The WallyTender is a pure expression of the joy of open air living on the sea and the sheer pleasure of navigation.

The 13.6 metre (45-foot) runabout is fast, comfortable, spacious, simple, safe and stylish.

Maranello gifts its 599 with better handling and as much cutting-edge tech as it can handle.

Ferrari will use the 2009 Geneva auto show to share some 599-related news.

599GTB Fiorano HGTE

A new package for the 599GTB Fiorano, called Handling GT Evoluzione (HGTE), aims to up the car?s handling prowess. Judging from the image seen here, the package includes new wheels and a unique grille?with one less horizontal and vertical bar?all the better to show off the prancing horse. We?re unaware of any changes to the car?s V-12 powerplant, but not to worry; it?s a Ferrari, and everyone knows it?s fast.

Ferrari calls the 599XX a ?technological laboratory,? saying that it will be used as a test bed for the company?s latest technologies. The cars will be offered to a select group of Ferrari owners and we expect the program to be similar to that involving the Enzo-based FXX.

Faster than a speeding Continental GT Speed.

It was previously referred to simply as ?the extreme Bentley,? but the crew from Crewe has now shared the proper name and details of the baddest Continental in the land. The Supersports badge is, of course, rooted in the company?s long history, as a 3-Liter Supersports was introduced in 1925 to follow the 3-Liter Speed?fitting since this new Continental Supersports is an evolution of the GT Speed.

What?s so super about it? For starters, it?s the fastest and most powerful Bentley ever to see production. The company is also excited to let us know that the Supersports will run on E85 as well as plain gasoline, helping the marque build up to its promise of offering a biofuel option for all of its vehicles by 2012. That will help the company?s CAFE numbers here in the U.S., as the EPA counts only the portion of gasoline contained in biofuels as contributing to fuel mileage. Aside from all of that, we think it?s the sexiest of the Continental bunch so far.

More Power Means More Fastness
Stowed under a newly vented hood is a reworked version of Bentley?s 6.0-liter W-12 putting out 621 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers represent increases of 21 hp and 37 lb-ft over the once-king-of-the-castle GT Speed. The extra output comes courtesy of increased boost from the twin turbochargers, hence the heat vents cut in the hood and larger air intakes feeding the front-mounted intercoolers. Bentley will fit a strengthened version of the six-speed ZF automatic (found in lesser Continentals) to deal with the extra power. Its new Quickshift system is said to chop shift times in half by cutting fuel and ignition during upshifts. The transmission also blips the throttle on downshifts and allows two-gear downshifts. The car?s all-wheel-drive system uses a 40/60 rear torque bias instead of the standard Continental?s 50/50 split.

Along with the added power, a new front fascia and a re-profiled deployable rear spoiler contribute to the model?s title of fastest Bentley. Beating the GT Speed?s top velocity by a mere 2 mph, the Supersports is claimed to reach 204 mph. Zero to 60 mph is said be achieved in 3.7 seconds, which would handily best our time of four seconds in the GT Speed. The rear track has been widened by two inches, necessitating wider rear fenders. The 10-spoke, 20-inch wheels that fill them contribute a savings of 22 pounds total (the entire car sheds 243 pounds compared to the GT Speed). Scale-friendly carbon-ceramic brakes will be standard.

Who Cares How Much it Weighs, That Interior Looks Hot
Weight reduction continues on the interior, where liberal use of Alcantara, soft leather, and carbon fiber can be found. All three materials cover new lightweight front seats with hide framing a quilted Alcantara center section, all attached to a slim carbon-fiber clamshell back. The rear seats have been removed in favor of an Alcantara-covered parcel shelf with a luggage-retaining carbon-fiber cross beam. The interior can be trimmed in single-tone black leather or black with either tan, gray, or red accents. We?re fans of the red shown in the promotional pictures.

The Supersports will be easily recognizable by its use of smoked steel in place of chrome trim. This dark material rings the headlights, coats the front grilles, and surrounds the glass. There is also an accent strip that incorporates a Supersports badge and runs along the bodyside at the bottom of the door. In the rear, a new valance has a black center section with larger dual split-oval tailpipes poking through. Supersports buyers will be able to select from the Continental?s standard array of 17 exterior colors as well as two pearlescent and?what most intrigues us?two matte colors exclusive to this range-topping model.

The car will be available here in the fall of 2009, with the biofuel-capable version showing up once it meets federal approval sometime in 2010.

While Rolls-Royce is busy preparing a less expensive model, Maybach adds a flagship.

With just 317 units built in 2008, it seems that the hype about Maybach?if there ever was any?is dead. The slow-selling ultra-luxury sedan is based on the last-generation Mercedes-Benz S-class (W220), and Daimler bravely keeps adding new colors and model versions, such as the $1.35 million Landaulet and the 604-hp 57S and 62S.

While Rolls-Royce will bring a smaller model to this year?s Geneva auto show, Maybach serves up an even more powerful variation of its theme, complete with a historic nameplate. The Maybach Zeppelin makes a whopping 632 hp, comfortably above its only true competitors, the Rolls-Royce Phantom and the Bentley Arnage Final Series. Maximum torque is still limited to 738 lb-ft in order to protect the five-speed automatic. Top speed is governed at 171 mph on the short-wheelbase Maybach 57 Zeppelin and 155 mph on the long-wheelbase Maybach 62 Zeppelin.

