Author

Tony Roberts

Tony Roberts is our Features Writer and is a new addition to the team at Cars for Stars News. Formerly Tony worked as a freelance journalist and travelled the world selling stories about his adventures. Now Tony has put an end to his wandering ways and is writing about his other passion, fast cars.

Mercedes and AMG launch gold wrapped chauffeur cars at Cannes Film Festival

Mercedes-Benz and AMG have unveiled a fleet of gold wrapped chauffeur cars at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The eye-catching luxury cars are being used to chauffeur celebrities and VIP guests to red carpet events and film premiere happening this week as part of the celebrated Cannes Film Festival which is taking place this year between May 16^th – 27^th.

The gold wrapped luxury Mercedes cars pay homage to the highest accolade at Cannes, the 65^th Plame d’Or, Golden Palm, which is the award handed to the director of the best film shown at the film festival.

A fleet of shiny gold Mercedes models will be chauffeur stars throughout the festival including a gold Mercedes S-Class limo, a Mercedes ML Class, and CLS and a Mercedes E-Class. As an official sponsor of the Cannes Film Festival, a gold Mercedes SL AMG “45^th anniversary” luxury car will be on display at the Cinema Against Aids Gala.

As well as chauffeur celebrities and Hollywood actors, actresses and directors to film premieres and after show parties at Cannes this week, Mercedes are also offering clients the chance to test drive their latest models from their AMG performance range of the French Riviera.

A selection of the latest Mercedes AMG luxury cars are on display at the InterContinental Carlton Hotel in Cannes throughout the festival and those wishing to test drive a model can make an appointment at the hotel – what better setting is there than the picturesque French Riviera on which to test drive a state of the art Mercedes Benz supercar?!

by Tony RobertsMay 24, 2012no comment

Cheap chauffeur car hire for football fans travelling to Wembley for Play off Final

Good news for Blackpool FC and West Ham football fans! Cars for Stars have slashed their prices across their entire fleet of luxury chauffeur cars and stretch limousines for football fans travelling to Wembley Stadium for the Play-off Final on May 19^th. So if you’re planning a trip to the Play-offs a week on Saturday, get in touch with Cars for Stars to make the most of their exclusive transport deals.

Blackpool booked their place in the Wembley Play-off final this week after beating Birmingham City 3-2 on aggregate. The Seasiders will now meet West Ham in the Play off Final after they beat Cardiff City 5-0 on aggregate. With the Hammers vying to regain their place in the Premier League after they were relegated last year, and Blackpool keen to prove their worth after losing their spot in the Premier League after just one season back in 2010/11, the Play off Final on May 19^th is set to be electric.

Whether you’re cheering on Blackpool FC or if you’re backing the boys from West Ham on May 19^th, you can take advantage of the value for money limousine hire deals being offered by Cars for Stars to football fans travelling to Wembley to see Blackpool and West Ham battle for promotion to the Premiership.

Cars for Stars offer chauffeur driven luxury car and limo hire throughout the UK so if you’re travelling down to London from Lancashire or Manchester, Essex or Cardiff, Preston or Cheadle, Warrington or Shropshire, Norfolk or Brighton, Swansea or Swindon, Croydon or Gloucester, trust Car for Stars to transport you to Wembley in the lap of luxury. Choose from deluxe hummer limos with onboard plasma screens to party buses with state of the art sound systems, Rolls Royce Phantom and Bentley Arnage chauffeur cars as well as a huge selection of Lincoln Town car limousines and Chrysler limos.

Call Cars for Stars now and request your free quote for chauffeur driven car or limo hire to Wembley to watch the Play off Final between Blackpool and West Ham.

by Tony RobertsMay 10, 2012no comment

Ferrari smash caused by driver swerving to avoid hedgehog

A German businessman found himself with a battered Ferrari and a bill for £30,000 after he swerved to avoid hitting a hedgehog on a woodland road.

The 53-year-old Ferrari driver spotted the small animal in his headlights while driving down a road in Germany close to a forest. To avoid hitting and killing the small hedgehog, German businessman, Joerg Daecher, slowed down and attempted to steer the powerful Ferrari Testarossa away from the animal, however the sports car skidded on wet leaves and ended up colliding with a crash barrier.

The accident happened on Friday close to a wooded area near Eschershausen, Germany. No other vehicles, save the classic 1995 sports car, were involved in the crash.

While both the driver and the hedgehog were uninjured following the accident, the same could not be said for the red Ferrari which had sustained considerable damage to its frontage as the bumper had been ripped clean away after colliding with the barrier.

The state of the art Ferrari sports car, which is believed to cost in the region of £85,000 brand new, is expected to cost the businessman approximately £30,000 to put right following the hedgehog near-miss crash.

