Fact: station wagons are incredibly cool, and few car makers make cooler station wagons than BMW.But one station wagon that BMW never made was a M3 Touring version of their iconic E46 3 Series. Produced from 1997 to 2006 (and from 1999 to 2005 in ‘Touring’ wagon form), the E46 remains one of the most successful and popular vehicles the German marque has ever made: boasting the perfect combination of modern aesthetics and safety/quality-of-life features with old-school rawness and simplicity. Moreover, the E46 M3 is widely considered one of, if not the greatest M car of all time, Road & Track relates.Yet BMW never made a Touring version of their best M3, barring a one-off prototype built in 2000 as a feasibility study. This, in many revhead’s minds, was a massive missed opportunity: imagine a version of the best ‘ultimate driving machine’ that you can also do the shopping in? (BMW finally bit the bullet this year and introduced a M3 Touring with the G20 3 Series.)Thankfully, one enterprising revhead has done what BMW never did and created their very own E46 M3 Touring. Currently on sale on Gumtree, it might just be the best second-hand car currently on sale in Australia… But there lies the catch.

So spit it out already! The 2004 model year car might be listed for sale in Fitzroy, Melbourne but it’s actually in New Zealand. But before you walk away, it’s not that simple. Yes, it’s in Aotearoa, but the owner’s willing to help ship it Down Under. On top of that, it’s easily one of the best-executed of what’s a very small number of M3 Touring replicas/tributes/projects (can you call it a replica when they never made the thing?) on the planet, and one of apparently two in right-hand drive.RELATED: World’s Most ‘Instagram-Famous’ Car Not What You Might ExpectThis isn’t a bodge-job, either. Built in 2015 by respected Auckland BMW specialists Hellbm Motorsport using a donor M3 and a 318i M Sport Touring, this speedy wagon “has M3 everything, from [the] rear view mirror to [an] M3 spare wheel well… It is as close to the concept M3 Touring as you will get but better,” the seller relates.It has a whole host of tasteful supporting modifications as well. Some highlights include Bilstein coilovers with adjustable front camber/caster plates; Porsche Brembo brake calipers both front and rear; Recaro front seats trimmed in M Sport fabric; and Fuchs M Double Spoke wheels, an extra cost option back in the day. The build thread on the NZ Bimmersport forums is a real odyssey.It’s hard to figure out how powerful the car is. In coupe guise, the E46 M3 made around 248kW and could do 0-100 in 5.1 seconds. An M3 Touring will no doubt be much heavier, but considering the supporting mods and tune this beast has received, there’s a good chance it’s more powerful and even faster.

The real kicker is the asking price: only $60,000 (and that’s Aussie dollars, not Kiwi). That’s not an unreasonable price for a standard E46 M3, but then when you consider how unique this car is – and the no doubt insane investment it’s received to get it to this level of ~mwah~ perfection – it’s quite good buying.RELATED: Australia’s Second Hand Auto Market Is Frothing For Fast Euro Station WagonsSure, shipping it over from NZ is a bit of a pain, but it’s probably worth it. Hell, it’d be worth it to ship it even further afield, to the UK or Japan or something – or even be the excuse you need to pack it up and move to NZ rather than the other way around. It’s pretty choice, bro.Check it out on Gumtree before we decide to put it on a boat ourselves.

