xeno V A N C O U V E R ’ S

S U P R E M ELIFESTYLEMAGAZINE FOR

CARS &E N T H U S I A S T S

VOLUME 3www.xenovancouver.com[ November / December 2009 ]

Price$2.99 CAD $3.49 USD

Authorized Dealer for B.C. and Alberta

LAmborghini VAncouVer1711 West 2nd AvenueVancouver, B.C. V6K 1H7604 . 738 . 3911

2010 LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO LP 670-4 SVLIMITED EDITION

Lamborghini VancouVerwww.lamborghinivancouver.com

2010 LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO LP 670-4 SVLIMITED EDITION

xeno

NEWS*08

LIFESTYLE GEARS*13

NEW CELL PHONES*15

LUXURY SUPERCAR WEEKEND*18 FEATURED CAR*28

FEATURED SHOP*36

FEATURED RESTAURANT*41

EVENT*43

COLUMN*47

* BMW M3 TUNED BY MW DESIGN * LOTUS EVORA

* EMPIRE ONE

* RTL IN YALETOWN

* LUXURY SUPERCAR MEDIA LAUNCH @ RED BULL PRIVATE LOUNGE * EMPIRE ONE & SPYKER EVENT

* “WOMEN & CARS”

Contents

HIGH QUALITY WEBSITE DESIGN

WEB HOSTING

WEB SOLUTIONS

DATABASE DRIVEN WEBSITES

ONLINE SHOPPING CARTS

E-COMMERCE SITES

MAINTENANCE AND REDESIGN

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

1500 - 885 West Georgia St. Vancouver BCTel 604.639.2140 www.velocesr.com

What We Deliver...

Intelligent

WebsiteDesign

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Copyright 2009 © by Veloce Media Productions Inc. All rights reserved. XENO Vancouver® by Veloce Media Productions Inc in Canada. Individual articles in this journal are copyrighted by VMP Inc., as indicated on each article. Reproduction, redistribution, or reselling any materials from this publication in either machine-readable form or any other form in whole or in part without permission of the VMP Inc or payment of the appropriate royalty for reuse. For subscriptions or copyright-related questions, please email your question to : media@velocesr.com XENO Vancouver® is a registered trademark of Veloce Media Productions Inc.

PubLiSher / eDiTor in chieFRocky Cheong

creATiVe / ArT DirecTorRocky Cheong

ASSociATe eDiTorSean Lim

SALeS & mArKeTingDon LeeSunny Han

FinAnciAL eXecuTiVeYoungjin Won

Web coorDinATorJunho Ahn

graphic DesignerGuil Lee

PhotographerLogan Mcrae

Assistant to the PublisherJeong Eun Park

ADVerTiSing oPPorTuniTieSFor information regarding advertising opportunities please email info@xenovancouver.com or call 604.639.2140

VeLoce meDiA ProDucTion inc.1500-885 West Georgia St. Vancouver, BC, CanadaV6C 3E8

w w w . x e n o v a n c o u v e r . c o mxeno

PubLiSher / eDiTor in chieFRocky Cheong

creATiVe / ArT DirecTorRocky Cheong

ASSociATe eDiTorSean Lim

SALeS & mArKeTingDon LeeSunny Han

FinAnciAL eXecuTiVeYoungjin Won

Web coorDinATorJunho Ahn

graphic DesignerGuil Lee

PhotographerLogan Mcrae

Assistant to the PublisherJeong Eun Park

ADVerTiSing oPPorTuniTieSFor information regarding advertising opportunities please email info@xenovancouver.com or call 604.639.2140

VeLoce meDiA ProDucTion inc.1500-885 West Georgia St. Vancouver, BC, CanadaV6C 3E8

Newsw w w . x e n o v a n c o u v e r . c o m

Vancouver News

bugatti in Vancouver Have you ever seen Bugatti Veyron in Vancouver? If your answer is no, you unfortunately missed the Luxury Supercar Weekend held on the 12th and 13th of September. The car was driven all the way from Oregon to be part of the newly-born Auto Show and its existence was more than enough to impress the crowd at the event.

empire one With new Spyker c8 AileronHarvey Sanghera from Empire One commented that he would add a NEW Spyker C8 Aileron to his premier fleet of vehicles. Empire One actually hosted an Exclusive Spyker Sneak Preview and Open House event on Sep-tember 28th. According to Spyker of Calgary, the hand-built prototype is only 1 of 3 in the world. It would be a nice chance to drive the rarely-seen Dutch beauty! www.empireone.ca

Xeno’s new Website in December!XENO is proud to launch a NEW web-site In December after a few months of renovation! The new website is de-signed to provide extensive amount of news and information to the local car fanatics and become the largest car forum in town. It includes Web Maga-zine to show XENO fans the un-cut web version of XENO, Member’s Rides for users to display their beloved autos, Gallery for members to freely share image sources, Sales People Ranking for guiding you to the best salespeople in town and Luxury Car Market for buying and selling luxury & exotic autos. Check out the new website at http://www.xenovnacouver.com

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Veloce media balloon Party in november Veloce Media Production and Talia, Vancouver’s renowned entertainment promoter, col-laborated to throw in “Balloon Party” on November 10th at Fabric Nightclub in Gastown. They squeezed in 750 people and gave out the sensational Apple iMac as well as Black-berry Curve and LG Arena cell-phones as prizes. It seems like there will be a few other events coming up in the near future.