The Zeppelin gets special 20-inch wheels in what Daimler calls a ?chrome shadow finish.? We believe this top-deck car?s new, edgier exterior mirrors will replace the round, decidedly 1990s units on lesser Maybachs. The exhaust tips now number four, and the taillights are darkened. Specific to the Zeppelin is the shoulder line painted in Rocky Mountains light brown, but you can have your Maybach painted any other color as well, if you insist. The hood ornament is altered with Zeppelin lettering. The recommended interior color combination is California Beige with Stromboli Black. The wood is finished in piano black, and your feet rest on lambswool carpets.

BY JENS MEINERS

Since the 70?s, entrepreneur Ian Schrager, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ian Schrager Company, has achieved international recognition for concepts that have revolutionized both the entertainment and hospitality industries.

His passionate commitment to the modern lifestyle has been expressed through a series of pioneering concepts: The hotel as home away from home, the hotel as theater, "cheap chic", "lobby socializing", the indoor/outdoor lobby, the urban resort, and the urban spa.

His keen instincts for the mood and feel of popular culture were honed during the 70?s and 80?s, when he and his late business partner, Steve Rubell, created Studio 54 and Palladium. Rubell and Schrager soon turned their attention to the hotel business opening Morgans Hotel in 1984, introducing the concept of the "boutique hotel" to the world.

Following this were the equally well received and highly successful Royalton Hotel and Paramount Hotel, in which Schrager again broke with industry convention by creating "lobby socializing", where the hotel lobby became a new kind of gathering place for guests and New York City residents alike, and "cheap chic", where affordable luxury was offered in a stylish and sophisticated environment. Schrager also received international recognition and acclaim for his one-of-a-kind "urban resorts"?the Delano Hotel in Miami and Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood. This was followed by the Hudson Hotel in New York, where Schrager realized his "hotel as lifestyle", and continued to refine his concept of "cheap chic", as well as expanding to cities such as San Francisco with the Clift Hotel and London with St. Martins Lane Hotel and the Sanderson Hotel.

His groundbreaking hotel concepts have changed the business and set industry standards that continue to be imitated throughout the world. He recently completed the new Gramercy Park Hotel in an extraordinary collaboration with artist Julian Schnabel, which presents a completely new and unexpected model for a Schrager hotel.

His first residential project, 50 Gramercy Park North, provides unique luxury residences adjacent to the only private park in New York City with world-class service from the Gramercy Park Hotel. 50 Gramercy Park North introduces the concept of ?effortless living? and lifestyle management, where owners benefit from a fully staffed household 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without the bother of managing it, the full expense of maintaining it or any loss of privacy. The project was designed by world-famous architect, John Pawson, known for numerous residential projects including the Saatchi home in London, the Novy Dvur Monastery in the Czech Republic, and the flagship Calvin Klein store in New York City.

Mr. Schrager recently completed his second residential project, 40 Bond. The building, designed by eminent Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, is an architectural masterpiece. Their first residential project in America combines luxury apartment and townhouses. The first townhouses built in New York City in generations, offer unprecedented, innovative and sophisticated layouts, details and finishes.

The Pritzker Prize winning architects are best known for the Tate Modern in London, Tokyo?s Prada store, The Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis, San Francisco?s de Young Museum and countless other public and private buildings around the world. 40 Bond residences will also benefit from 24-hour, 7 day a week world-class service from Gramercy Park Hotel.

Mr. Schrager?s latest venture, a partnership with Marriott International, intends to create a new brand of as many as 100 hotels that will combine the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that he created with the operational expertise that Marriott is known for on a global scale.

According to J.W. Marriott, Jr. Chairman and CEO of Marriott International, the marriage of the ultimate corporate lodging company and the pioneer of the boutique/lifestyle hotel is an attempt by both to push the boundaries, break new ground and take the hotel industry to a new level.

The hotels will be located in gateway cities throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. With an average size of 150-200 rooms each of the hotels will reflect the best of the cultural and social milieu of its location and of the time. A diverse set of world-renown architects and designers will be recruited to create one-of-a-kind buildings spanning the complete range of project types, from new construction, to conversions, to gut renovations. The partners expect these hotels to be not just aesthetically pleasing in their markets but to be environmentally responsible as well.

In addition, Schrager is developing a number of unique and exciting hotel and residential projects in gateway cities around the world that are in various stages of completion.

The challenge: to develop a roadster that would unite previously unattained features in one exceptional vehicle. A challenge Bugatti decided to take on.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport combines state-of-the-art technology and the beauty of a convertible.
Extreme precision and meticulous care for detail ? those were the governing principles followed by the designers and engineers as they created the Grand Sport.

