A common complaint about the plethora of high-end auto collectables that crowd the upper echelons of the car market is that very few are used and enjoyed. Despite manufacturers spending hundreds of millions to design, develop and build these strictly limited production runs, the most likely hypercar buyers are after profit, not performance, and will simply add their new acquisition to a roster of similarly outlandish machines and wait for inflation to do its work.
As a result, the supercar builders are coming to the realisation that a luxury car is as much an objet d’art as a mode of transport, just as it’s long been accepted that many classics are simply too valuable to risk on the roads (let alone the track). New venture Superfuturedesign is proposing a simple solution this look-but-don’t-touch approach. Working with Italian consultancy ASZarchitetti Group, the studio has created the Supercar Capsule, an interior design service aimed specifically at blending high-end autos into the home. With the car-mad Middle Eastern market in mind, each Capsule is custom-made for a specific model and space, with tailored materials and lighting designed to turn a car into a talking point.
As far as manufacturers go, Aston Martin is ahead of the game, having launched its own Automotive Galleries and Lairs division at last summer’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Dovetailing bespoke design with architectural collaborations, the idea is to swathe your Aston Martin in an environment that it is as dramatic as the car itself. There’s a certain amount of cinematic synergy going on here – the company rarely lets an opportunity to highlight its long-standing association with the Bond films – and the end results are part Ken Adam, part Zaha Hadid, placing the car on a pedestal within a custom-designed space, with swooping staircases, walls of glass and other tropes of set design.
German architect Fabian Evers explored similar territory with his Into the Wild concept house, designed for a private client. Evers, who has worked with Foster and Partners and UN Studio (where he worked on the design of the Mercedes-Benz Museum), ticks every box. An Alpine retreat with a spectacular view, it features a living space with a glass-walled car lift, allowing the owner’s Mercedes SLS-AMG GT to be enjoyed when it’s not being driven up and down the mountain roads.
The chasm between personal mobility and traditional automotive expression yawns ever wider. Hypercars and supercars are high profile, profitable and hugely desirable. As the window of opportunity to use them as they were intended becomes ever smaller, these bespoke display spaces will be increasingly in demand. §