Lexus hS250h LaunchRegency Lexus on Burrard is proud to invite you and a guest to attend the exclusive VIP launch of the all-new Hybrid-only sedan, the Lexus HS 250h. We hope you will be able to join us and experience the only luxury hybrid of its kind. Regency Lexus 1778 Burrard at 2nd Avenue, Vancouver For more information, please contact Regency Lexus

mcLaren mP4-12c The MP4-12C is built around an extremely light and rigid carbon fiber tub. But rather than the heavier multi-piece tubs used by its competitors and predecessors, the MP4’s is made from a single piece, weighing a spritely 176 pounds). The body panels are all carbon fiber and composites, making the new McLaren more expensive to build than its competitors and result-ing in an expected £160,000 ($265k) price tag – higher than either the new Ferrari 458 Italia or the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, but lighter in weight, too. Twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 engine producing around 600 horse-power and 433 lb-ft of torque, offering what McLaren claims is the highest horsepower to CO2 ratio of any internal combustion engine on the market. www.autoblog.com

Ferrari 458 italiaAfter months of speculation and spy shots, Maranello has finally revealed the mid-engined V8 replacement for the Ferrari F430. The all-new Ferrari 458 Italia won’t be shown in public until September’s Frankfurt Motor Show, but the official details were released early this morning. A new direct-injected 4.5-liter V8 ups the ante underhood, pumping out 562 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque. The redline? A screaming 9,000 rpm. Eighty percent of the F458 Italia’s torque is now available at a low 3,250 rpm, thanks in all likelihood to the new engine’s 12.5:1 compression ratio. The Ferrari 458 gets a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox that directs power to the rear axle. Much has been done to reduce internal friction within the new V8, in addition aerodynamic drag improvements. As a result, the Ferrari 458 Italia’s gas mileage improves to a combined 17.1 mpg (US) on the EU test cycle. As this is a Ferrari, talk of fuel consumption really does seem somewhat pointless, anyway. No mention of incorporating any type of KERS hybrid system has been made thus far. The KERS idea, you’ll remem-ber, had taken several spins around the rumormill over the last year or so; maybe that’ll materialize at a later date. www.autoblog.com

bentley mulsanneAll-new Bentley Mulsanne, about eleven inches longer than the Flying Spur and rides on a new, bespoke chassis that sits so low on its wheels you can barely get a finger between the top of the front tire and the wheel well.The swelling line of the rear-quarter panel is reminiscent of the Brooklands.

rolls-royce ghostRolls-Royce has officially dropped dozens of images and plenty of details on its new “baby” saloon, the Ghost. The new Roller won’t be seen publicly for another week, when it’ll formally bow in Frankfurt, but we now know that its 6.6-liter V12 generates an impressive 575 lb-ft of torque at 1,500 rpm, along with 563 horsepower in U.S. trim. The 212.6-inch body stretches over a 129.7 inch long wheelbase, and the whole car weighs in at 5,445 pounds unloaded. www.autoblog.com

Automotive News

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bmW Vision efficientDynamics Offering a full-hybrid concept, the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car is powered by a three-cylinder turbodiesel and two electric motors. All-wheel drive featuring an electric motor on both the front and rear axle. • Anticipated performance: Acceleration from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, top speed 250 km/h, fuel consumption in the EU test cycle 3.76 litres/100 km (equal to 75.1 mph imp), CO2 emissions 99 grams/kilometre.• As a plug-in hybrid, BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is able to cover the entire fuel consumption drive cycle under electric power alone. Taking the sources of energy used for generating the electric power consumed into account, this reduces the CO2 emission rating to just 50 g/km.• Electric power is generated without the slightest increase in fuel consump-tion through a particularly efficient concept of Brake Energy Regeneration. En-ergy is stored in 98 lithium polymer cells. The car is able to cover a distance of approximately 50 km/31 miles in the electric mode alone.• Aerodynamics developed with know-how from Formula 1. CX drag coeffi-cient optimised to just 0.22. Energy management uses the maximum potential available in each case to minimise fuel consumption.

Lexus LF-chLF-Ch full hybrid concept is Lexus’s first approach to the competitive Eu-ropean premium compact segment, which is expected to become the big-gest segment of the European premium car market as early as next year. It reflects the growing demand for cars that are smaller and more fuel and CO2 efficient, a trend Lexus hopes to capitalize on.Featuring the latest iteration of Lexus’s L-finesse design philosophy, the front end of the vehicle shows that the LF-Ch will be close to produc-tion form but not quite there: shaved door handles, complex surfaces and extremely tight panel gaps are likely to be simplified and made more cost-friendly before production is seen.

bugatti galibier conceptKnown as the Bugatti Galibier Concept and inspired by the Type 57, the model made its debut in Molsheim this past weekend as the (and we quote) “most exclusive, elegant, and powerful four door automobile in the world.” If you’re thinking that this is what the next Bugatti model will look like – don’t jump to conclusions just yet. Bugatti’s president, Dr. Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen said that the Galibier 16C is just one of several concept studies which the company is considering for the future of the Bugatti marquee.

Bugatti says that the Galibier four-door concept car was constructed of handmade carbon fiber parts “colored in dark blue so that, when illuminat-ed, woven structure shimmers through strikingly.” The company says that the wings and the doors are polished out of aluminum and that the interior features a removable Reverso Tourbillon clock and that the “two centrally located main instruments keep even the rear passengers constantly in-formed of the actual speed and previous performance.”

Car Design News

mini coupe conceptTo celebrate the MINI’s 50th birthday since on 26 August 1959. BMW today has unveiled their MINI Coupe Concept. Powered by a 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbocharged engine. Maximum output is 155 kW/211 hp, peak torque 260 Newton-metres/192 lb-ft increasing through the Overboost function for a short while to an even more substantial 280 Newton-metres/206 lb-ft. Un-like the original coupe of the Sixties that simply had a fastback replacement for the standard square-back roof, the new MINI

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Sony Vaio Z-Series Laptop Windows®. Life without Walls™. Sony recommends Windows 7.The VAIO® Z-Series lets you enjoy Premium Mobility, Power and Style thanks to the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8700 processor (2.53GHz) with Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology.This product is available with a bilingual Operating System, Software and Keyboard. www.sony.ca

Philips net TV Net TV from Philips enables simple, fast access to a wide range of entertainment and information websites from the online start page on the TV screen.

