May 2014

#5index

Xanadu Luxury

In Partnership with

WelcomeSo, Easter has gone and we are all back to our work, but the luxury world is still growing and with more products on the market, we a just so busy.

In this months issue, we have a new section 'From the Runway', showing you the latest fashion from the industry, and of course we have the usual sections.

I am pleased to keep this months letter very short and simple.

Khawer Carr Founder, Xanadu Luxury

&

Johan BengtssonCEO, JamesEdition.com

Your Portal to a Luxury Lifestyle!

Working with leading luxury companies from around the world, we aim to provide brand new and used luxury products ranging from Cars, Yachts, Helicopters and not forgetting Properties. Our aim is to grow your luxury

portfolio and enriching your lifestyle.

@xanaduluxuryk.carr@xanaduluxury.com www.xlindexmag.comwww

Formerly called The Quarrymen their name changed to “The Silver Beetles” before they became “The Beatles”.

Originally conceived as a piece of rock memorabilia has now been transformed into a complete “Sterling Silver” work of art, individually numbered and staged in a LED lit cabinet.

Painstakingly crafted by skilled UK Silversmiths spending hundreds of man-hours perfecting every hand-made instrument, this ultimate series captures a snapshot of a legendary gig with incredible attention to detail.

The man behind these individually crafted collector’s item’s is the legendary record producer and writer Phil Wainman, who’s 50 year career in the music industry included writing and producing many No. 1 records from the Glam Rock 70’s including The Sweet, Mud, Bay City Rollers, Boom Town Rats , Alex Harvey and many more, selling over 250 million records worldwide.All the major components are hallmarked to verify they are certified Sterling Silver. Each box is individually numbered and will be accompanied with a certificate of authenticity signed by Phil Wainman himself.Two prototypes of the standard Rock Box Series have been purchased by the

Thyssen Museum in Madrid Spain and will feature in their Pop Art section from 10th June / 14th September 2014, then become part of their permanent collection.If you are looking for something extra special, then look no further! This Rock Box is hard to define, “it’s a serious

piece of Art”, “a serious piece of Jewellery” and “a serious piece of Rock History”.

The Silver Beatles

Rock Box

Specification:

The weight of Sterling Silver used is 5lb’s or 2.27 kg

The cabinet is 20.5inches (52cm) wide by 12 inches (30.5 cm) high by 14 inches (35.5 cm) deep

The power supply is suitable for 240/110 volts AC and converts to most sockets worldwide.At present we can only produce four Silver Beatles Rock Boxes per year.Please also check out "The Who" at

"The Marquee Club 1967" in the Lifestyle & Collectible category, its a Rock Box at a more affordable price.

TOTAL8.2/15

Desirability3.4/5

Style4.8/5

PresenceN/A

Priced at:£ 85,000

The EventMERCEDES MEDIA DRIVING DAY

AT

MERCEDES BENZ WORLD

So, on the 24th of April this year I attended the Media Drivers day that Mercedes held at there Mercedes-Benz World, and can I say it is an amazing place, somewhere were you could easly fall in love with a car and most likely end up buying it, and I will be the first to admit, I had this moment many many times.... The drivers day gives use journilst a day with the cars, and get a real feel for them, although the weather really did not help, it was raining, HEAVY, but the heavy rain only enabled the cars to show off there strong ability to keep going, even when nature would prefer for you to stay inside.

So I arrived in the late morning and once I found the room that I was meant to be in, I was greeted by very friendly representatives who were on hand to make sure that the day went smoothly for everyone. Walking up to the room or the 'S-Class Suite', it was amazing walking past some iconic cars from Mercedes-Benz history, and it felt nice that they embraced this. Now that I am signed in, I am given a list of all the cars that were available to us for the day, it was the complete range, apart from the C-Class, which was a big suprise as, this is a very popular car.

The cars...as you may know that the cars that feature in the INDEX are very exlcusive and in the top end of the market, so naturly I was looking for mainly the AMG models or closer. I was very pleased to see the S 63 AMG L was on the list as this car have been slowly entering the INDEX. The Mercedes-Benz range was great, as each car was different in it's own unique way.

Lets get started with the cars...

Now I know what you are thinking, that this car in not really INDEX material, but just give me a second. This car I wanted to see, because it has enabled Mercedes-Benz to target the much younger audience, which was needed. It is a nice rivel to the BMW 1 Series and Audi's A1. In my opinion this A250 is a real eye catcher, with it's sharp nose and it's sleek finish to the back, it has everything going for it. Where I live in Kent UK, this particular model is very popular and every time it goes past I can actively see youngsters stopping and looking at the car.

