Haven’t you heard enough about cars? I agree.
So that’s why today’s photo is of a boat. But, of course, it’s a boat designed by Porsche. In fact, the $20 million, 9391kw, 35 metre, all aluminium Dynamiq GTT 115 Hybrid comes with an interior full of the same Pepita houndstooth fabric used in 1970s Porkers and with furniture and throw-pillows finished with the same material as the seats in a 911R.
Dynamiq CEO Sergei Dobroserdov says despite the similarity to 70s 911s, including a rear engine, the boat is unlikely to spin as you go around tight corners, particularly in the rain.
A Russian lad, Sergei has had a stellar career, graduating from Moscow State Uni, to an MBA at the Russian Academy of National Economy to founding Nakhimov Yachts on graduation and then Dynamiq in 2013. The market for big yachts (83m is about as small as big yacht buyers go) is accelerating. European boat builders are desperate for yards they can build 100m-plus yachts in. Ten superyachts were launched this year but the world’s largest, Azzam, was built in 2013. Owned by Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, the Emir of Abu Dhabi and the Supreme Commander of the Union Defence Force — or Kaffy as we call him around the docks at Monaco — it has a mini submarine and a missile defence system for cruising around Israel.
Former rubber-duck seller (the quack-quack variety not the vroom-vroom boat variety) and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has Eclipse, the second-biggest yacht. Roman is not short of a dollar. In fact, his second divorce settlement is expected to cost him 10 billion of them. He also has a three-person private submarine on board, a 16m swimming pool that turns into a dance floor and the mandatory antiballistic missile defence system for cruising in American waters.
So why is Sergei building 35m boats? “Today we face political instability in Russia, which encourages potential clients to remain discreet, although there is strong interest from a young Russian clientele,” Sergei Dobroserdov told Yachts International.
Global inequality has a bright side. Worldwide there are more than 1200 billionaires (I didn’t see your name on the list) with the average age falling. One in five are under 50 and they are buying more big boats and most are readers of the motoring column in The Weekend Australian.
Talking of the Weekend Australian Racing Team (WART) it was good to see so many of you at Marulan last weekend for the Cheap Car Challenge Enduro, with one hour off for lunch at the track cafe with the best burgers in Australia. Sergei told me he tried to buy the Pit Lane Cafe to have them provide the same burgers, ham and cheese toasties and parmies on the GTT 115.
“Anyway, one of your local billionaires, young Steve Shelley from the Shire, the Kapotnya of Sydney, got in before me and bought the whole circuit. And I bet he doesn’t even have a mini sub with an antiballistic missile defence system on his tinnie or his other 23 boats.”
Anyway, despite your loud support, foreign cars took the podium with the Enduring Nerds in a Honda first, our old friends Singleton Moore Signs in a Peugeot second and Cheap Car Country Sheriffs in another Honda third. The WART team is still running.
In the other major race of the weekend, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Seb Vettel won but the two best drives of the day came from Lew Hamilton who started the race in the pits and raced his way to fourth and Danny Ricciardo, who spun and still finished sixth. While the luxury boat market is up the luxury car market is down in Australia. Roy Morgan’s Michele Levine says upper end metal was down 7.2 per cent and even Toorak Tractor sales dropped 4 per cent.
Going against the trend is the Porsche Macan, Mercedes-Benz (favoured car of Lew Hamilton) with its C-Class models, but Audi and BMW (official race and rally brand of WART) not firing.
Luxury brands suffered at the Pickles Gosford Classic Car Museum auction with only about 50 per cent selling. While the big ticket Ford GTHO ($500,000) and 1988 Lambo ($480,000) made the news, E-Types brought $120,000-plus, a 1966 VW transporter bus made $104,000 and my dream car, a 1970 Ford Lotus Cortina went for $86,000.
Reader Peter Davis bought a Mazda 6 diesel touring wagon in September 2013. Less than two years later he experienced complete loss of power, although the engine did not cut out. Ipswich Mazda fixed the problem under warranty. The problem reappeared in June this year, but the dealer now says it is Pete’s fault and it cannot fix the problem. Pete says: “The problem does not worry me as long as the power comes back on when I release the accelerator and reapply it; I have sort of got used to the idea! But will that be the case next time it happens? In the meantime, no, I am not going to let my wife drive the car. This is a serious safety issue and needs to be fixed by Mazda.”
We have more emails in the Mazdagate file we will be sharing with you and (ACCC chairman) Rod Sims over the next few weeks.