The Net TV feature will be available on all Philips televisions in Europe in the 8000 series, 9000 series and Cinema 21:9 from Spring 2009 onwards. Through Net TV, internet content is tailored for the best possible viewing experience on the TV screen, and is easily accessed through the TV’s remote control, without the need for extra set-top boxes or service subscriptions, or for starting up a laptop. www.digitalnewsroom.philips.com

DeLonghi Perfecta Fully Automatic espresso machine eSAm5400High performance 15 bar pump pressure. Traditional cappuccino milk frother. Ultimate bean-to-cup quality with only one touch to create perfect espresso. Easy-tronic digital control panel: stylish ipod-style design with sleek illuminated icon display and rotating control dial. Perfecta can be used with either fresh coffee or ground coffee. Removable water tank (1.7 litres). Integrated profession-alburr grinder with 7 adjustable coarseness settings. Adjustable quantities of coffee and water to make an individually tailored cup of coffee. Electronic temperature control so you can set your coffee from piping hot to medium temperature. Removable brewing unit for easy cleaning. Automatic shut-off of machine after a pre-set time has elapsed. Adjustable steam emission. Double boiler system, wi-thone boiler exclusively for espresso and the other for steam, means your cappuccino can be made almost instantly with the press of one button. Rinse and decalcification auto-programmes variable to re-flect local water hardness. Adjustable height coffee dispenser to ac-commodate either full size or espresso size. Active cup warmer. Re-movable drip tray with water level indicator. Stylish high gloss black. www.delonghicanada.com

harman Kardon Drive + Play™ iPod Vehicle interface and controllerDrive + Play™ from Harman Kardon® offers all the music-browsing capability of the iPod and can be used with any car-audio system. Browse by performer, album, song, genre or composer. Scroll through your playlists. Jump ahead to the next track, or play the last one over and over – and do it all from the driver’s seat, without taking your mind off the road. Drive + Play puts the familiar iPod menu on a backlit display right on your car’s dashboard or windshield, where you can read it at a glance. The system is controlled by the most intuitive interface available and is as easy to read as your iPod. Drive + Play, with its included accesso-ries for connecting to your audio system, is compatible with most docking iPod devices, including nano and the new iPod. www.harmankardon.com

Lifestyle Gears

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coway Sally (chP-06er/L) Slim & Compact DesignEasy installation feature and space-saving design make Coway’s new product, CHP-06ER/L different from others. Powerful PerformanceLow pump noise : Coway developed a new pump and SMPS that provides low noise operation system. Noise level : max. 28dBImproved Cooling / Heating System : Coway developed a unique cooling / heating temperature controller electronics which prevents over cooling and/or over heating. Unlike previous models the product adopted all new tank design which combined cooling tank and main tank with one. This allows users to clean tank easily.Electronic Water Level Control : Lead Level Sensor (electronic water level sensor) and electronic over flow sensor always check and control the water level accurately. www.coway.com

Leica m9The history of 35-mm photography began almost 100 years ago with the legendary Ur-Leica. To-day, it is the Leica M9, a landmark camera that carries the proud heritage of Leica M cameras into the digital age. The Leica M9 is the world’s first digital system camera of its size to be built with a full-frame sensor - a CCD sensor developed specifically for the M9 - that is capable of perfectly capturing the full 35-mm format (24 × 36 mm) in ultra-high resolution. The new M9 - in the famil-iar, classic, and timeless M design, represents the quintessence of its predecessors based on the consummate technological level of our time. It is the perfect contemporary tool for those who set the highest standards in image quality and are committed to creating images of enduring value. www.leica-camera.com

Lifestyle Gears

microsoft Wireless entertainment Desktop 8000 The ultimate rechargeable keyboard and mouse for Windows Vista® and PC entertainment. Designed to make it easier than ever to control PC media from your desk, your lap–or even from the comfort of your couch.

▶ Rechargeable Mouse and Backlit Keyboard ▶ 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® Technology▶ Battery Status Indicator ▶ Navigation Pad ▶ Windows® Start Button ▶ 4 USB Ports▶ Ultra-thin Comfort Curve Design ▶ Windows Live™ Call Button

www.microsoft.com

corum Admiral’s cup challenge 48 black Flag This latest version has a vibrant blue finish on the hands, markers and date wheel. Which looks superb on only visible difference between the two models, obviously the colour and the date wheel aperture. This model is limited to just 100 pieces and will be unveiled at an event on November 20th at the King of Prussia, PA mall.The case, in black titanium with rubber bezel, measures 48mm. It has an AR-coated sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 300 meters. The dial is coated in blue Superluminova. The rubber strap measures 24mm. www.wristwatches.tv

Lg bL40 new chocolate With the introduction of this bold new shape, the new Choco-late is essentially reinventing the way consumers view and use mobile phones. Designed with sleek sophistication, the strikingly unconventional 4-inch wide screen opens up an enlarged and more optimal space for “on-the-go” com-puting, allowing for an entirely new mobile experience that raises the bar of innovation.

Users will see things differently with the widened 21:9 pan-oramic display that establishes a new level of visual comfort for the reading of web pages and e-mail and dramatically brings videos and games to life with cinematic flair. Going wide also allows for the dual screen era to finally be brought to handsets for enhanced usability, which when combined with LG’s upgraded and intuitive S-Class UI brings a whole new meaning to the words “user friendly”.