So, as I walk around the car, it really demands your attention, with it's 18� AMG alloy wheels - multi-spoke design, which is then superseded by the Night Package, which for this car is a must have. There are hints all around the car, before you even get in, that it is playful, and that it wants to be driven. Once you open the car and step in you are embraced by Artico artificial Leather/Dinamica® microfibre. The dash is a copy of the carbon fibre look, making the car look and feel sporting. Although I must say that if I bought this car, I would feel like this car was teasing me by showing what I could really have gotten in the A45, but more on that later. The interior is clean and very well built, and its great place to sit, because you don't feel like your sitting in a cave, like some cars. It was nice that you could see out from all angles. The dash is also equipt with a very nice 5.8inch tablet like screen, which is clear and easy to really, and using it is every easier. Although I still feel that there are a little too many buttons in the centre, and it did take me a little while to find certain buttons, but naturally once you know where it is, your good to go.

On the move, the car is very comfortable and easy to drive, infact it was effortless... I am used to driving big cars, and it was a trasition to drive a small car, but something that I got used to quickly. The car was reponsive and everything that you would expect from Mercedes-Benz. The major factor that I found when driving the car, was the feedback from the steering wheel, it was very vague, infact there were times when I struggle to feel where the wheels were. Personally to feel something from a steering wheel is very important and it gives the driver understanding on how the car is behaving. As I meantion eariler that the weather was very poor, but in the car, I felt very safe and secure, knowing that there was a military amount of saftey equipment on board. Also, when at speed there was a slight whistling sound at around 80-90mph, but below that, it is very quiet as it should be.

This car is perfect for a younster who looking to buy it as their first car, as it offers the looks, performance, and so much style.I will rate this car like I do normally, but will not be listed on our website INDEX, as this is a car, that we will not be listing.

Brand New this car retails at £40K...

A 250 4MATIC AMG SportMERCEDES-BENZ

Desirability3.5/5

Style3.9/5

Presence3.9/5

Priced at Test:£ 39,915

TOTAL11.3/15

This was truly the highlight of the day, it is just spectacular car. Words are not enough to give this car justice.

As I approached the car you feel like a little child, with its very aggressive nose, giving the impression of 'I am here' look. This car really does stand out and this particular car that I had the keys too was a stunning pepper red, complete with carbon fibre trim package, which gives the car it's character. The cars lines are very simliar to the A 250, so there is not really else to mention about the exterior of the car. The interior of the car is again is simliar to the A 250, the only main difference is the gear selector, which back in the center console.

This car really comes alive when you put the key in the ingnition and start the car, and at this point you just melt at the sound of the 4 cylinder 2 litre engine come alive. When the car is ticking over the it just sounds amazing and just tapping the throttle, you can feel that the car just wants to be driven. Now I wasn't going to drive this car myself, so the team sent Nathan, a trained Mercedes-Benz racing driver, to drive the car for me, and I am so glad that I did, he really did bring out the monster side the car. As we pulled away from the Mercedes-Benz World, I got talking to Nathan about what he thought about the car, and he just looked at me and smiled, and to me that says everything. As we drove along the car feels a little firmer, but that is to be expect from an AMG badged car. The car is so planted as we around the round about, and even sitting in the passenger seat you can feel the car biting the ground trying to get as much grip as possible. As he was driving he was telling me about the amount of fun the car is on the track, and that you can truly use most of the power, all of the time, with 360 bhp under he foot. So when we got to this quiet country lane he opened the taps on the car and the whole time I was just on cloud nine, this car is just a ROCKET! With the rain beginning to get hard, and with us just pushing the car not once did I feel that the car was going to kill me. As we went around the corners on this quiet country road the car is just amazing, and as I looked over at Nathan I could see his smile just getting bigger, at this point we really didn't really exchange words.

When you push the accelorator down you get pushed back into the bucket seats and you just want to keep going, and when you want to stop, the car will just ease to a graceful stop. This car was everything that I hope it was going to be. The gear change was spot on, and the noise, ow the noise, it just mind melting, but, one thing that I personally thought was a little unessary was the pop and crakle on the gear change. Every time we changed gear you could hear it and just didn't seem right. At high speeds, yes it makes sense, but at low speeds, NOPE sorry, just not needed. Nathan did say to me you can turn it off, and when he did, I think the car sound much more aggressive. There are not many cars, were your sitting in the passenger seat were you just want to sit there elbowing the driver, 'go on, bit more, bit more', and I really did feel that.

If you are looking for a small hatchback car that will put a smile on your face everyday, but on that sunny day want to go to the track, this is the car is for YOU!

Brand new this car is £52k... so do you take card payments and when can it be delivered.

MERCEDES-BENZ

A 45 AMG

Desirability3.8/5

Style4/5

Presence4/5

Priced at Test:£ 51,195

TOTAL11.8/15