This $13 Million Porsche Superyacht Is A Bargain For The Super Rich

For those in need of downsizing from their 60-meter yachts.

Meet the Dynamiq GTT 115 Hybrid, a 35-meter all-aluminum superyacht dripping with Porsche DNA and the latest in a line of ultra-exclusive vessels inspired by supercars. "Taking the spirit of high-performance sportscar styling to the high seas, the Dynamiq GTT 115 is designed to appeal to car lovers and forward-thinking yacht owners who appreciate the advantages of speed, style and our philosophy of intelligent performance," says Roland Heiler, Managing Director at Porsche Design Group.

Standing for 'Grand Turismo Transatlantic,' the GTT 115 features a round bilge aluminum hull and comes powered by a pair of 1213 kW MAN engines and the latest Fortjes 5000 pods, giving it a max speed of 21 knots. With a 1.45-meter shallow draft, the superyacht is ideal for the Mediterranean, Caribbean or Southeast Asia, but it is capable of crossing the Atlantic with a range of 3,400 nm (around 3,900 miles). Available in Porsche Carrara white, Rhodium Silver, Chalk or Monte-Carlo Blue, the superyacht boasts signature Porsche elements such as the Pepita houndstooth deck cushions borrowed from the 911 R, the Targa-style mullions and the design of the red transom echoing the Mission E concept’s single blade rear light.

The interior comes with either three of four luxury cabins finished in Saddle brown and Luxor beige leather, swathes of Sahara Noir marble and carbon-fiber trim. Italian designer Minotti took care of the furniture and decor. Aimed at owners of large, 50-meter yachts looking to downsize, Dynamiq offers an online configurator enabling buyers to customize every aspect of the GTT 115, from paint colors to electronics. Prices start from 11,900,000 Euros (just over $13 million) limited to just seven units with a turnaround time of 15 months. The first GT 115 is available for sale with delivery this September. Its debut is set for the 2017 Monaco Yacht Show.

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America’s Best-Selling Porsche Dealership Compensating $2.5 Million To Scam Victims

Former VP of marketing Shiraaz Sookralli ran off with $2.5 million worth of unfulfilled orders. Someone has to pay.

Earlier this month we learned the story of Shiraaz Sookralli, the now former VP of marketing for Champion Porsche, located in Pompano Beach, Florida. Sookralli and his wife Vimla are accused of scamming customers out of $2.5 million in unfulfilled orders on highly sought after Porsches like the latest 911 GT3 and GT3 RS. It doesn’t help that Champion Porsche previously had a rock-solid reputation as America’s top-volume Porsche dealership. While its overall sales will remain intact, the damage to its reputation needs some fixing, especially after it was named as a co-defendant in a lawsuit.

According to an updated report from Automotive News, the dealership vows to make things right with Sookralli’s victims. The dealership’s attorney, Roy Diaz, told Automotive News the dealership intends to “advance funds to customers equivelant to their deposits by October 12.” Above all, Champion Motors wants “to make sure that these victims – that’s what we’re calling them – come out of this from a customer satisfaction perspective as satisfied as possible,” Diaz added. Despite what happened, some customers apparently aren’t too upset at the dealership and will continue doing business there. Some intend to use their refunded deposits towards another Porsche purchase. Meanwhile, Champion Motors is still examining how it can recover the stolen $2.5 million.

Sookralli, as well as the money he stole, have yet to turn up. Sookralli, who worked for the dealership for nearly a decade, set up a shell company called Champion Autosport where the stolen funds were deposited. And despite taking and stealing those deposits, Sookralli never actually placed orders for any of the vehicles. Sookralli apparently already had a history of shady sales deals involving high-end Porsches. Earlier this year, for example, he was sued over the supposed sale of a pair of 911Rs, each valued at around $500,000. One of the 911Rs was never delivered, even though he took a $350,000 deposit from its hopeful buyer.

So on the one hand Champion Motors is absolutely doing the right thing by advancing the $2.5 million to reimburse Sookralli’s victims. However, it sounds a bit strange management didn’t clue into the fact that something was up based on Sookralli’s previous actions with the 911Rs and the fact no orders were actually placed despite accepting customer deposits.

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Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar Sells For A Whopping $6 Million

The rally machine was one of six Porsches that went for seven figures.

Classic Porsches can command high prices on the open market, some selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's unusual to see them fetch over a million, let along multiple millions, but that's just what this one did – nearly doubling its estimated value in the process.

It's a 1985 Porsche 959 – one of just a few hundred examples of the supercar made. But this one is even rarer. It's one of just seven that Porsche prepared to tackle the Paris-Dakar Rally, four of which were retained by the factory, leaving just three to circulate among private collectors.

RM Sotheby's estimated it would sell for upwards of $3 million as part of its sale at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta on the occasion of the marque's 70th anniversary. But when the gavel dropped, it sold for nearly twice that: $5,945,000.