“The new LG Chocolate will dramatically change the way we interact with our phones,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The new Chocolate reflects the originality and sophistication of the Black Label Series and like its predecessor, we are confident that the new Chocolate will create its own legacy and further enhance our standing in the market.”www.lge.com

hTc Snap S521The HTC Snap delivers the “more” you’ve been looking for, with essentials designed to simplify your life. Intuitive and familiar features keep you connected to the people you hold close while bringing the mobile Web to your fingertips.

HTC’s innovative Inner Circle feature allows HTC Snap users to press a dedicated Inner Circle key to bring emails from a pre-selected group of people to the top of their inbox, enabling important messages to be acted upon immediately.

With a slim, sleek profile designed to fit perfectly in the hand, the HTC Snap measures less than a half-inch thick (12 mm), yet it can deliver up to eight and a half hours of talk time with the standard 1500mAh battery. The full QWERTY keyboard is ergonomically designed with extra-large domed keys and responsive tactile feedback to make typing emails and text messages fast, accurate and comfortable. www.htc.com

Samsung W880 AmoLeD 12mThe Samsung W880 ups the ante with a world’s first 12 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom. Featuring a hard-ware Mode dial and a real zoom lever it does feel like a real camera and you may find yourself struggling to find the mobile phone under the digicam skin. Now while W880 is South Korea bound only, it’s enough to give us a taste of what’s coming in the shape of the rumored Samsung M8920, which should make it our way sometime next year - but with Wi-Fi and GPS on board.

Samsung SCH-W880 AMOLED 12M Samsung SCH-W880 AMOLED 12M Samsung SCH-W880 AMOLED 12M Sam-sung SCH-W880 AMOLED 12M official photos

Designing a mobile phone (or any other portable gadget for that matter) is a balancing act - the engineers must juggle between cost, size and features, all the while being limited by the current state of technology.

Say cost doesn’t matter - that still leaves only so much that can reasonably be crammed into a mobile device. Prog-ress is made, technology advances, which results in things getting cheaper, smaller and with more features. And quite soon, things that seemed impractical a few years back can now be released as a consumer device.

This is how the Samsung W880 AMOLED 12M came to be - it contains all the mechanical elements of a point-and-shoot camera, but still has enough room left for the phone parts. It’s not the first phone to achieve that but it’s the first 12-megapixel one and the added 3x optical zoom and xenon flash pretty much put it on par with a typical point-and-shoot camera.

The Samsung W880 has some high-end imaging func-tions too - tracking touch autofocus, 720p@30 fps video recording, 3.3” big AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with WVGA resolution. That’s not something you see every day on a cameras and it’s top notch in mobile phone terms. Even the degree of control over how a photo is taken beats out consumer cameras, let alone cameraphones. www.samsung.com

Sony ericsson Aino Get the best of two worlds with the keypad combined with an intuitive touch UI in media mode. An intuitive media browser gives users a clear overview and one touch direct access to their content.

Control your PLAYSTATION®3 and access its media con-tent on your Aino anywhere, anytime using Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3. Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3, initially developed for PSP, enables users to control and access media content on PLAYSTATION®3 from their phone. This can be done via a local network between PLAYSTATION®3 and Aino in your home or via the internet from anywhere in the world. For TV lovers in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and in the UK users can also enjoy the PlayTV™ service on PLAYSTATION®3 via the Aino. Watch, pause and record live TV from a huge range of free chan-nels via Aino on the go.

Aino also introduces Media Home, an application that pulls media content from Media Go™ on your PC over Wi-Fi™ to your phone automatically. Users just insert their Aino into its charging stand and it automatically synchronizes with all the latest media content on their PC. You are always ready to go with the latest content on your phone.

“Sony Ericsson has established itself as THE Communica-tion Entertainment brand and Aino highlights our commit-ment to bringing the latest communication technology to the market in fun and innovative ways for consumers to enjoy,” said Alexandre Cardon, Market Business Manager at Sony Ericsson. “Media Home and Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3 are key steps in broadening the enter-tainment experiences users can enjoy on their Sony Erics-son phone and gives a taste of our vision of the future.”

Watch movies on the crystal clear 3 inch screen and listen to music in superb quality and with increased freedom - thanks to the stylish Wireless Stereo Headphone MH100 and matching Charging Stand EC100 included with Aino. This powerful phone offers a full range of exciting features to support the entertainment experiences on the phones such as; an 8.1 megapixel camera, Photo flash and Clear audio experience.www.sonyericsson.com

The blackberry® boLD 9700™ smartphone - Distinctly boldThe BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone combines el-egance and power into one premium device. Experience emailing and browsing at 3G speeds on the Rogers HSPA network on a device that looks as good as it feels in your hand. Updated touch-sensitive trackpad lets you easily navigate through the information you need and the highly tactile, full-QWERTY fretted keyboard provides fast, ac-curate typing while you are on-the-go. Connect in more places with Wi-Fi and utilize built-in GPS to get you where you need to be. A next-generation processor, 256 MB Flash memory, and support for external memory cards up to 32GB provides you with the ultimate in performance. www.rogers.com

New Cellphone

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Luxury Supercar Weekend September 12~13, 2009

Xeno Magazine [ Official Program Guide ]

Ferrari 360 Spyder [ Hamann Tune ]Talk about a weekend to re-member! The sun was out and was scorching hot, crowds

of car enthusiasts were scattered throughout the venue eager to take pictures with their dream cars, and numerous super cars were lined up decoratively within the event gates. From the Bugatti Veyron, Porsche Carrera GT to the Maserati MC12, the event attracted a lot of attention with its cars, gathering an immense number of spectators from all over Vancouver and the lower mainland to the Plaza of Nations. Now you must be wondering, “what on Earth would be a good enough reason for some of the world’s most rare and luxurious collection of super cars to gather together in a single location?” Simply put, it was the event, hosted by Vancouver’s very own Edgewater Casino and Xeno Vancouver Maga-zine, known as, the Luxury Supercar Weekend. It was an amazing two day event which played host to an impres-sive lineup of cars and motorcycles, gorgeous and stunning young wom-en and men, some of the most suc-cessful business owners of our time, and of course great food and drinks. What more could anybody ask for?

