A few years ago, on a bitter, rain-spitting day outside the industrial town of Graz, Austria, I found myself holding on for dear life. Some of you will recognize immediately that this is the home of one of the world’s most renowned car factories, Magna-Steyr. Magna has built everything from the Alpenwagen (in 1919, in the rubble of the Great War) to the Jeep Commander to the Audi TT and a smattering of almost every model that rides on Europe’s roads.
They also make the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, or Geländewagen, one of the most butch SUVs ever built. It was conceived by the Shah of Iran in the 1970s, who coveted a Land Rover Defender but wanted his own version. Mercedes-Benz was happy to oblige, but by the time they finished building, the Shah was deposed in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The Shah’s lose; luxury offroading’s gain.
Back to Graz: I dared to see if this beast was offroad capable, or only appeared so. After all, most owners rarely leave the well-paved roads of Orange County or Miami-Dade. So Mercedes-Benz arranged for me to be driven up the Shockl, a madman’s mountain trail that feels like a 2-mile plane crash. Yes. The G-Wagon is all that.
This month, we went in search of the next version of the Shah’s prize and found Ineos, a new luxury offroader that can actually handle the hard stuff. Inspired by the original line of Land Rover Defenders, Ineos has released the Grenadier, named after the London pub in which CEO Jim Ratcliffe came up with the idea. Every part is hand-assembled and made to be as robust as any SUV out there—but with a luxurious twist.
In this issue, we dive deep into what you can do with your Ineos, or G-Wagon, or Defender, or Urus Bentayga, once you get it. Overlanding isn’t just for Wrangler fanatics. We also take a close look at one of the coolest trends in dining in 2024: Supper clubs! It’s not just dinner, and it’s not theater. Instead, it’s great food with more than a dash of style.
We also take a test drive in the new Ferrari SF90 Spider, which has a theatrical presence of its own. It’s also extremely fast. On the watch front, Roberta looks at one of my favorite classes of timepieces, the GMT watch. We pick out stalwarts like Rolex, TAG Heuer, and Grand Seiko, who each make an exquisite version of this three-handed wristwatch.
There’s a lot for everyone this month. Hold on tight!
Warm regards,
Mike
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