Europe’s first Agera RS will be detailed with gold

5 September, 2016

Now, before we begin, I’d just like to let you know that, lavish hypercars aside, I’d be stoked if I simply had a wheel nut off one of these modern machines, as the vehicles themselves are truly exceptional. However, when your 1160hp Koenigsegg Agera RS, of which there is only one of in the USA, isn’t good enough, what do you do? In my opinion, anyone that holds the opinion that the Agera RS isn’t good enough as it is needs a clip around the ears. If you’re lucky enough to afford one, well, stop complaining, you’ve made it! 

For those out of reach of my ear clippings, apparently the Agera RS wasn’t lavish enough. So what had to happen to step up its game? It had to be detailed with gold of course — gold everywhere. Because nothing screams wealth and luxury like gold, right? This particular example will be the first Agera RS in Europe and will be named ‘Naraya’, a name said to be close to the family of the purchaser. 

The body itself isn’t your rolled steel, aluminium, or fibreglass variety either. It’s blue-tinted carbon fibre, which sits on top of the all-carbon tub. I was already weak at the knees at blue-tinted carbon fibre, however the purchaser wanted gold detailing all over the vehicle as well. This isn’t your vinyl-wrapped South Auckland gold either, it’s the real deal. 

Applied over an intense two-week period, Ettore Callegaro painstakingly applied the gold to the vehicle, then worked it by hand to give it its unique texture. Several coats of clear were then applied to protect the valuable metal. The interior also features gold throughout, with the final and most impressive touch being the Naraya nameplate, which has been finished in 18-carat yellow gold alongside 155 diamonds, which are no doubt worth more than my Lexus. 

Escort services – 1968 Escort 1100 Restomod

The Escort started off as a 1968 1100 cc two-door sold-new in Britain. At some point it was retired from daily duty and set aside as a pet project for someone. When that project began is unclear, but much of the work was completed in 2014 including a complete rotisserie restoration.
By the end of 2014, it was finished but not completed. Its Wellingtonian owner bought it sight unseen from the UK and it landed here in early 2020. It was soon dispatched to Macbilt in Grenada North, Wellington for them to work their magic.
Macbilt had two instructions: to get the car through compliance for use on the road; and to improve the vehicle and finish the project so it drove as well as it looked. Looking at the car now, it has an amazing presence and stance. It can’t help but attract attention and a bevy of admirers.

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”