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No words can describe such an exhilarating experience.

xeno

AUDI R8 V10

Mercedes-Benz SLR 722S

PORSCHE CARRERA GT3 pt.2

New BMW Z4

Noble M400

New BMW M3

Bentley Continental GT Speed [ WALD Tuned ]

As a member of Xeno Vancouver Magazine, I was only told briefly of what the event would look like,

and automatically I referenced it to the DTP import car show which is an annu-ally held event in the city of Vancouver. I quickly came to realize that I was com-pletely wrong. This is not to say that DTP is any lesser of an event, considering the fact that some of the world’s most finely tuned and acknowledged import cars are brought down to the show each year. To give you a better idea, I would consider Luxury Supercar Weekend simply as a different species of car events separate from other car shows held in Vancouver. This is mainly due to, the people and the types of cars that were present at the event. Unlike most car shows, Luxury Su-percar Weekend focused on a much old-er demographic of people and advertised not only the tuning capabilities of auto body shops, but also the beauty of clas-sic “fresh out of the box” luxury vehicles. You got to see what the cars looked like before tuning, and what it could possibly look like after tuning, and that’s the beau-ty of it all. It’s like buying a brand new car and contemplating on how to decorate it. The show was every car fanatic’s happy dilemma.

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Xeno Vancouver is the official guide of Luxury Supercar Weekend

T he cars that were present at the show were all truly ecstasy to the eyes. There was however, one event and

one car that stood out during the show that I could never forget. Weaving through hoards of people and making my way from one section to another, I ended up at one corner of the plaza and found myself at the entrance to ZR Autos tent. There, the lineup of finely tuned super cars on either side of a long red carpet seemed to be one of the main attractions at the event, and I had ar-rived right on time. I watched Zahir Rana, owner of ZR Auto, as he slowly climbed into his yellow Enzo Ferrari FXX to start the car for its onlookers. The explosive start of the engine sent shivers down my spine and left me in jaw dropping awe. It was exhilarat-ing. The steady, godlike hum of the engine could be felt through the vibrations of your clothes as you stood there, trying to spec-ulate how such a power could possibly be humanly manufactured. Only one thought went through my mind, as it must have been the same for many who witnessed the same event, “what would it take to drive one of those.” Just like ZRs vehicles, many of the cars that were in attendance at this event, most definitely gave many spectators, a truly inspiring and motivational experience.

All in all, the event was a huge suc-cess! This was not only because of the number of people showing up at

the event, but also because everyone who stepped in to the venue was leaving with a smile on their face, ecstatic about what they just witnessed with their very own two eyes. I briefly took the time to ask one of them about their experience at the show, and he did not hesitate to reply, “It was amazing! Some of the cars here are the types of cars that people would be lucky to see, in person, even once in their life time. I really hope that this event comes back again next year.” This was evidence of success in its truest form. The success of Luxury Supercar Weekend also brought up a puzzling question to my attention. Why was there never such an event held in Vancouver in the past? This question was answered personally by Rocky Cheong, Chief Editor of Xeno Vancouver Magazine, who helped in the organization of the event, “It’s because an event of this scale is not easy to organize and manage, and the risks involved are quite big as there are over 20 million dollars worth of cars coming from all over. Also, Vancouver’s car industry has been seriously underrated for quite some time now, so I assume the idea was overlooked as an event that was bound to fail, but looking at the success of Luxury Supercar Weekend, clearly it was pos-sible to pull off. We’re even considering the possibility of it being an event held annually in the city of Vancouver.”

ADVANCE MOTOR SPORTS

New Bugatti dealer has arrived in Vancouver

New Maserati GranTurismo

New Ferrari 599 GTB

New Ferrari California

Lamborghini Murcielago Versach

Ferrari F430 Novitec Supercharged

Ferrari F40

World’s Fastest Enzo Ferrari

Ford GT

Saleen S7 Twin Turbo

Maserati MC12

Lamborghini Gallardo Twin Turbo

FeaturedCarw w w . x e n o v a n c o u v e r . c o m

MW DESIGN 2009 E92 BMW M3Meister Werke Design + Technik (www.mwdesigntechnik.com) has been tuning European and exotic cars in Vancouver, BC for over a decade. Meister Werke is a German term that refers to the idea of perfection in automotive tuning, a masterpiece of a tuned vehicle. Founders Lewis Fan and Michael Wong have been enhancing cars since 1999 during the E36 and E46 BMW era and have consistently challenged themselves to build creative projects such as full custom widebody conversions or to try and be the first to utilize certain parts in their project builds. MWDesign specializes in tuning for BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Bentley and all major auto marques and carries top tuners such as Modulare Wheels, DPEngineering, AC Schnitzer, Techart, Eisenmann, Novitec and more.

MW Design’s style of tuning is defined as CONCEPTuning. This style of tuning utilizes the power of rendering programs such as Photoshop to create a digital mock up of the proposed modifications to the car even before a single part is ordered. This ensures that the vehicle theme is entirely suitable before beginning the project and also ensures that the style and level of quality satisfies the client’s specifications. The fundamental vision of MWDesign is to create cohesively modified cars that can be extremely aggres-sive but still feel like they could have been built by the original manufacturer in terms of quality of execution. On the fly changes that are suggested during the project build can also be updated and sent to the client so the change can be seen rather than being visualized in your head. Straying from traditional tuner’s approaches of simply showing magazines or stock photos when attempt-ing a build, MWDesign focuses on designing and creating bespoke, tailored tuning packages to each client’s specific vehicle and tastes without any of the guesswork.