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The post This BMW E46 M3 Wagon Is A Dream Come True… But There’s A Catch appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Investing is intimidating. To many newbies the scene is awash with cliches: on one side of the court you’ve got Wall Street sleazebags schmoozing and cruising. On the other you’ve got weird cliques of Redditors trying to throw wrenches in the system (and prop up doomed companies just for kicks). Then you’ve got other fearful buzzwords like ‘2008,’ ‘Inflation’ and ‘The Federal Reserve.’Not to mention you’ve got people who invest in dumb crypto coins because of a catchy name and cute doggy photos (and Elon Musk’s tweets), and the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad warning a big crash is coming, and telling everyone to stock up on gold and Bitcoin.Oh and the ever present, “this is not financial advice, but…’It’s enough to make anyone go, ‘F*ck it, I’ll just invest in property’ (until they realise just how out of reach the property market is for many of us).RELATED: ‘Houses Over ETFs’: Why Australia Treats Property Like Stocks But with the steady realisation that, in many cases, in Australia, houses over 50 years are earning more money, just sitting there, than their owners have made in that same time frame in their careers, people are starting to figure – if I can’t beat the system I may as well join it. And – the logic goes – if I can’t afford a house right now I may as well invest in a diverse portfolio to help me build up the money for a deposit.But where do you start?The one safe haven many are turning to, in light of all this noise, is ETFs. According to the ABC, “More than 1.3 million Australians have put their money into ETFs. That is double the number of investors since 2019.” But even they might not be as safe or smart as you thought, unless you go about allocating your money the right way.In particular young people have been warned not to go too crazy on thematic ETFs and rather to keep their gut feelings in check and stick with the boring, tried and tested, wide brush approach.Senior lecturer in finance at RMIT university, Angel Zhong, who has been studying the investment habits of the “corona-generation” and its love of ETFs, warned the ABC about the growing popularity of “thematic” ETFs.Dr Zhong puts it like this: “For example, tech stocks, they are clearly the market darlings in recent times, and while they are generating good returns for now, you need to be aware that what’s trending today may not be trending even next month.”Diversification is the reason most investors choose ETFs, and – ironically – thematic funds can work against that (if you don’t allocate your funds right). Dr Zhong told the ABC, “I’ve seen investors making comments that, ‘I love green stocks and sustainable or ethical ETFs so I’m going to buy several ETFs about green investing and sustainable investing’.”

“But by doing that, you’re actually not diversifying. And if you don’t look at the portfolio composition of the ETFs, you might be actually buying the same stocks in each single ETF.”

The ABC also cited research from the Swiss Finance Institute, published in March this year, which found thematic or specialised ETFs failed to create value for investors compared to broad-based index tracking exchange traded funds.One line from the paper read: “One the one hand, investors can now access markets at a low cost … On the other hand, the marketing strategies of specialised ETFs attract speculation-prone investors to underperforming investment propositions.”James Whelan, Investment Manager at VFS Group in Sydney, told DMARGE to look at it like this: “Always break it into two categories – needs and wants.”“You should invest in the same way that you should spend your money when you go to the shops. Buy stuff that you need – bread, milk; cheese but [then if you can afford it] you want chocolate and a couple of beers.”

“So the thematic stuff is chocolate and a couple of beers.”

“The other stuff is some good chunky holdings in an equal weighted ETF in Australia and maybe the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 over in the United States. Then the chocolate and beers could be the ESG one [a sustainable or eco-friendly ETF] or something on automotive, or [you might say] I want to have europe and there are your thematic ideas,” he told DMARGE, citing a few examples of thematic ETFs.“Chocolate and beers you always [have to] pay attention to. Then the needs stuff should always look after itself. The wants is where you have your fun and it keeps you active in the market, which I always encourage people to do.”

“It does tell you a lot about what’s going on in the world.”

The ABC also spoke to Managing director of Spotee, Elio D’Amato, who said the biggest risk of ETFs is a market crash.According to the ABC, Elio D’Amato says with the biggest ETF in Australia about twice the size of BHP, a crash would lead to a lot of forced selling.“There could be significant carnage on the exchange… Whereby we could see massive corrections of 70 to 80 per cent,” Elio D’Amato said.When DMARGE asked Mr Whelan about this he said it’s still a risk but that this risk is less than it used to be.“The ETF sector has always had this risk and it has been seen a few times over the years where if markets get sold off, volatility usually goes up –  almost always.”“When volatility goes up we need to go to more cash so increase cash position… because volatility is going up we want to play it safe. Cash increases the volatility and increases the selling – like a labrador chasing its tail.”“That’s the biggest risk.”Mr Whelan also told us that now that they’re “sort of controlled” about that automatic selling that they have when there are times of volatility: “They know they’re shooting themselves in the foot by… all of a sudden there’s a volatile event and they go and try to dump a whole bunch of stuff on market and make it worse – they don’t really treat it that way any more or not as much.”

“Used to be a huge risk [with ETFs] – one of the biggest for people to think about in the market.”

