有錢人的玩具比你的好玩多了
有錢人的玩具王國
The things we dreamed of as children — the desire to explore the undersea world of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea or the longing to have the powers of a superhero — are often fascinations that stay with us our whole lives.
孩提時代,我們就懷抱着夢想——探索儒勒·凡爾納(Jules Verne)《海底兩萬裏》(Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)中的海底世界,或是成為超級英雄——這些夢想讓我們魂牽夢縈,伴隨我們一生。
It’s no wonder, then, that no one really outgrows toys. The difference is that the toys get bigger, better, more expensive and more high-tech as people get older and richer. And no one needs mum’s permission.
Look at the images to see some of the most extravagant, unexpected and just plain fun toys for those with deep pockets.
一起來看看那些財大氣粗的人的玩具吧。這些玩具在我們看來極盡奢華,完全意想不到,但有錢人自己覺得稀鬆平常。
深藍色海洋裏的潛水艇
The world of deep-sea exploration enchants many people as children. And when they can play it out on their own as adults, many do. Famous submarine owners include entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, who once had plans to take tourists down to the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench and keeps his Necker Nymph on his private island. And film director James Cameron donated his sub the Deepsea Challenger to science.
深海探險是很多人小時候的夢想。長大後,若有機會一試,很多人都不會拒絕。企業家理查·布蘭森爵士(Sir Richard Branson)就是一位出名的潛艇主人。他曾計劃讓遊客乘坐潛水艇遊覽太平洋的馬裏亞納海溝(Mariana Trench),還將“內克爾仙女號”(Necker Nymph)潛水艇留在了他的私人島嶼上。電影導演詹姆士·卡梅隆(James Cameron)把他的潛艇“深海挑戰者號”(Deepsea Challenger)捐給了科研小組。
Triton Submarines based in Florida specialises in small personal luxury submarines, which run on high-tech batteries and are custom built for each client. The Triton 3300/3 is the company's most popular model, according to Harley O'Neill, Triton's manager of sales and marketing, and is used for recreational diving, exploration, research endeavours and filming. It fits three people and can travel to a depth of 1,006m (3,300ft, hence the name).
"It used to be helicopters and now it's submarines," O'Neill said. "Now everyone is asking if you have one."
“以前流行直升機,現在流行潛水艇。”奧尼爾説,“現在人們開口就問,你有潛水艇嗎?”
One prerequisite for owning the sub? A superyacht for the docking station, says O'Neill.
擁有潛水艇的必要條件是什麼?那就是為超級潛水艇配備一艘超級遊艇作為船塢,奧尼爾稱。
A Hydro Powered Jetovator
噴水飛行器
Blame Peter Pan but even as grown-ups, many of us still wish we could fly. As kids, we ran down the garden flapping our arms or leapt from a low tree branch in a bid to take off, sometimes even bruising or breaking a limb in the process. In adulthood, achieving that free-flying feeling is a must for some adrenaline-seekers, whether through means like skydiving or base jumping.
其實也怪不得彼得·潘(Peter Pan)。即便已經是成年人,我們中的很多人仍希望能夠飛行。孩提時代,我們會揮舞着手臂,在花園裏奔跑,或是站在矮樹枝上,希望一躍就可以飛起來,有時會因此擦傷或摔斷一條腿。長大成人後,尋求刺激的人可以通過高空跳傘或定點跳傘的方式,體驗自由飛行的感覺。
But take heart. You don't need a plane or bridge to fly. Hammacher Schlemmer's Hydro Powered Jetovator, a flying jet-ski like water craft, lets riders shoot 7.6m (25ft) into the air and corkscrew, back flip and barrel roll mid-air, while hovering above the water. Riders can even plunge a little over 3m (10ft) below the water, while still seated on the craft, for a quick undersea view.
Off to the races
賽車
These aren't the matchbox cars and electric toy racetracks most kids play with. The custom raceways from Slot Mods USA are painstakingly handcrafted to a client's specifications, including sections that precisely replicate real-life tracks whether that be the Le Mans circuit or the Monaco Grand Prix, said David Beattie, the company's founder and president.
這可不是大多數孩子玩的火柴盒汽車或電動玩具賽道。Slot Mods USA公司創始人兼總裁大衞·貝迪(David Beattie)表示,該公司的賽道是根據客户的規格要求手工精心打造,其中有對現實場景的精確複製,比如Le Mans賽道和Monaco Grand Prix賽道。
The tracks he builds often are anywhere between 3.7m to 9m (12ft to 30ft) long and 3m to 6m (10ft to 20ft) wide and can include structures such as grandstands and features including skid marks airbrushed on the tracks. Depending on the size, scope and detail of the track, they can take anywhere between three to six months to build.
Slot Mods track owners include auto enthusiasts with garages full of collector and luxury cars, and famous names in the racing world like driver Bobby Rahal. Beattie currently has a track in the works for US TV personality Jay Leno, as well. One thing all the clients have in common is a longstanding love for car racing. "They're all like kids on Christmas morning when we show up to deliver the track," Beattie said. "It's like buying them back their childhood."
Slot Mods賽道的擁有者包括很多汽車愛好者,他們的車庫裏收藏着各種豪華轎車。著名車手博比·拉哈爾(Bobby Rahal)也是Slot Mods賽道的主人。貝迪目前正在為美國電視名人傑伊·萊諾(Jay Leno)製作賽道。這些客户的一個共同點,就是他們對賽車永恆的愛。“收到我們的賽道模型,他們就像聖誕節早上的孩子,收到了讓他們重返童年的旅行車票。”
The golf cart hovercraft
高爾夫氣墊船
Showing off on the golf course has hit a new extreme with the Golf Cart Hovercraft, which can fly over sandpits and water. Zoom between holes with the craft, which floats up to almost 23cm (9 inches) off the ground and can move at speeds up to about 72km per hour (45mph).
超級拉風的高爾夫氣墊船,能飛躍高爾夫球場上的沙坑和水池。乘坐氣墊船往返各個球洞之間,氣墊船能夠漂浮在地面上方23釐米(9英寸),最高時速可達72千米/小時(45英里/小時)。
The cart fits up to four passengers and two golf bags and is steered with handlebars instead of a wheel. It also meets US Coast Guard standards for reliable hovering over water. Note: Special permission is required to get the cart onto courses, but the vessel is quiet and lands and takes off without wrecking the grass, its manufacturer, Hammacher Schlemmer, says. No issue here for those with their own private courses.
A drone of their own
私人無人機
Drones seem to be everywhere these days and they aren't the remote-controlled helicopters that puttered out after a few wheezy loops, either. High-tech drones can do more than ever before, now allowing controllers to record high-flying adventures and survey their surroundings.
現在的無人機似乎無處不在,它們可不是呼哧呼哧盤旋幾圈後就熄火的遙控直升飛機。現在的高端無人機比以前要先進得多,控制者可以記錄高空飛行歷險,調查周圍環境。
"They are fun to fly, now easier to navigate and flight stability has improved," said Brookstone chief executive officer Tom Via in an email. The Brookstone Parrot BeBop Drone Quadricopter is one of the company's bestsellers.
Brookstone's drone comes with a high-definition fisheye camera, which the pilot can control from the ground. The camera records video in 1080 pixels and takes 14-megapixel still shots to capture the surrounding action. The drone is protected for extreme adventure, too, with features like an internal GPS system allows it to be tracked down in case of a crash.
Brookstone的無人機配備了高清魚眼鏡頭,人們可以在地面進行控制。相機能錄製1080像素的視頻,拍攝1400萬像素的照片。另外,一旦出現無人機墜毀等極端情況,內置的GPS系統能夠幫助定位。