XENO: What was the concept behind the Darth Maul?

MW Design: After modifying one too many Alpine White M3’s, we were ecstatic to have the opportunity to take on a brand new E92 M3 coupe build in Jerex Black. For this project, we wanted to build something insane yet cohesive and classy at the same time. We started by removing all chrome pieces, and making subtle improvements like matte black grills, carbon-fiber side vents and mirror covers. We tried to give the already mean M3 a bolder character without being too gaudy and busy. We truly put our CON-CEPTuning approach to a serious test on this custom project.

XENO: Can you explain the CONCEPTuning process?

MW Design: The CONCEPTuning starts off with quick hand sketches which are scanned into our computers to produce more refined concept renderings. These visuals help us determine all the parts, colors, etc. Staying with initial theme is critical for us. For this M3, we strived for extremely aggressive yet sophisticated look and feel. Our CONCEPTuning process allowed for perfectly balanced interplay of colors and textures on this project.

XENO: What is the association with Darth Maul?

MW Design: That was the informal code name for the project, but since the instant popularity from the internet community, the moniker Darth Maul has stuck with the vehicle. Just to clarify, we have no associations with Lucasarts Entertainment, though we do love their films!

XENO: What’s next?

MW Design: STAGE 2. G-Power Stage II Super-charger (600hp) is in transit. Big Brake Kit from Brembo with custom color combination is in the works as well.

The Spyder is powered by a liquid cooled V-Twin 990 Rotax engine (998cc) with fuel injection, electric start and a 10:8:1 compression ratio creating 106hp. This machine not only looks cool but goes fast too hitting 100km/h from a standstill in 4.5 seconds.So how do you make a vehicle that is so cool out of the box even cooler? You modify it!MW Design saw the potential to apply our trade-mark company colors and styling for their own fun side project and summer vehicle. For more info visit www.mwdesigntechnik.com

2008 BRP Can-Am Spyder

LOTUS EVORATHE TRUE

CHARACTER

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Lotus Evora “If your priority lies heavily on driving performance and fulfillment, this is the car for you.”

We finally welcome the arrival of the new Lotus Evora, the first all-new lotus developed as the successor to the Elise Series 1 which was developed over 13

years ago. It’s about time. People were wondering when the new model for Lotus would finally be released and it seems now that their prayers have been answered. With a 276hp 3.5 liter Toyota V6 engine as part of its arsenal, the Lotus Evora is the world’s very first mid-engined 2+2 vehicle to have been developed within the super car industry. Some believe it to be direct competition to the Porsche Boxter and Cayman, while others believe it would be better to buy a Porsche with the $80 000 – $90 000 budget. So how exactly does the Evora stand out amongst other supercars? The car takes a gener-ous 5 seconds to get from 0 to 100km, and takes a rather long stretch of road in order to reach its top speed of 260km/hr, which is significantly slower than most other super cars such as the Lamborghini Gallardo.

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The new and improved interior succeeds in making the ride more comfortable and hiding the extra two seats in the rear but, as stated by Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear,

fails to fit two grown adults over a height of 5 feet without, “adopting the lotus position”. So why take a chunk out of your pockets to buy one of these? The answer is simple. You get what you pay for. The performance of the car is outstanding in terms of its handling, its nimbleness and its efficiency. For starters, the handling is despicably brilliant. The Evora deliv-ers outstanding cornering grip, with sensitive but uncorrupted steering capabilities, which allows drivers to have complete control for cornering. The car is also super light, although slightly heavier than the Elise. The light body and super ab-sorbent suspension combination in the new Evora is excel-lent, and absorbs most of shock which is, in most super cars, absorbed by the driver. Finally, we come to the secret weapon of the Evora, its efficiency. With low CO2 levels of 205g/km and a 48km/L fuel consumption, the Lotus Evora is possibly one of the most fuel efficient super cars on the market, and will most likely save you a whole chunk of money that you would be spending if you bought any other supercar at the same price of the Evora. Now you ask, “So I should buy one?” Abso-lutely! If your priority lies heavily on driving performance and fulfillment, this is the car for you. However, if you’re looking for a car with a fancy and ever so convenient interior, I would suggest you look elsewhere for your driving pleasure.

FeaturedShopw w w . x e n o v a n c o u v e r . c o m

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Empire one is Vancouver’s one and only exclusive car club which offers its members the experience of driving some of the world’s most luxurious vehicles available in the market. This of course comes with-out the costs and the hassles of owning and changing cars each time you want a new driving experience. To give you a better understanding of the club and what it does, we have interviewed Harvey Sanghera, President and Founder of Empire One, to answer some of the questions you may have regarding Empire One.

Empire One Car Club 3150 - 21331 Gordon Way, Richmond, B.C. V6W 1J9Phone: 604.273.5545 Fax: 604.273.5549

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Empire One Vancouver’s Premier Car Club

Tell me a little bit about yourself and the company. How did Empire One come to be? Car Clubs started in the UK and that is where I am from. I came to Canada about 4 years ago. I wanted to join a car club here as I lost lots of money in the UK from changing my cars. I searched here and found that there is no car clubs here so that is why decided to start Empire One.