That, by our count, makes this the third most valuable Porsche ever sold at auction – behind only the 917K that Gooding Sold at Pebble Beach last year for $14 million, and the 956 it moved two years prior for over $10 million. (Fourth if you account for inflation on the 917 that Mecum sold in 2012 for $5.8m, or $6.2m in today's money.)

While the rally machine was the top lot of the sale, it wasn't the only one to sell for seven figures. Another 959 factory prototype sold for a million even, a 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 went for just over a million, a 918 Spyder for $1.4m, and the Project Gold 993 Turbo (as we reported the other day) raised over $3.4 million for the Ferry Porsche Foundation. However a 956 Group C racer that was valued at $5.25-6.75 million apparently didn't reach its reserve price and is still for sale.

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10 Best Interiors Of 2018: $100,000 To $1 Million

Just hit the lottery? Here are the best interiors to travel in style.

Modern cars are becoming ever more luxurious and brimming with tech features, even at an affordable price. We have covered our favorite car interiors below a $50,000 price, as well as more expensive interiors in the $50,000 to $100,000 price segment. Now it is time to leave reality behind, by focusing on cars with a $100,000 to $1,000,000 price tag. These are some of the nicest car interiors in the world, so choosing a top 10 wasn't easy.

McLaren 720S

The McLaren 720S doesn't just have one of the best interiors on the market, it may simply be the best car on the market. That's because unlike other supercars, the 720S is extremely comfortable. Visibility is fantastic and the entire interior is filled with leather and metal. Getting in and out is a bit tricky, but once you are in the 720S can trick you into thinking you are driving a large luxury car, not a mid-engine supercar.

Mercedes S-Class

The Mercedes S-Class Coupe/Convertible is actually one of the least prestigious cars on this list, because it isn't built by an "exotic" car company. This doesn't prevent it from having one of the best interiors at any price. The AMG S63 and S65 models in particular have some of the best seats fitted to any production car - equipped with heating, ventilation, and multiple massage modes. Almost every surface in the S-Class is metal, leather, wood, or carbon fiber, and the coupe/convertible models feature a more stylish interior than the sedan.

Rolls-Royce Phantom

When it comes to luxury, almost nothing compares to the opulence of a Rolls-Royce. There are a number of Rolls models we could have chosen from, but we went with the tried and true Phantom. Rolls-Royce has brought the Phantom into the 21st century, with new digital displays, and more high tech entertainment in the rear seats. Classic Rolls-Royce fans need not worry, because the interior is still filled with enough wood and leather to drive eco mentalists nuts.

Bentley Continental GT

Bentley has always been a sportier, luxury counterpart to Rolls-Royce. The new Continental GT shows Bentley's signature blend of sport and luxury in a highly unique way. We particularly love the new infotainment display, which can rotate to show analogue gauges or a blank wood panel.

Lamborghini Urus

We didn't know how to feel about Lamborghini launching a new SUV model, but after sitting in the Urus, our hesitation faded away. The basic structure looks reminiscent of some new Audi models like the A6 and A8, but Lamborghini styled it in such a way that the shared layout is barely recognizable - unlike a certain SUV from a competing Italian luxury brand.

Land Rover Range Rover

Several exotic automakers have jumped into the SUV market, including Bentley, Maserati, Lamborghini, and Rolls-Royce. These automakers all make very lovely interiors, but they are all competing at a much higher price point than one of the best SUVs on the market: the Land Rover Range Rover. The Range Rover has recently been updated with a new dual screen layout from the Velar, and continues to be one of the nicest interiors on the market.

Aston Martin DBS Superleggera

Some buyers who spend six-figures on a car don't just want it to be comfortable, they want it to feel sporty as well. Aston Martin has always built some of the most unique interiors, and the British marque has knocked it out of the park with the new DBS Superleggera. The infotainment is shared with Mercedes, so it will work properly, and Aston has given the rest of the interior a unique flare with some interesting leather stitching.

Ferrari 812 Superfast

The Ferrari 812 Superfast may be a 789 horsepower monster, but it is also what is known as a Grand Tourer (or GT car). A GT is a car built to cover long stretches of highway at high speed, while keeping the driver comfortable. Ferrari has managed to keep the minimalist look found on its other models, while also offering a level of luxury expected on a GT car.

Audi R8

Since it was unveiled back in 2006, The Audi R8 was known as the every day supercar. Unlike older supercars, the R8 had plenty of headroom and a reasonable trunk up front. The latest R8 continues to be a comfortable daily driver, and has improved with a new driver focused layout - including Audi's fully configurable Virtual Cockpit display.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

When you spend six figures on a car, you expect it to have basic features like navigation and a radio, but these features also add weight. Track focused cars like the Porsche 911 GT3 RS are not luxurious, but are pathological in their pursuit of speed. The GT3 RS doesn't have a radio, but you can have Porsche put it back in for you if you so desire. We particularly love the sport bucket seats on the Weissach Package, which can be optioned in a cool green color.