This maxim of perfection found its expression in the car?s technology: the Grand Sport?s engine, drive, and brakes all deliver superlatives in performance, acceleration, and deceleration. The choice of materials is another indicator of Bugatti?s discerning standards: titanium, carbon fibre, magnesium, aluminium ? each component is made of the material with the lowest weight and the highest level of functionality. This is also true for the chassis safety features. The Grand Sport?s body consists of a carbon fibre monocoque suspended from an aluminium frame in the front and a carbon fibre/stainless steel frame in the rear. In assembly, too, perfection is the guiding principle: the Grand Sport is manufactured lovingly and meticulously by hand. This guarantees that precise care is given even

With gasoline surging toward $4 per gallon and massive SUVs falling massively out of favor, it would seem that GM's Hummer division would be entering the autumn of its years. But according to J. D. Power and Associates, the brand captures and retains owners better than most, so it's worth nurturing. The trick is making hugeness less of a calling card - a process that started with the demise of the H1 - but preserving extreme off-road ability. As anyone who has done any serious off-roading can attest, size is your enemy on the trail, so a smaller but still off-road-ready Hummer, perhaps like the HX concept (below), makes perfect sense. The HX gives us a good look at the upcoming H4, and if that new entry has all the off-road gear of the show car, it'll be a strong addition to the lineup. The HX sports full-time four-wheel drive (naturally) with locking front and rear differentials, 35-inch tires, a 3.6-liter direct-injected V-6, and an electronically disconnectable front antiroll bar - not to mention that unmistakable blocky styling.

Aston Martin Rapide - The grand touring sedan with effortless grace and style.

Details at present for the Aston Martin Rapide sedan are even slimmer, save two official renderings which closely echo the 2006 Rapide concept, and some spy shots that confirm the renderings as accurate.

The Rapide is being built on Aston Martin's VH architecture, which underpins the DB9 Volante and the Vantage. A 6.0 liter V12 engine will power the Rapide, though no other conclusive specifications are in the wild yet.

As for the bodywork, the Rapide is infinitely more attractive than the Porsche Panamera, which will likely be its closest competitor upon its release date, somewhere in late 2009. True to the 2006 Rapide concept in most of its design details, the released renderings reveal a glass roof which converges seamlessly with the rear liftgate. Though the Rapide carries the styling of a sedan rather than any sort of wagon, the lifting rear glass should provide some greater utility and visibility.

When looked at as a total package, the Rapide is a design hit, though not as bold as something like the Lamborghini Estoque concept. It should compete well with the Maserati Quattroporte, as well as upcoming offerings from Porsche and Lamborghini.

Aston Martin One-77 - Controversial style and price, heart of a grand touring supercar.

The One-77 is perhaps the last thing Aston Martin needs on its plate right now, or alternatively one of the greatest decisions the historic British road and race car company could have made. Its styling is certainly different than other high-end models of the world. Though it carries classic Aston Martin genes to a new level, in excecution it has garnered more than a few head scratches.

Look at, for example, the manner in which the headlights integrate with the front fenders and airdam. The heavily smoked lenses are actually split between two separate pieces of aluminum, a detail which the eye sticks on, and not in a good way. The crease at each extreme front corner is perhaps more emphasized than necessary, and takes away from the overall clean and muscular appearance of the car.

Other design decisions are big hits. The huge--and we do mean huge--rear haunches wrap rear tires thicker than anything M3 or 911 Turbo. The meshed outlet just aft of the front wheel wells, housing dual side-exit exhaust tips on each side, is a well-excecuted and clever design detail. Star Trek-y wrap around tail lenses might be pushing it on a car no one can afford, but on the Aston Martin One-77, it works.

Power will come from a 7.0 liter V12, that much we know. Official figures have not been released yet, except for the fact that the One-77 will have a top speed of more than 200 mph. Several reports have pegged the power output in the ballpark of 700 bhp. The One-77 release date is a reported late 2009, though Aston Martin has said they are already in talks with potential buyers for all 77 models to be issued.

Ever ready to celebrate its racetrack successes with road-going special-edition models, Ferrari now trumpets its 16th Formula 1 manufacturer?s title with the fantastically frivolous F430 Scuderia Spider 16M. Endowed with the track-readiness of the F430 Scuderia coupe, the topless version is about 175 pounds lighter than the standard F430 Spider and motivated by a 503-horsepower 4.3-liter V-8 and a six-speed paddle-operated F1 gearbox. As such, it will bolt to 60 mph in only 3.7 seconds and press on to almost 196 mph. Ferrari claims the 16M (as in ?16th Manufacturer?s?) is quicker around its Fiorano test circuit than any open-topped road car in the company?s history?and that?s surely saying something. Aesthetically, beyond the usual plaques and badges, the 16M announces itself with one of two signature paint schemes, bold centerline stripes, and carbon fiber composite trim on the roll hoops. The cockpit features a special-edition Ferrari Apple iPod Touch (16GB) with an in-dash dock. The company has capped production of this most special Spider at just 499 cars. No word from Maranello on price, but based on the Scuderia coupe?s $277,456 sticker, expect the Spider 16M to top the $300,000 mark. As with most limited-production Ferraris, however, the opportunity to purchase a Scuderia Spider 16M is likely to be an invitation-only affair. Fortunately, daydreams are still free?and available to all. (www.ferrariusa.com)