Could you explain in detail what Empire One offers its customers, and how the membership works? We of offer all the pleasures of supercar ownership with none of the burdens. Memberships start from $3995 for 4 days as a teaser. Regular memberships are from $13k to $36 Annual and mem-bers enjoy from 25 to over 120 days of driving from our fleet which currently is 9 vehicles.

Which of the cars that are offered to customers would you say is your personal favourite and why? My personal favorite is the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera as it takes a bit of time to masterbut the driving rewards are great. Great looks great noise and very satisfying.

What would you say is Empire One’s main demography, and was this the company’s main target market? We currently have members from all walks of life. People who have had such cars and still do but like the choice offered without the hassles of ownership. We have people who would not waste money on these cars but want to enjoy them and then we have members who h ave saved up for their one year thrill.

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What would you say is the main benefit of joining Empire One’s Car Club that stands out from any other auto club or rental business? First off we are the only car club in western Canada. We are also the largest in terms of vehicles offered and membership. We differ from auto rentals in that all our clients are hand picked so they take care of our vehicles as if they were their own. Typically rental cars are abused so our vehicles always retain their newness. The major benefit is the cost saving in that you only pay for using the vehicle not as in ownership when vehicles are parked up.

I noticed that Empire One recently brought in the new Spyker as a new vehicle available for your members. Was there a particular reason why you decided to bring this car in? We bought this car in to gauge reaction with a view to adding it to our stable and so far the response is good. This vehicle is unique and stands out and that is why we are contemplating adding one to our fleet. The car we had on display was a prototype so again it is some of the fun stuff we do.

What are Empire One’s plans for the future? Should members be expecting any other specific cars to join the ranks? Yes of course our fleet is always evolving and expect the Mercedes SLS, Lotus Evora and maybe the Spyker soon. Also on the cards is the Ferrari F458 and maybe the Rolls Royce Ghost.

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Just a year old, but already acclaimed by the locals as one of the best new dining spots in Yaletown, regional tasting lounge has become known as having a ‘cool groove and a charming bar’. This is a full featured restaurant and bar in a small package: the dining room is a stylish 50 seat space, with rich walnut decor, dark brown floor contrasting white leather seats and uniquely concave mirrors that let you people watch while you dine. Built from ground up in a space that was previously oc-cupied by a travel agency, the building did not have the infrastructure and services for a restaurant operation, so the owners set their minds to make this happen, upgrading the space with every service, from hot water and natural gas lines, to ventilation and commercial kitchen grade exhaust system. The elements of interior décor came directly from Italy, England and the US, to set this project apart from the rest of Vancouver. An intimate yet modern setting like this is a fresh breath in Yaletown: while the area is not short of rich spaces with every chain restaurant present in the neighbourhood, the warm and cozy feel of r.tl, which has been likened by critiques and patrons to that of a New York or Mon-treal room cannot be found anywhere else in Yaletown, where guests can sample fine wines and worldly plates without any pretense. The bronze, omni-directional privacy glass and slick sliding door that is the front glazing of r.tl, is a bulletproof window to views of Yaletown’s vi-brant passing crowd at night.

One of the less known features of the establishment, perhaps meant to be kept a secret, is the private dining room. Resting fully concealed from unsuspecting eyes of diners, this lush and cozy private red room in located behind a bookshelf, and is a favorite of locals and visiting ce-lebrities alike, to entertain a small group of guests or enjoy the ultimate private dinner in a public place.

r.tl has already won a diners choice award and a notable newcomer mention in the Vancouver Magazine’s restaurant awards. The menu fea-tures dishes from three regions of the world at any time, the Chef at r.tl, Grant Hunnisett, was born and raised in North Vancouver, a talented, young and energetic man whose mother believed in making everything from scratch, from yoghurt to breads and pasta. Starting at the Keg and working his way up to kitchen leader in a very short time, Grant moved on to train under Chef Sylvain Cuerrier, who taught him not only how to create beautiful dishes, but also to do it with passion in every plate. Later on working as Sous Chef at the Le Gavroche and Bis Moreno perfected his skills in French and Italian cuisines, and as the Chef at Senova, working with a new style of cuisine allowed him to venture out and experiment beyond. He traveled to various parts of the world to experience the food and culture, including Portugal, England and Ire-land. The Chef ’s global menu has already featured dishes from Portugal, France, Israel, Iran, Spain, Italy, Greece, Basque and Morocco, and one of the constants on the menu, is the Berkshire Porkbelly, featured in mul-tiple publications as one of the Vancouver dishes you must have before you leave this world.

www.r.tl1130 Mainland St. Vancouver BC

604.638.1550

regional tasting lounge

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The operations director and sommelier is Alain Canuel, who was always drawn to the fine art of food and wine, seeking out new experi-ences throughout his life traveling throughout Europe and both North & South America. Born in Canada’s culturally-rich Quebec City, Alain’s deeply rooted love-affair with wine developed organically as his career in the world of fine dining unfolded. He gained his Somme-lier status upon returning from a stint in Europe, and decided to make British Columbia his new home. His past acclaims include the Wine Director at Vancouver’s Diva at the Met, and sommelier for Araxi Restaurant in Whistler. Now, with many years of experience working with some of top award-winning restaurants, Chefs & wine educators, Alain brings the perfect balance of charisma & knowledge to r.tl. He has the perfect repertoire of skills to manage, be it coordinating a high-profile event, or expertly coaxing the cork from a bottle of vintage Champagne, though, more often he’ll skillfully saber it by the guests’ request.

As the sommelier, Alain employs a high tech, progressive Italian wine preservation system at r.tl, allowing him the luxury of offering an extensive 30+ by the glass and flight selection, often showcasing wines from regions that reflect the cuisine. The bar also features an ex-ceptional cocktail program that includes 40 classics and unique twists, by a skillful bar staff, who finds joy in mixology as an art.