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Project Gold Porsche Sells For Over $3 Million

Not bad for a newly built 20-year-old design that can’t be driven on public roads

Project Gold truly lived up to its name as the Porsche 993 Turbo S that was built by Porsche Classic over a painstaking one and a half years was auctioned off at the Porsche Experience Centre in Atlanta as part of the “RM Sotheby’s – The Porsche 70th Anniversary Auction 2018” event. After 37 bids that took a mere ten minutes, this one-off 911 Turbo Classic series car was sold for 2,743,500 Euros (around $3,127,060 US dollars), with proceeds from the sale going to the not-for-profit Ferry Porsche Foundation.

That may seem like a rather steep price even considering the current stratospheric amounts air-cooled Porsches are commanding these days, but this is one very special vehicle that is effectively a brand-new car built up from a stock of 6,500 original parts offered by Porsche Classic for the 993.

The original 993 bodyshell was galvanized using modern techniques and finished in a Golden Yellow metallic paintwork referencing the shade used on the current 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series. The seats and interior trim are in black with Golden Yellow details and the turbo-style wheels are also black with subtle yellow detailing. Every other component of the car is from components that were available to customers purchasing the last-of-the-line 993 Turbo S back in 1998, even the chassis number follows on from the last Turbo that rolled off the production line.

The engine is a brand-new 450-horsepower 3.6-liter twin-turbo air-cooled motor mated to a six-speed manual transmission driving all four wheels, exactly as in the earlier cars built 20 years ago.

The car may have been built in the Porsche factory using an original bodyshell but thanks to modern safety and emissions regulations it will never be allowed to drive on public roads. It could be used as a track toy but we highly doubt its new owner will do much more than park it in a secure garage and wait for it to appreciate even further in value.

The Classic division that made this build possible also stocks around 52,000 parts for all types of older Porsches and as a treat for 911 owners, Project Gold created two more genuine parts that they can now order for their cars. These are a new aluminum tank cap and black tailpipe that can be fitted to any 911 built between 1980 and 1998.

There may be thousands of retromod 911s prowling the streets these days but this 993 Turbo S stands head and shoulders above them all in a way only Porsche could have done.

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Porsche Salesman Accused Of Stealing $2.5 Million From Dealership

Customers came to Shiraaz Sookralli to put down deposits for the 911 GT3 and GT3 RS. Their money is now gone.

Champion Porsche, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, claims to be America’s number one Porsche dealership, but is now facing a scandal of possibly epic proportions. According to Automotive News, around two dozen customers placed deposits for the latest 911 GT3 and GT3 RS track-focused sports cars only to have their money allegedly stolen by the dealership’s vice president of marketing, Shiraaz Sookralli, and his wife Vimla Sookralli.

The pair has since disappeared with a combined $2.5 million worth of deposits. Champion Porsche filed a lawsuit earlier this month naming the duo and the fake Champion Autosport, a shell company created by Sookralli, as defendants.

Sookralli, who according to the lawsuit, worked for the dealership for around a decade, started a fraudulent scheme that presented buyers with bogus buyer deposit agreements that, in reality, “failed to include any manufacturer or allocation information regarding the vehicles he was purportedly selling and contained false and fraudulent seller information.” In other words, Sookralli used these fake agreements to get buyers to believe they were buying Porsches that simply did not exist.

Furthermore, Sookralli never even placed orders for any of the vehicles. Instead, he pocketed the money and then deposited it into the bank account of the aforementioned shell company, Champion Autosport. He then transferred the money from Champion Autosport to his personal bank account.

Champion Porsche, however, claims it contacted Sookralli via email, who “identified twenty-four transactions in his scheme to defraud the plaintiff and consumers. The amount of funds Shiraaz admitted to receiving is $2,560,198,” according to the injunction to freeze the fake bank account. However, many of the Sookralli’s victims are not buying the dealership’s claim it knew nothing of the scheme. Sookralli disappeared late last month.

The Drive is also reporting that this isn’t the first time Sookralli has done something like this. Last February, he was sued by M&L Luxury Cars over another scam involving two 911Rs, each worth $500,000. One of the cars was ordered through Champion Porsche while the second was through what’s likely another shell company, Rampage Motors, Inc.

The first 911R was never delivered, despite a $350,000 deposit. The second one, however, was delivered to the buyers, only it had a $350,000 markup. Not surprisingly, Champion Porsche was named as a co-defendant in that lawsuit which, again, raises questions as to what it knew about Sookralli’s shenanigans. So why did Sookralli decide to become a criminal when, in all likelihood, he would be caught one day? Well, the guy has 10 kids. That’s a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

View the original article here

America’s Best-Selling Porsche Dealership Compensating $2.5 Million To Scam Victims

Former VP of marketing Shiraaz Sookralli ran off with $2.5 million worth of unfulfilled orders. Someone has to pay.

