km : Equipped

The season of giving may still be weeks away, but the season of buying is here right now. To help you decide on the perfect gift our editors have put together a list of some of their favorite findings in the past year. Whether you’re looking for something for the person who has everything, or you’ve run out of ideas to throw at loved ones, there is bound to be something on this list that you can’t live without.



GameRacer + Xbox + Forza Motorsport 3

In the era of quarter-fed, sit-down arcade games like Pole Position it would have been hard to imagine the wealth and complexity of driving games available in your living room today. The modern field of Gran Turismo, iRacing and Forza Motorsport make for plenty of choices for enthusiasts.

If you’re anything like us then you would probably consider buying a console solely for the driving games. We recommend going one step further by adding a cockpit rig like the GameRacer Elite with Corbeau racing seat, and adding an Xbox wireless steering wheel for a more authentic experience that can’t be matched by a handheld universal controller. GameRacer offers a $649 package that includes the Forza game itself for one-stop shopping.

Otherwise spend your $599 for the rig and wheel and pick up the Forza Motorsport 3 Exclusive Limited Edition at a local game store. For just $20 more than the price of the standard Forza game you’ll end up with a slick 2G memory keychain and, more importantly, access to cars not available on the standard version, such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Ferrari F430 Scuderia and Lamborghini Gallardo LP560.

Once you’re up and running, the Forza experience is incredible with excellent physics, car damage simulation and useful driving aids such as the visible driving line for those who need it. You can also buy and sell cars in online auctions with your winnings, design new liveries for your cars or even perform virtual engine swaps.

www.gameracerusa.com




Compulsion Gallery Pewter Sculptures

At some point in your life, you may decide that die-cast model cars are a bit too juvenile to display throughout your home or office. And chances are that someone else will make decision for you. So how do you keep the peace while still indulging your passion? Compulsion Gallery of England casts some amazing automotive and motorcycle sculptures in pewter that look more like museum pieces than toys, ensuring they’ll be allowed to sit out where guests can view them. Subjects range from classics like Jaguar racers to modern vehicles like the Audi TT. We’re particularly fond of the 28-inch long E-Type coupe and the Land Rover Defender bookends. The Mike Hailwood motorcycle sculpture is a classic, too.

www.compulsiongallery.com




Michelin Smart Cables

OK, we’ll admit that jumper cables are the car-gift equivalent of new underwear. But trust us, when you actually need a set of jumper cables, Michelin’s Smart Cables are the ones you’ll want. With a built-in circuit that detects polarity, it won’t matter how you connect these cables. The foolproof circuitry makes it impossible to connect the cables incorrectly, and because it doesn’t start transferring juice until it’s read the current, there’s no dramatic sparking. An internal surge protector ensures you don’t damage your car’s sensitive computers. Simply put, for about $40 you’ll own the safest set of jumper cables possible.

www.getsmartcables.com





Griot’s Garage Italian Leather Duffle

Kid all you want about man-purses, but don’t make fun of this handsome Italian bag from Griot’s Garage. Described as a “holdall,” this handmade duffle is roughly the size of a standard modern carry-on bag, making it perfect for a weekend getaway. Finished in fine black leather with red stitching and chrome hardware, the interior features a zippered document pouch for a passport or wallet. This bag is a great example of the way the way we used to travel – in style. The obsessive Mr. Griot is bringing in just 75 of these special pieces. At $349, it’s a nice way to reward someone (maybe yourself) with a unique bit of personal luxury.

www.griotsgarage.com




Flashrods USB Drives

Solid-state USB memory drives are a convenient, safe way to store everything from MP3 files to pictures and videos for easy file sharing and transfers. In the last couple years the cost of memory capacity has come down dramatically, and the little USB sticks are almost as common as picket lint. If you’re tired of looking at the same old black plastic sticks, we’ve found a considerably more attractive desktop option in the form of Flash Rods. Take one Matchbox-type car, modify it to hold a 4-gig memory device inside and you have one very cool bit of storage for a cool $19.50. If that’s not quite enough memory, or doesn’t sufficiently fill your desk, Flash Rods also offers larger-scale storage installed inside 1:18 scale models.

www.flashrods.com




Petrol Sunglasses

The sunglass business is a competitive one, and a newcomer to the game promises to make things even more so. Petrol Eyewear is produced in Europe, and as the name implies, the focus of the product (no pun intended) is driving glasses. Nineteen different models, with names like Apex and Manifold, cover the spectrum of styles from plastic frames to metal aviators. Most models feature polarized lenses, and several models are available with Petrol’s VisoChromatic light-transitioning lenses. Ranging from $120 to $180, the entire lineup is priced about the same as a decent set of Ray-Bans.

www.petroleyewear.com




Shinebox Parking Tickets

We’ve all passed up a parking space because of the way some imbecile has carelessly left his SUV straddling the lines or decided his prized IROC deserves two and a half spots. Rather than risking criminal charges by acting on your darkest impulses, there’s a far classier way to send a message to the nitwit drivers of the world. The creative types at Shinebox Press have put together a very impressive bit of graphic arts work in the form of their parking ticket book. The business card-sized packet contains a dozen tear-out tickets with stunning imagery and clever words of advice for the boundary-challenged. At $6.95, it’s perfect for the office gift exchange or throwing in a stocking. The only problem is that the work is so beautiful, you’ll have a hard time actually wasting one on a parking lot moron.

www.shineboxprint.com




Nicholas Hunziker Shirts

There’s a fine line between cool and tool when it comes to wearing automotive-themed clothing. Artist Nicholas Hunziker’s gear definitely falls in the cool camp. His artistic style is somewhat Warhol-esque, with its use of primary and secondary colors in large blocks, but his choice of subject is the always-cool road racers of the early Seventies. Hunziker’s T-shirts are classy enough to wear to the office (on Casual Fridays, anyway). Rumor has it the line will expand in the early part of 2010 to include driving shoes, including an officially licensed Sterling Moss shoe; in the near future you’ll be able to coordinate your shirt and your shoes.

www.nicolashunziker.com




Welder Watches

Fine timepieces and great cars seem to go hand in hand, and these days there is no shortage of co-branded watches in every carmaker’s lifestyle catalog. But once in a while you come across a watch that just looks like it belongs on a car lover’s wrist. We discovered the Welder line of watches, and fell in love with the K24 collection. The all-black version features a carbon fiber background with a punched-out floating face. With its 48mm round case, The K24 is exceptionally simple, yet remarkably bold. It comes with two straps, one in black leather and the other in rubber. For $1195 it’s reasonably priced too.

www.welderamerica.com




GMP Diecast Ferrari 330 P4 Models

One of the great road endurance racers of all time is the Ferrari P330. GMP Diecast has captured the magic of this legendary racecar in amazing 1/8 scale. Producing a model in this scale allows for some pretty unbelievable details to be captured, and few companies do this better than GMP. This limited-edition miniature measures nearly two feet long. Just 330 examples will be produced at a cost of $3995. If that’s a bit too rich for your blood, the company also produces a 1/18-scale version for a much more reasonable $269, and you might be amazed at how detailed that one is, too.

www.gmpdiecast.com

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