By Car, Boat, Or Plane: First-Class Rides

The transportation choices for our luxury leisure issue are always challenging, having to decide which machines on land, at sea, or in the air are both new and express a uniqueness that match our readers’ adventurous lifestyles. So, we’ve made what we hope are not-so-obvious picks in each category for your consideration.

 

Jaguar C-X75 Hybrid Supercar

For years Jaguar has teased the media and loyal owners with stunning sports car concepts that never made it into production. Now, the company will unleash a limited-production (250) of its C-X75, a 200-mph carbon-fiber supercar that reaches 100 mph in just six seconds according to the company. While that’s impressive, the potential fuel economy of 74 mpg is eye-popping.

 

The inspiration may have come from Porsche’s announcement that it would produce a small run of its exotic 918 roadster with similar performance claims. We’ll see who’s anywhere near reality in normal driving duty. Jaguar has priced these hand-built supercars at £700,000, or just north of a cool million in current U.S. dollars. All that hard-earned disposable income buys a stunning machine that promises to be both quick and green. And although the body style remains intact, the turbine engines on the concept have given way to a more traditional combustion engine to pair with electric propulsion.

 

For those who may not wish to part with seven figures and two commas for a sports car, we hope that Jaguar may find a way to keep the ravishing style while building a production machine at perhaps a tenth that price. After all, this is a company that was founded on exciting two-passenger cars in the luxury sports segment and has a proud racing heritage.

 

Cessna Citation CJ4

Aircraft controls and instrumentation have progressed dramatically in the last two decades. You can still find plenty of cockpits where the pilot faces an amazing array of analogue instruments, or “steam gauges” in pilot lexicon. But in most new planes, glass panels with full color displays, along with commercial-style automation that’s relatively easy to master, are quickly becoming the norm. As a result, new jet aircraft with near mid-size cabin configurations and range can be certified for single pilot operation.

 

Cessna’s all-new CJ4 fits in this category, clearly offering much of the performance of aircraft twice the price. In quick specifications, the CJ4 will carry up to eight passengers just over 2,000 miles at 521 mph (453 kts) at 45,000 feet. New Williams FJ44 engines provide similar performance to far more expensive Pratt & Whitney equivalents, so Cessna capitalized on the new engines and added a new wing design to optimize performance. Advanced fuselage construction techniques are also employed to increase cabin volume, and even the windows are greatly improved — curved glass replaces acrylic for the cockpit and passengers get larger cabin windows. It’s quite a compelling package for a starting price of $8.75 million.

 

Nordhavan 63 Trawler Yacht

Nordhavan (Norwegian for North Harbor) was the name chosen for the first powerboats created by the parent company Pacific Asian Enterprises (PAE). PAE was founded in the 1970s by Jim and Jeff Leishman and Dan Streech, who designed sailboats before launching their first trawler cruiser in 1989.

 

The Norwegian reference connected a style and look reminiscent of North Sea fishing trawlers and it’s popular today because of its tough demeanor.

 

But in the beginning, yachtsmen considered it “odd,” “funny,” and “different,” and it was referred to as PAE’s “tugboat.” And even though it was a cruising boat, Cruising World magazine wouldn’t accept PAE’s advertisements. They’ve come a long way since then.

 

So, if traveling up to 3,000 miles across the ocean is your goal, there’s nothing like a trawler design for security. Nordhavan’s new 63 is a solid performer that can be operated without the need for a full crew. Among design improvements from the Nordhavan 62, the beam is narrowed to 18 feet from just over 20 to fit in a reasonable slip, yet the interior space is roomier.

 

The aft pilothouse is a popular feature for the larger Nordhavans and the spacious open foredeck can hold up to a 17-foot tender. A standard Steelhead 1,500-pound telescoping yacht crane handles loading and unloading. Inside, the main salon has two wrapping settees, a galley with two Sub-Zero refrigerators and freezer, and a guest stateroom on the centerline. The price for this high level of blue water luxury is just under $2,000,000.   BRIAN DOUGLAS