The restaurant has also been a favorite for Christmas and corporate parties, says the management at r.tl: holding private dinners and cor-porate functions for as many as 100 happy guests at a time. With the 2010 Olympics approaching, operations director Alain Canual is look-ing forward to opening for lunch, and featuring new creations in a format that suits the fast paced nature of Yaletown during the games.

Try out a selection of spikes on the menu for a light meal, or a cocktail or two at r.tl and experience this Yaletown gem for yourself. Located at 1130 Mainland St., r.tl is open for dinner every day from 5PM, reservations are recommended by phone at 604.638.1550 or online at www.r.tl.

Luxury SuperCar Weekend Media Launching party @red Bull private Lounge

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Empire One Event With New Spyker C8 Aileron

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“Women & Cars” David Wan The Native Foreigner

No, this is not the new name being proposed for Vancouver Xeno magazine. Even if a title like “Women & Cars” would almost certainly conjure images of cars with scantily clad women draped all over them, and probably do wonders for the sales department, the fact is I’m much more interested in exploring the changes in perception surrounding

the age-old conundrum of women and cars being thrown into the same mix.

At risk of sounding pre-historic, like some misogynistic dinosaur that skipped a million years of evolution, I’m going to say the modern automobile and the fairer sex really don’t belong together. Now I know I’m going to be put to the sword for suggesting that, but hear me out. My assertion is not so much that women are poor drivers, or that there lies within them a deficit of competence

where they ultimately represent a danger to other (read: male) drivers on the road. No, in fact, the whole point of my dia-tribe is that women have become such good drivers that the rule of the road is no longer the exclusive domain of the male species. And it bothers me.

A few months ago, I was driving along a thoroughfare whose name starts with “Broad” and ends with “way”, minding my own business. I stopped at a red light in the left lane alongside a BMW 335i Coupe. I admit: I love these types of encounters, when the car I’m driving just so happens to pull up next to a car with which direct comparisons to mine are inevitable. And so it was with great anticipation I discreetly switched to Sport Mode in my B7 Audi S4 with the intent of putting the upstart Bimmer in its place should its driver so much as hint at gunning it from the light. What I wasn’t prepared for was when I casually glanced over to sneak a peek at whether the driver next to me was also displaying any signs of anxiety only to find that it was a young woman at the wheel of that Ultimate Driving Machine with its supposedly underrated (and deliberately so, some say) 300 bhp twin-turbocharged 6-cylinder engine.

To make matters worse, while I was busy checking out both car and driver, the light had turned green and without so much as a whimper of protest, I was left in the dust by that cursed BMW. When I finally pulled up to the 335i at the next light, I was taken aback by the female driver grinning over at me and making the “L” symbol on her forehead. Fair enough, I was the vanquished on that summer day, but did she have to rub it in? Much chagrined was I. But it doesn’t end there.

Just last week, I saw in one day a light blue Ferrari F430 Spyder being driven by a rather attractive 30-something female, a black Audi R8 with what looked like a college schoolgirl at the wheel, AND a middle-aged lady piloting a brand new white Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG. All in one day! It reminded me of the first time I saw an Acura NSX in person back in the very early ‘90s and much to my surprise it was driven by a young girl who couldn’t have been more than 20 or 21 years old…with a poodle in her lap…doing her make-up…while driving. Is it just me or is there something very wrong with this picture?

High-powered sports cars don’t belong in the hands of girls with poodles on their lap….do they? And it’s with not a little bit of amusement that I witness an industry which in its quest for ever greater levels of performance coupled with unprec-edented levels of refinement, has created a generation of sports cars that are so competent, so controllable, so literally easy to drive that, yes, even girls can handle them. What’s worse is with the advent of the automated manual transmission that goes by names such as DSG, PDK, R-tronic, and the obligatory F1, that even those not trained in the fine art of heel-and-toe can now “perform” glorious downshifts that would have unsuspecting observers believing they were Ayrton Senna reincarnate. Maybe we should rename this maneuver the high-heel-and-toe.

1518 Robson St. Vancouver, BC V6G 1C2

For reservations, call 604.687.ㅇSㅇURA

SURA Korean Cuisine

Sweet & Sour Red Snapper

Galbi Jjim

Galbi

House Cold “Naengchae” Salad

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“Women & Cars”P

erhaps I shouldn’t complain so much. I’m sure car manufacturers don’t create sports cars that make their drivers look better than they actually are with the specific aim of tar-

geting female buyers. Indeed, some of the worst drivers I know are male, and they too would certain-ly benefit from these advancements in technology (ABS, traction control, torque-sensing differentials, and the most heroic of all: the dreaded launch con-trol) to help camouflage some of their shortcom-ings. What this means to dinosaurs like me is that the years we’ve spent honing our skills on canyon runs and blasting down uncharted backroads is the minute we come across an R35 Nissan GT-R, even one driven by a pimply teenager, it has all come to naught, because the miracle of technology that is the GT-R would absolutely decimate any skill that we old-school dinosaurs can call upon in another car even if it were as powerful as the superlative Nissan.

The fact that this scenario can be played out with a woman at the wheel of the higher technology car tells me men can no longer presume to own the road. No, the concrete and asphalt battlefield that is the highways of Canada is now open to all comers, and road warriors, myself included, would do well to make note of this: beware the women drivers with a small dog in their lap – you never know what she might be packing under the hood.

w w w . x e n o v a n c o u v e r . c o mxeno

Website launching in December Largest car forum in town - e.Magazine - Member’s Rides update- Gallery- Salespeople Ranking- Luxury Car Market

1500-885 West Georgia St. Vancouver, BC, Canada T . 604-639-2140 F . 604-683-8125 info@xenovancouver.com