Luxury News from InsideLux – The Daily Luxury News Authority

Bulgarian’s love their luxury cars and it tuns out they’ve come up with a clever, but definitely illegal, way to side-step paying huge amounts in VAT.

Some owners of lux cars like BMWs, Porches, Audis and Mercedes registered their expensive cars as delivery trucks. To do this they took the backseats out and got a screen put in behind the driver’s seat. Once that was done their vehicle qualified as a light truck under Bulgarian law- light trucks are VAT exempt in the country!

The Bulgarian VAT on a luxury car is between £6,759-£20,500 so it’s easy to see why the government are trying to close in on those utilizing this tax loophole.

According to the Bulgarian Interior Ministry’s official Press Release the government have already tracked down one man who owes over £20,000 in VAT plus further interest for late payment.

In another instance police in the city of Plovdiv came across 26 luxury cars all registered as light trucks used for delivering a Bulgarian fast food called banitsas. Of course they weren’t delivery vans at all, they were modified lux cars!

On the documentation for the 26 vehicles the value was listed at £453-£1,200 when in fact each car was worth more than £45,000.

Absolutely, stunning motor cars once owned by well known names, are being auctioned in Calafornia by company Bonhams. The cars are very much classical by nature and golden in price, and includes a beautiful 1939 Auto Union model belonging to deceased German racing car driver Hans Stuck. Others among the rare collection are  Frank Sinatra’s 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, and the most glamorous piece being the 1933 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Victoria Convertible, which was first cruised in by the famous ‘Hopalong Cassidy’. This is a once in a lifetime auction, oozing stylish and classical history.

Despite financial difficulties, Bentley is cruising back into the luxury limelight with the unveiling of their latest model the Mulsanne. The new flagship model was revealed in California, although it has been designed in Britain, and is reported to be worth over £200,000. It is to go on the market in 2010, and is expected to secure the company financially, for the foreseeable future. Long live Luxury.

Yes, that’s right, Formula 1 Champion Jenson Button is selling his stunning sports car on the Auto Trader website. The 2008 Bugatti Veyron model is on sale for £900,000 and what a bargain considering it’s condition is practically pristine. The car fit for a star, reaches 62mph in 2.5seconds, so unless you have the space to take this beauty for a serious spin I’d steer clear of this motor and leave it to the professionals.

The Mercedes CL65 AMG with its 603 horses is no wallflower. Yet where others see plenty of mean machine for the money, German tuner MKB sees an opportunity to create one of the fastest Benzes ever made. Thanks to bigger turbochargers with higher boost levels, bigger intercoolers, custom camshafts, a re-jiggered ECU, new air filters, delimiters and gearbox re-enforcements, the MKB version adds up to a bi-turbo V12 beast kicking out 751 hp at 5100 rpm and 1250 Nm of torque at 1900-4200 rpm. When the dust settles that means 0 -100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, with a top speed of over 350 km/h.

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Swarovski have managed to luxuriate yet another ordinary product, by collaborating with Maisto and draping this model toy car, with over 7,600 Swarovski crystals. According to toy store Hamley’s this sparkling product is expected to be highly popular this Christmas, and is predicted as being a best seller, even when priced at £1,500. I doubt this beauty will be racing into many children’s stockings, but it’s certain to be waiting, parked up underneath many a Christmas tree this year.

Valentino Balboni, one of the most capable testdrivers was presented with a special edition Lamborghini Gallardo for his dedication to the supercar maker.  Made by exclusive ad agency, Philipp und Keuntje the documercial is described as one of Lamborgini’s best attempts in adding a human touch to the brand.

Watch the full video exclusive to InsideLux HD TV

The new 458 Italia from Ferrari was always going to be a real beauty but today the Company has released the first pictures of the new model.

The development of the 458 has had significant input from F1 superstar Michael Schumacher.

Here are some handy stats about the 458 Italia:

The car races to 62MPH in less than 3.4 seconds.

Top speed of 202mph.

Improved emissions and economy: CO2 emissions= 320g/km Fuel consumption=20.6mpg

To hear the sound of the new 458 on the road click here to go to the Top Gear website

The Chanel boutique on the Rue Royale became a Parisian hotspot on Friday as passersby gathered in the numbers to see Karl Lagerfeld shoot the latest campaign for the brands pre-Spring collection.

Models Lara Stone and Baptiste Giacobini, who will feature in the ad, displayed their professional work ethics as they continued to strike a pose with no sign of distraction,  despite the growing crowd.  However, what grabbed onlookers attention more so than the beautiful supermodels or the iconic designer, was the one of a kind Chanel motorbike.  Customised in Toulouse especially for the shoot, the bike was reminiscent of the one rode by Marlon Brando in cult film “The Wild Ones”.  Unfortunately for us though, the bike is not set to not be commercialized.

German media have reported today that Volkswagen has agreed to buy 50 per cent of debt ridden Porsche and will opt for a total buyout later this year.

The announcement comes as a surprise.  Earlier in the year Porsche made a failed bid to purchase Volkswagen, but access to liquidity markets dried up and Porsche instead found itself in significant debt.

This is Volkswagen’s 10th brand, making it Europe’s largest car maker.   The deal is said to be worth €8bn ($11.3bn)