If you were behind the wheel of that Ferrari would you have swerved? Have you had a bump as a result of trying to avoid an object, animal or person in the road? Let us know your thoughts and stories related to the topic by dropping us a line below.

by Tony RobertsApril 11, 2012no comment

Jaguar confirm F-type model which takes inspiration from iconic E-type Jag

Luxury car maker Jaguar have confirmed plans to create a new sporty model the F-type, which will take its inspiration from one of the British brand’s most iconic and successful motor cars, the E-Type Jag.

The E-Type Jaguar has topped numerous polls having been voted the Greatest Ever British Sports Car and Greatest Car Ever amongst other accolades. Jaguar is planning to build on the E-type’s popularity by creating a new model which takes its inspiration from the classic sports model.

Jaguar unveiled their plans for the new F-Type model at the New York Motor Show this week, revealing an exclusive snap of the prototype model as part of the grand unveiling. The car is expected to go into production at the end of the year, with engineers at the Jaguar plant in Birmingham expected to start work on the new F-type Jaguar.

The new Jaguar F-Type is expected to rival the likes of the Mercedes Benz SL and the Porsche 911. The new sporty Jaguar will have a starting price of £50,000 and will boast a top speed of 180mph and a 0-62mph acceleration of less than 5 seconds. The F-Type convertible with fabric topped roof will be arriving in showrooms in the UK by June 2013, while a coupe version is expected by 2014.

by Tony RobertsApril 5, 2012no comment

Eric Clapton splashes out £3 million on bespoke Ferrari

Music legend Eric Clapton has reportedly splashed out a whopping £3million to have a state of the art Ferrari custom made.

The 66-year-old musician is a massive fan of the luxury car brand and boasts some of the most sought after Ferraris ever made amongst his private collection. However the latest addition to Clapton’s sports car collection will put all of his other cars in the dark as Ferrari say they will never build another car like the one just delivered to Clapton.

The Ferrari Special Projects team created the car especially for Eric Clapton using the body of a Ferrari 458 Italia, however the finished article is said to hark back to the 1970’s Ferrari 512 model which is said to be one of the musician’s favourite vehicles.

The custom made sports car bears a very special registration plate as well, SP 12 EPC, which stands for “special project” and then the music star’s initials. The unique car boasts a top speed of 202mph and 0-62mph of just 3.4 seconds.

While Ferrari have refused to discuss the project publically so as to respect the privacy of their famous client, however it’s been reported that the bespoke Ferrari would have cost in the region of £3 million, making the sports car six times more expensive than the most expensive production car from Ferrari, the Enzo.

by Tony RobertsApril 2, 2012no comment

The McClaren MP4-12CS supercar available to hire with Hertz

Leading car hire provider, Hertz, have spread their wings and are now offering a range of luxury cars and sports cars, including the McClaren MP4-12CS for hire as part of their partnership with Premiere Velocity. The introduction of the McClaren supercar to the Hertz fleet signals the first time the MP4-12CS model has been made available for hire to customers in the UK.

Now car rental customers can experience Formula 1 technology in a road car when they hire the McClaren supercar. However rental rates on this £212,000 car don’t come cheap, with a daily hire price for mid-week rentals setting customers back a whopping £1,134 while the daily hire price does drop slightly to £906. 30 when the MP4-12CS is hired for a period of 28 days or longer.

A world class team of engineers and test drivers took years to complete the design for the McClaren MP4-12CS which boasts a 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo engine which produces 592bhp.

Thanks to the unique partnership between car hire giants Hertz and Premiere Velocity, car rental customers now have the opportunity to experience some of the world’s most luxurious and sought after cars. Hertz also offer for hire the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Lamborghini LP560-4 Bicolore, Mercedes S-Class Brabus and the Rolls Royce Phantom amongst others as part of their luxury car rental category.

by Tony RobertsMarch 30, 2012no comment

Chauffeur sells Damien Hurst sketch for £4,500

A chauffeur who was given a sketch by contemporary artist Damien Hurst as a thank you for an enjoyable journey, has sold at auction for a massive £4,500, 15 times more than the estimate price placed on the item.

The unnamed chauffeur expected to sell the biro sketch from an autograph book for between £250 and £500 however when the Hurst original went under the hammer, a bidding war broke out with the sketch selling for a final price of £4,500.

It’s understood that the renowned artist quickly sketched an outline of a sharp in about 30 seconds while sitting in the back of a car. The sketch depicts a shark, which is likely to be a reference to Hurst’s most famous work, “The Physical Impossibility of death in the mind of someone living” which was a tiger shark immersed in formaldehyde.

