duPont REGISTRY November 2022

We write about watches in almost every issue of duPont REGISTRY, but this month we’re doubling down on timepieces for our annual expanded “Watch Guide” on page 74. I have a long history with watches that goes back to my first real job in high school. I worked at a kiosk in the mall, where I replaced watch batteries, sized watch bands, and sold a sordid collection of some of the worst watches ever to grace a wrist. I also handled some fine timepieces — Rolex, Tag Heuer, Movado, and the like. It was around this time I first noticed that cars and watches are quite similar. Both are complicated machines. Both are things we interact with intimately on a daily basis. And both have a hierarchy, with Ford and Fossil priced…

The word “utopia” calls to mind the unattainable: an idyllic paradise, an environment or state of being discoverable only in one’s wildest dreams. But that blissful destination may be closer than previously imagined — at least for the select few who can lay claim to the driver’s seat of Italian automaker Pagani’s third masterpiece. (Or the single passenger seat, for that matter.) After plenty of teases, the Pagani Utopia has finally been revealed, named after the Sir Thomas More book that coined the term way back in 1516. In conceptualizing the model, Horacio Pagani began in conversation with his closest clients to discover their ultimate desires for a hypercar. The answers revolved around three benchmarks: simplicity, lightness, and the pleasure of driving. Through a litany of special considerations and design features,…

Five years after the debut of Automobili Lamborghini’s first luxury SUV, the engineers in Sant’Agata, Italy, went back to the drawing board to make aesthetic and performance improvements to the incredibly popular Urus platform. The new Lamborghini Urus Performante follows in the footsteps of its Huracán sibling, achieving a new level of lightweight and aerodynamic design with sportier driving dynamics. Ahead of its launch, the performance model set a new record in the production SUV category on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Road. The Performante shares the same silhouette as the standard Urus but offers a few new exterior features. For a more aggressive stance, designers shaved 22 millimeters off the ride height and increased the width of the wheel track by 16 millimeters to fit the optional 23-inch or…

Throughout its 92-year history, Italian design house Pininfarina has penned some of the world’s most influential cars. In 2018, the Turin-based company launched Automobili Pininfarina, formally stepping into the ring as a manufacturer of high-end EVs. The Battista is the marque’s first production car, and it breaks into the hypercar space with outrageous performance stats, sleek looks, and a lofty price tag to match. Before our first drive in the Battista, Pininfarina told us it calls the car a “hyper GT.” In theory, this means a car that would be at home equally on the track or the open road. However, with nearly 1,900 horsepower on tap, enough luggage space for a pack of Hanes T-shirts, and a genuinely brain-melting driving experience, the Battista proves that it is significantly more “hyper”…

Monterey Car Week is the epicenter of some of the most historic moments in the automotive industry, and the August 2022 event was full of reveals that will be talked about for generations to come. The Koenigsegg CC850 celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Koenigsegg CC8S, the Swedish marque’s first production car, an incredible feat of innovation, technology, and engineering. The CC850 shows how far Koenigsegg has come, as well as how far ahead of its time the brand has always been. The new car features an innovative manual transmission with a gated shifter and a clutch that can also be operated automatically, with amazingly quick shifting depending on the driver’s mood. Combine that with 1,385 horsepower, and you have a dream car to rule them all, especially since only 70…

While Monterey Car Week showcases some of the rarest and most iconic automobiles in history, the prestigious event also highlights a series of auctions that take place through-out the weeklong affair. Auction houses like RM Sotheby’s, Gooding & Co., BroadArrow Auctions, Bonhams, Mecum, and more were on the scene to facilitate the sales of more than 110 magnificent examples selling for well over $1 million each. The staggering figure announced by Hagerty broke the original record of 100 vehicles sold, which was achieved only twice, in 2018 and 2021. With attendance at an all-time high, each auction room was packed with spectators and eager bidders looking to witness vehicle sales well into the seven-figure realm. Sales totaled up to $470 million, obliterating the previous record set in 2015, which was $395…