries. In fact, Michter’s Distilleryhas been making small batches of whiskey since 1753. Now the distillery has released what could be called an ultra-small-batch whiskey.
Just 273 bottles of Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash ($4,000) have been released initially to the United States and Asia. The bottle, which featur…