Earlier this month we learned the story of Shiraaz Sookralli, the now former VP of marketing for Champion Porsche, located in Pompano Beach, Florida. Sookralli and his wife Vimla are accused of scamming customers out of $2.5 million in unfulfilled orders on highly sought after Porsches like the latest 911 GT3 and GT3 RS. It doesn’t help that Champion Porsche previously had a rock-solid reputation as America’s top-volume Porsche dealership. While its overall sales will remain intact, the damage to its reputation needs some fixing, especially after it was named as a co-defendant in a lawsuit.

According to an updated report from Automotive News, the dealership vows to make things right with Sookralli’s victims. The dealership’s attorney, Roy Diaz, told Automotive News the dealership intends to “advance funds to customers equivelant to their deposits by October 12.” Above all, Champion Motors wants “to make sure that these victims – that’s what we’re calling them – come out of this from a customer satisfaction perspective as satisfied as possible,” Diaz added. Despite what happened, some customers apparently aren’t too upset at the dealership and will continue doing business there. Some intend to use their refunded deposits towards another Porsche purchase. Meanwhile, Champion Motors is still examining how it can recover the stolen $2.5 million.

Sookralli, as well as the money he stole, have yet to turn up. Sookralli, who worked for the dealership for nearly a decade, set up a shell company called Champion Autosport where the stolen funds were deposited. And despite taking and stealing those deposits, Sookralli never actually placed orders for any of the vehicles. Sookralli apparently already had a history of shady sales deals involving high-end Porsches. Earlier this year, for example, he was sued over the supposed sale of a pair of 911Rs, each valued at around $500,000. One of the 911Rs was never delivered, even though he took a $350,000 deposit from its hopeful buyer.

So on the one hand Champion Motors is absolutely doing the right thing by advancing the $2.5 million to reimburse Sookralli’s victims. However, it sounds a bit strange management didn’t clue into the fact that something was up based on Sookralli’s previous actions with the 911Rs and the fact no orders were actually placed despite accepting customer deposits.

View the original article here

Porsche Salesman Accused Of Stealing $2.5 Million From Dealership

Customers came to Shiraaz Sookralli to put down deposits for the 911 GT3 and GT3 RS. Their money is now gone.

Champion Porsche, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, claims to be America’s number one Porsche dealership, but is now facing a scandal of possibly epic proportions. According to Automotive News, around two dozen customers placed deposits for the latest 911 GT3 and GT3 RS track-focused sports cars only to have their money allegedly stolen by the dealership’s vice president of marketing, Shiraaz Sookralli, and his wife Vimla Sookralli.

The pair has since disappeared with a combined $2.5 million worth of deposits. Champion Porsche filed a lawsuit earlier this month naming the duo and the fake Champion Autosport, a shell company created by Sookralli, as defendants.

Sookralli, who according to the lawsuit, worked for the dealership for around a decade, started a fraudulent scheme that presented buyers with bogus buyer deposit agreements that, in reality, “failed to include any manufacturer or allocation information regarding the vehicles he was purportedly selling and contained false and fraudulent seller information.” In other words, Sookralli used these fake agreements to get buyers to believe they were buying Porsches that simply did not exist.

Furthermore, Sookralli never even placed orders for any of the vehicles. Instead, he pocketed the money and then deposited it into the bank account of the aforementioned shell company, Champion Autosport. He then transferred the money from Champion Autosport to his personal bank account.

Champion Porsche, however, claims it contacted Sookralli via email, who “identified twenty-four transactions in his scheme to defraud the plaintiff and consumers. The amount of funds Shiraaz admitted to receiving is $2,560,198,” according to the injunction to freeze the fake bank account. However, many of the Sookralli’s victims are not buying the dealership’s claim it knew nothing of the scheme. Sookralli disappeared late last month.

The Drive is also reporting that this isn’t the first time Sookralli has done something like this. Last February, he was sued by M&L Luxury Cars over another scam involving two 911Rs, each worth $500,000. One of the cars was ordered through Champion Porsche while the second was through what’s likely another shell company, Rampage Motors, Inc.

The first 911R was never delivered, despite a $350,000 deposit. The second one, however, was delivered to the buyers, only it had a $350,000 markup. Not surprisingly, Champion Porsche was named as a co-defendant in that lawsuit which, again, raises questions as to what it knew about Sookralli’s shenanigans. So why did Sookralli decide to become a criminal when, in all likelihood, he would be caught one day? Well, the guy has 10 kids. That’s a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

View the original article here