The Damien Hurst sketch with the biro drawn image of a shark features an original signature from the artist and also a brief message which reads “A great drive xxx” stretching across two pages on a pink page as part of the chauffeur’s autograph book. The artist presented the driver with the off-the-cuff sketch after the chauffeur drove him to a TV studios in London several years ago.

The sketch was eventually bought by an anonymous British collector following the auction which took place over last weekend.

by Tony RobertsMarch 29, 2012no comment

Racing Porsche sets record after selling for £2.8 million at auction

A 1973 racing Porsche has set a new record for Porsche vehicles after it sold for a massive $4.4 million, which works out as £2.8 million, at a recent auction in Florida, USA.

Boasting 1,000 bhp and the ability to hit 0-62mph in 2.3 seconds and a 0-124mph acceleration rate of just 5.3 seconds making it one of the fastest racing cars created. The Porsche models has a top speed in excess of 240mph so whoever has taken ownership of the record breaking model better have access to a private racing track if they want to open this racing car up to its full potential.

The Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Series never actually took part in a race as the series it was designed to race in had to be broken up as the Porsche was too fast to make it a fair race with its rivals. The Porsche 917 model shot to fame when it was featured in a cult Steve McQueen’s movie, Le Mans, cementing its place as an iconic racing car.

This particular model which sold recently was formerly part of an avid Porsche collector’s prized fleet of rare vehicles. The 917 Porsche racing car is the last of only four models ever produced, and the one of just two 917 models still in private hands.

A fierce bidding war got underway when the 1973 Porsche came under the hammer at the Gooding and Co Amelia Island auction in Florida with the Porsche almost selling for $3,685,000 before another bid shot in upping the current price by another $50,000.

The 917 racing Porsche finally sold for a record breaking $4.4 million and contributed to a very successful auction in Florida which saw a total of $36 million spent by collectors on rare lots.

by Tony RobertsMarch 16, 2012no comment

Limo Forum app to be launched in days

While the limousine and luxury transport hire industry is still buzzing following the launch of the exciting new online limo chat website, Limo Forum, the team behind the brand new limo industry forum have announced that the Limo Forum app is currently under construction and will be available to download in just 14 days time.

Following the sudden closure of The National Limousine and Chauffeur Association’s popular industry forum, Limo Chat, a brand new online platform offering a safe and supportive environment in which to communicate with others working in the limousine rental industry was launched. While LimoForum.com is not connected to the now defunct Limo Chat site, the new website has been able to step into the breach by offering a new space for limo professionals to communicate.

As an online website dedicated to industry chat from the limo hire business, many of the Limo Forum users find themselves constantly on the move as part of their work. Thanks to the new app, which will be available to download from iTunes onto Apple iPhone and Android devices, Limo Forum subscribers will be able to stay up to date on the latest news and contribute to discussions while out and about so they’re never left out of the loop.

The Limo Forum is in the process of being completed and expected to hit the iTunes market by mid March. The new limo app will be available to users worldwide, helping to build a global community linking limo hire professionals. The easy to use app will allow members to view current discussions, post their own questions, browse archived and ongoing threads and launch their own topics for chat, all from their mobile devices.

The new Limo Forum app is due for release in just two weeks, so in the mean time head onto the main Limo Forum website and sign up. Membership is free and you can start communicating with other limo professionals the world over instantly.

by Tony RobertsMarch 2, 2012no comment

George Clooney reveals his past life as a chauffeur

Actor George Clooney revealed his past life as a celebrity chauffeur this week during an interview on the Oscar’s red carpet. The 50-year-old star admitted that before he hit the big time in Hollywood, like many struggling actors he had a number jobs to pay the bills, one of which as a chauffeur where he was charged with driving the legendary singer Tony Bennett.

Both Clooney and Bennett attended the 84^th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night, with the nominated actor revealing his previous occupation as Tony’s chauffeur during an interview with Access Hollywood. The Descendants star said he spent about three weeks chauffeuring the iconic crooner when he was about 19-years-old.

After a few helpful reminders, the singer racked his brain and managed to recall Clooney’s stint as his chauffeur some 30 years ago, adding that the Hollywood A-lister was a very good driver and that he is very proud of what the actor has gone onto achieve. The Oceans 11 star jokingly told 85-year-old Tony, “I’ll still drive you anywhere you want to go.”

Former chauffeur to the stars, George Clooney, was accompanied to the Oscars by his girlfriend, Stacy Keibler. Clooney was the bookies favourite to scoop the Best Actor award on the night for his role in the movie, Descendants, however he lost out to Jean Dujardin for his role in The Artist.

by Tony RobertsMarch 1, 2012no comment

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