Will the Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS be Robb Report’s 2016 Car of the Year?

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In 1965, Porsche unveiled its original Targa at the International Auto Show in Frankfurt, Germany. This year, to celebrate the car’s 50th anniversary, the automaker introduced the Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Equipped with a standard 7-speed manual transmission, the car is capable of sprinting from zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and ca…

A towering oak tree stands watch over the newly constructed Meadowood Spa, an all-suite spa at Napa Valley’s charming Meadowood Napa Valley resort. Inside, rustic reclaimed-wood beams and a fireplace, accented with hand-forged steel, mirror the muted olive-green and brown colors of the surrounding forest. Fountains made of wood, steel, and stone lead the way to the spa’s standout feature: eight individual treatment suites, each equipped with private bathrooms, steam showers, built-in lounge areas, and sliding …

After rolling through the record books, the Ex-Fangio 1956 Ferrari 290 MM promises to take pole position once again, this time at RM Sotheby’s Driven to Disruption auction in New York on December 10. The monumental piece of motorsport history had been piloted by the premier names of Formula 1’s formative years, in races still revered to this day.

Enzo Ferrari had the racecar designed specifically for Argentinian driver Juan Manuel Fangio (already a five-time Formula 1 world champion), and it was one of four…

McLaren entered the production sports-car world a few years ago with the McLaren MP4-12C. More recently, the British automaker unveiled its second production model, the 650S and 650S Spider, and retired the 12C. Though roughly 75 percent of the 650S is carried over from its predecessor, the changes are significant.

The convertible’s design appears to derive more from the McLaren P1 supercar than the 12C, and underneath its body panels is an improved chassis that provides better handling than the 12C. In tur…

Originally published in the October 2015 issue of Robb Report Collection as “The Next Pinnacle”

The first-generation BMW M3—the most successful racecar of its time—is now gaining traction among collectors.

The hood of our Henna Red 1989 BMW M3 seems to glow, contrasting with the snow drifting across our path on a steep Alpine road. We are driving one of a very few pristine, stock examples of the first generation of the car, known as the E30 among the professionals at BMW and enthusiasts ar…

Originally published in the Fall 2015 issue of Robb Report Health & Wellness as “Wellness ROI”

Maximize health benefits with the minimum amount of physical activity.

In the landscape of today’s exercise culture, there are two extremes. On one side are the folks who won’t, don’t, or can’t do any physical activity beyond the simple tasks of living. We all know that is a problem, because we have been barraged by headlines that say a lack of exercise is linked to everything from obesity and heart disease…

The only thing better than staying at Montage Laguna Beach is owning one of the 28 homes adjacent to the beachfront resort. Residents of the intimate community utilize the luxury resort as guests do, ordering meals through private dining, booking treatments at the spa, and calling on the concierge as needed.

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Built on the community’s second-to-last undeveloped lot, the six-bedroom, 8,315-square-foot estate at 25 Montage Way was completed earlier this year on spec by developer Du…

For the 2016 model year, Jaguar is offering U.S. customers a dozen variants of the F-Type sports car, including the top-of-the-line F-Type R Convertible, which is based on the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe. It is equipped with all-wheel drive and replaces the rear-wheel-drive F-Type V8 S Convertible, which earned Robb Report’s Best of the Best honors in 2013.

The all-wheel-drive system keeps the car composed and under control when pushed hard. Under normal driving conditions, all of the engine’s torque goes to the …

When Ferrari debuted the Ferrari California T last year, it marked the first time since the late 1980s that the company had produced a turbocharged road car. Ferrari’s latest offering, the 488 GTB, is the second. Powered by a new twin-turbocharged engine, the 488 GTB is a worthy replacement for the 458 series.

According to Ferrari, 85 percent of the car is new, with only the roof remaining unchanged from the 458 series. The new body reflects an emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency, which produces slightly les…

Originally published in the October 2015 issue of Robb Report Collection as “A Boundless Frontier”

Powerful images of the American West are inspiring contemporary artists and a booming collector market.

In 2006, the artist Z.S. Liang learned of a mid-19th-century battle between two Native American tribes, a confrontation that began with a faux pas that devolved into a fight. The northerly Kootenai tribe snuck onto the neighboring Blackfoot tribe’s hunting grounds without permission, believing the Bl…