November 30, 2007 The holiday season is fast approaching, meaning it's time to start racking your brain for the ideal gift for that someone special. If this sounds like you, we're afraid the following selection will be of no help whatsoever, unless of course you have remarkably deep-pockets... and in some instances, even that wont help. The team at Gizmag has scoured the archives to assemble a list of the ten most desirable luxury items that you wont find under the tree... from million dollar laptops to ultra-exclusive supercars and outlandish personal aircraft. So forget the Christmas list for a moment and check out our pick of the ultimate in what high-end technology has to offer.
1. The million dollar laptopIn March UK-based bespoke luxury goods creator Luvaglio announced the first million dollar laptop featuring a very rare colored diamond piece of jewelery that doubles up as the power button and also acts as security identification... read more.
2. 1 million euro Lamborghini ReventonAlthough it is based on the Murciélago LP640, the exterior design of the Reventón is completely new and combines extraordinary styling with its limited edition status and price tag to make the supercar a symbol of extreme exclusivity.Only 20 of the 1 million euro vehicles are to be built and delivered in 2008, but already they are all sold... read more.
3. The Mangusta 165 - World's largest Open yachtAs the the largest Open yacht in the world, the EUR 20 million Mangusta 165’ (50 meters) towers over just about everything in the harbor... read more.
4. Yamaha's Tesseract four-wheel motorcycleYamaha revealed a whole new class of four-wheel recreational machine at the Tokyo Motor Show that combines motorcycle performance and maneuverability with four wheels worth of traction and road-holding capability. The Tesseract is not yet in production but fingers crossed - you might find it under the tree next year... read more.
5. MUON: Seven-foot tall, ultra high-end audio loudspeakerStanding at nearly seven feet tall, the spectacular MUON loudspeaker is the product of a collaboration between the engineering team at KEF and leading industrial designer Ross Lovegrove. Just 100 pairs are to be made available in ten select cities world-wide with the price tag set at US$140,000 per pair... read more.
6. XSR48: 1600hp supercar-inspired luxury powerboatLabeled the ‘Bugatti Veyron’ of the sea – the stunning XSR48 is a luxury £1.2m powerboat powered by two bi-turbo 11.3L diesel engines that takes inspiration for both its performance and styling from the World’s finest supercars... read more.
7. The most expensive TV in the worldThis EUR 100,000, 40-inch LCD television set by Neapolitan (from Naples) Keymat Industrie s.p.a. is plated in white gold and studded with 160 diamonds (4 gm) of diamonds... read more.
8. The 1.3 million dollar mobile Russian company JSC Ancort has teamed with celebrity jeweller Peter Aloisson to create a very upmarket version of Swiss Crypto Telecommunication Security’s Crypto Smart telephone which will sell for US$1.3 million... read more.
9. The sub US$200,000 family aircraft – the Sky YachtSkyacht Aircraft has created a whisper quiet, steerable, Personal Blimp capable of sustained and affordable flight taht's due to hit the market with a price tag of around US$200,000 - cheap when compared to the smallest helium airship which costs US$2,000,000+ or a top-notch helium ship costs more than US$12 million... read more.
10. Holiday in orbit: Galactic Suite space resortPut this one on the list for 2012. The Galactic Suite Project aims to offer travelers the “most thrilling and transcendent experience ever” with a stay on board an orbital luxury getaway that offers out-of-this-world sensations including weightlessness, star gazing, amazing views of planet Earth with 15 sunsets in a day - not to mention being aboard a spaceship that takes you from 0 to 28,000kmh in 10 minutes... read more.
Ten is a nice round number but paring down the hundreds of candidates for this list proved a difficult challenge, so here's a selection of "honorable mentions" that came very close to making the final list:
-New Swiss Supercar – the Beck LM 800
-Ducati's US$70,000 Desmosedici RR MotoGP replica for the road
- Air, land, sea or snow: Lisa’s Akoya microlight leisure plane
- The ion-propelled, remotely-powered jetpack
- Harley-Davidson carving trike
- sunRED solar powered scooter concept
- iSlide: Segway meets skateboard in radical urban transport concept
- The 240,000 dollar air force helmet - One supercar, hold the paint job: Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang