The Orcagena is a 60-meter yacht with a 12-meter beam and room for 12 guests and 14 crew. It contains a spa and health center, sun deck Jacuzzi, and an open-air lounge for the owner's cabin. The dining room overlooks the 2-story swimming pool complex, where you'll be protected from that relentless Aegean sun by a retractable sunroof.

All of that, though, is par for the superyacht course. Where the Orcagena takes its stand is in its propulsion system: a hydrogen- and diesel-electric combination that can provide thousands of more Earth-friendly nautical miles. Dual-fuel engines can run on either diesel or liquid hydrogen, that latter fluid being stored in specially designed tanks in the bow. That engine then powers an electric motor that runs the propellers for quieter, more efficient motoring.

Running on hydrogen eliminates the yacht's carbon footprint, and using the hydrogen alone you can get from London to Brindisi at a leisurely pace, or if you're in a hurry to get to that Campari and soda, Monaco to Brindisi. The full complement of hydrogen and diesel will get you from LA to your second home in Cheju, South Korea... and back. The axe bow and hull design based on the shape of the sperm whale go a long way to making that happen.

The Orcagena is only at the design stage now, but it is more proof of the best in luxury and the best in treading softly are headed for an inevitable union.



[Source: Green Car Congress]

It's not that you could ever be accused of running with the herd. However, when we're talking about the choices of several million people, and those choices concern several million bottles of wine, well, it couldn't hurt to lend one little ear to the vox populi.

The masses in questions are those ordering bottles from Wine.com, and after having tabulated the scores the site has released its Top 100 list for 8,000 different wines sold in 2009. You might be fatigued from the news that "value is clearly the running theme this year," but your offshore account will be glad of the fact that 75 of this year's wines slide in under $20, and only two exceed $100 even though the average list's average price rose compared to 2008. Your palate will rejoice as well: 93 of the wines are rated higher than 90 points, and the top wine is Cambria Julia's Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir, with two 90-plus point ratings. That also happens to be Wine Enthusiast's #1 wine of 2009. And yes, it's less than $20.

Feel free to peek, and we won't tell anyone you bought something only because you saw it on a Top 100 list. But if you do, at least you'll have very good company. Lots of it.

[Image: Wine glass courtesy of Delphaber via CC2.0]

If you had the stomach to sit through Terminator Salvation with your eyes open, you'll remember the mototerminators that launched themselves from the legs of the collectors. (Our apologies if this has brought back terrible memories.) Those apocalyptic wheelie poppers were based on Ducatis, but if you fancied the look of them, Italian bike builder CR&S has something pretty close.

Called the DUU Concept, the hand-built naked ride is a combination of "a sporty European rolling chassis powered by a muscular American big-twin." The engine is a 1.9-liter (117 cu. in.) X-Wedge supplied by engine maker S&S. Wrapped around that powerplant is a chassis that CR&S says can be tailored by the customer. They don't specifically indicate the breadth of that customization beyond presenting the choice of single or two-seater versions, but any time you combine "Italian" and "hand-made," the options list usually runs long.

CR&S said it has plans to build them from next year, at €20,000 ($30,000 U.S.) apiece. Once you take delivery, your first mission can be to hunt down McG and, well, you'll know what to do when the time comes...

The recently unveiled Audi A8 contains so much wizardry that we hear Merlin has made it his official conveyance when duties necessitate leaving Camelot. The A8 is made of aluminum. It can tell whether cars ahead of you are signaling a turn. It can read speed limit signs (Merlin's not so happy about where that one is going, neither are we...). Its thermal imaging system can detect people 300 feet away. The adaptive lighting system knows when you're going to turn because it's paying attention to the same navigation system that you are. It has Google Earth.

It also has 19 speakers, part of the second generation Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System. That is five more speakers than in the first generation B&O system. That is probably 10 more than you have in your entire living room, the size of which -- unless you live in Manhattan -- most likely dwarfs the interior space of an A8. Four of those are in the rear, to create a "movie-theater-like" experience that makes up for lacking popcorn by substituting LED mood lighting.

Rated at 1,400 watts, and with the rear seat entertainment package and "Movie" mode, you might as well be in a theater. Although we probably wouldn't recommend you conduct date nights on the rear bench, in a pinch it can certainly make for some rewarding interludes. Unless, that is, you live in Manhattan, and in that case an evening in the back of an A8 could be just the kind of thrilling, and roomy, getaway you've been looking for...

Gooding's regular yearly auction during Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale will take place January 23. Next year, though, Gooding will hold an additional auction the day before and it will be moving some delightful machinery. If you can't wait for Saturday's spoils, which include a 1959 Ferrari Series 1 Pininfarina Cabriolet, a Zagato-bodied 1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport, and a 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Berlinetta, then you might find something you like among the Friday collection specialities:

1934 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe, Chassis No. 2490, Engine No. J-461:
The only Murphy-bodied Convertible Coupe in existence with rear-mounted spares, J-461 is renowned for its many concours awards including a Best in Class at the 1986 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, a First Place at the 1987 Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance and its coveted Category One standing with the ACD Club. First owned by Sigfried Roebling, of the famed Brooklyn Bridge family, this magnificent Duesenberg possesses an impressive lineage from new.

1927 Bentley 6 1/2-Litre Sport Coupe, Chassis TW2713:
With coachwork by the Surbiton Carriage Company, this low-windshield, fabric-bodied 6 1/2-litre coupe bodied Bentley was first delivered to England-based S.E. Parkes in April 1927. After many years at the Manx Motor Museum on the Isle of Man, TW2713 was shipped to America in the 1980s in original, near-perfect condition. Now after 20 years of healthy driving by previous owners, the fully-restored 6 1/2-litre Coupe is a rarity even among its prestigious vintage peers, having retained its original "Surbico" body and unique elegant design.

1959 Costin Lister Jaguar Sports Racer, Chassis BHL 123:
Arguably the most historically important of the entire run of Lister sports cars, BHL 123 is one of only two Jaguar-powered Costin-Listers built following a factory fire at Jaguar Works in 1957. Originally purchased by legendary American sportsman, race car driver and manufacturer Briggs Cunningham, the Sports Racer earned its place in motorsport history when it captured the 1959 SCCA C-Modified National Championship. After many years of podium finishes, BHL 123 is a fully-restored and acclaimed vintage racer.

If any of those speak to you, have your bidding hand ready on January 22, 11 a.m., across the way from Scottsdale's Fashion Square Mall.



[Source: Gooding & Co | Images: Pawel Litwinski]

Things you do love: home theater systems, 5.1 surround sound, megawatt amplifiers, multiple Dolby signal processors, and most of all, simplicity. Things you don't love: acres of exposed cables and the sound of installers drilling holes in your walls. The latest JVC soundbar gives you what you love, not what you don't.

The 3-foot-long, 5-inch high TH-BA3 ($549) brings together a 280-watt amplifier and six speakers. It is the world's first dual wireless system, in that it is supported by a subwoofer and set of rear speakers and zaps the signals to each without any wiring. Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic II are supported, and there are two digital optical inputs and one analog in case your Nilsson Schmilsson 8-track still has some good years left in it.

If you must have something even sleeker and you're willing to submit to 4.1 surround, the JVC TH-BS7 ($599) wireless soundbar is broken up into a thinner speaker a practically wafer-thin, 180-watt amplifier. True, it isn't 7.1 surround, but it is peace of mind for the OCD in you.

Thermaltake probably isn't a name you're familiar with. BMW, on the other hand, is a name we figure has found its way into your orbit. When the former, a maker of PC cases, went to BMW's DesignWorks USA to help it create something that would get some attention, DesignWorks returned with the deep black and all-aluminum and glowing-red-LED Level 10. And Thermaltake probably replied, "Yes, that's exactly the thing."

A computer's internals are normally just that: internal. The Level 10, on the other hand, places all of the things that make your computer compute in individual black boxes, and hangs all of those boxes on an aluminum spine that hides the cables. Then it bathes the works in a red, fiber optic glow. We won't bore you with the technical specs -- that's what the Geek Squad is for; all you really need to know is that it will hold everything you could want your computer to have. It can even handle 3 Blu-ray drives for rapid duplication of all those George Seaton-esque moments you'll capture this holiday season.

Well, you should also know that it's big and heavy: more than two feet tall and 47 pounds before you put so much as a motherboard. Speaking of which, the case alone is $850, but if you need an actual computer you'll need to allot a minimum of $2,500. Genteel geeks and posh PC-ers, the ultimate computing machine is here and now shipping.

You've made it to your suite in Via Reggio, she'll be here soon, and things are looking good: the champagne from Champagne has been chilled, the chef you flew in from Marbella is warming the first course, the Milanese alto is downstairs right now preparing to serenade, everything's here. Everything except those Australian frangipanis for the bath later on. They haven't arrived, and it's a little late to find flowers in this seaside town.

Unless, that is, you have an Xperia Pureness handset and the Xperia Concierge service it comes with. Probably better thought of as a glass-and-black-plastic design statement than a phone, the Pureness touts itself almost as an anti-phone that focuses on "talk, text, time - a holiday from technology." Still, it's no counterculture brick: the display on that transparent glass screen has controls for web browsing, e-mail, and a media player.

And, yes, a concierge, part of a package of Xperia services. If your phone stops working during one of your frequent jet-sets, they'll send you another one within 48 hours. And your 24-hour-a-day assistant will get you a table, a membership, a seat, or a booth by the dance floor in a host of cities around the world. As long as it is a lifestyle request both "legal and moral" -- that probably includes flowers -- it will be carried out by the Xperia Concierge team. The phone is £530 ($860 U.S.), the concierge service is free for the first 12 months, and those frangipanis your Man Friday was able to arrange, well, you can't put a price on the perfect Tuscan evening...

Sometimes pairings are nothing but perfection, like the warm chocolate cake and melted chocolate heart of a moelleux au chocolat. Sometimes they don't fare so well, like when Lohan met Ungaro. And sometimes they just make you go "All right, maybe this can work...", like when IKEA paired a lamp commercial with a Bergman film.

We have no idea what Mercedes' AMG division and Cigarette racing boats will come up with together, but we have no reason to think it'll be anything but slick. They have paired to introduce a "Cigarette Racing boat inspired by AMG," which will debut at next February's Miami International Boat Show.

Specifically, the boat will pull emulate the depth of technological innovations on the gullwinged SLS AMG. While we don't expect that to mean it will use the SLS AMG's exploding door bolts -- sadly -- the "offshore racer will feature more than 100 innovations included in the design, development and rigging of the boat." And it will go more than 120 mph. That's the kind of inspiration that needs no explanation.

Many a gift is made that much more compelling by the addition of a bottle of wine. So when the opportunity arises to give a gift that is sprinkled with phrases like "private" and "VIP" and "Napa," and that gift comes with not one, but three, bottles of distinguished ambrosia -- well, it begins to look like a little bit of attention might be in order.

Wine.com's By Appointment Only will stuff your mailbox with a package of cabernets from Quintessa, Chateau Montelena, and Caymus. Yet those are merely to get you in the mood. The feature delight comes the next time you visit Napa: private appointments at each vineyard, during which you'll tour the facilities, sample as-yet-unbottled selections straight from the barrels -- so bring a straw -- and if Madame Nature plays fair, a tour of the vineyard

These are no rush jobs, either: each group is just four people, and each visitation lasts up to 3 hours. Which means that when you've finished your preliminary samplings and you want to know what makes Caymus so subtly capricious, Chateau Montelena so delicately moving, and Quintessa so.. just plain divine, By Appointment Only is your peek behind their veils. Oh, and priced at $500, it also has a superb finish: it's good until the summer of 2011.