The upshot? If you’re part of this generation of new investors, you should think about the bigger picture, and prioritise your needs before your wants.In other words: don’t get sucked in by the hype. For the bulk of your money you are investing, take a smart but boring approach – pick two trustworthy, non thematic ETFs (i.e. broad-based index tracking exchange traded funds) – one in the United States and one here in Australia – as your needs, and put money into them regularly. Then have a bit of fun with your ‘wants’ (thematic ETFs) if you like on the side (with a much smaller allocation of your money).If you take this smart but boring (and consistent) approach, as Mr Whelan puts it: “Look at it in 20 years time – oh wow – for all of the media and all of the journalists and all of the paper coverage and everything that’s written about everything, the market I looked at started in the bottom left and is currently in the top right every single time.”

“There are two best times to plant a tree – 20 years ago and today.”

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The post ‘Needs vs. Wants’: Crucial Advice For Investing In ETFs appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Josh O’Connor is one of the most exciting actors in showbusiness right now: a likeable, humble and talented dude who’s been described as “an actor’s actor” by The Guardian.He’s best known for his exceptional depiction of Prince Charles in seasons three and four of Netflix’s The Crown, a role he seemed born to do – despite the fact he’s a committed republican who once campaigned for Jeremy Corbyn. He also shares some of the keen sartorial impulses of the heir to the British throne, regularly spotted in crisp suits and designer couture.Of course, Prince Charles has always been the most horologically inclined royal, wearing brands as diverse as Breguet, Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Patek Philippe. These days, Charles favours Parmigiani Fleurier – but Josh O’Connor prefers a brand with a slightly more modern aesthetic, namely Bulgari.Indeed, O’Connor was spotted at a Bulgari gala at Kensington Palace last week wearing a rather futuristic watch: the new Bulgari Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon. One of the most eye-catching and complicated pieces the Italian jeweller has ever produced, it’s a timepiece that we reckon watch-mad Prince Charles would look very favourably upon.

The central tourbillon is a rare and rather unusual complication which few other watchmakers in recent memory have attempted. It’s quite simply stunning; the movement’s flying tourbillon given pride of place in the centre of the watch. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon’s party tricks.RELATED: Luxury Fashion Brands’ Long-Term Watchmaking Investments Pay OffFirstly, it features a digital jumping hour at the traditional 12 o’clock position (another hallmark of haute horlogerie) but what’s really ingenious is how the minute track works. At first glance, it looks like the watch has a retrograde minutes complication, à la many of Gérald Genta’s designs, but instead the watch actually has two minutes hands mounted on an inner disc, which rotate 90º as they pass the 60 minutes mark, as to not obscure the hour display. It’s an ingenious and unique solution that saves energy and reduces stress on the watch’s internals compared to a retrograde minutes complication whilst remaining visually impressive.If all that technical wizardry wasn’t enough, the Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon is crafted from a lustrous rose gold and comes with an alligator leather strap. It’s quite simply one of the most sumptous watches to hit the market in 2021, and yet another feather in Bulgari’s cap – the jeweller having definitively established themselves as one of the most techincally proficient watchmakers in the game right now.Nicely done, Josh. Or should we say Your Majesty?

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The post ‘The Crown’ Actor Josh O’Connor’s New Bulgari Watch Is Fit For A King appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

If there’s one ~cringe~ habit that everyone knows marks you out as a dirty, stinking tourist, it’s taking photos when you travel.Why? Travellers, the dick-measuring stereotype goes, are too good to take photos. They go to rare destinations for the purest of motivations, without the aid of tour guides or DSLR cameras, and share their experiences only with their leather bound diaries (and anyone unfortunate enough to express even the vaguest bit of interest).That’s all well and good, and no one likes being labelled a tourist, but for the sake of honesty can we all please take a moment to acknowledge you really should take photos when you travel.Or at least, that there is something really nice about having a keepsake of good times with friends, or even yourself.Enter: the following video by @followingjesse. The video, which features clips of exotic beaches, churches, deserts, gardens, Thailand’s Chiang Rai town, palaces and a fluffy dog, makes an important point.Why taking photos is so important when you tavel (watch below). 

The video features a text overlay reading: “When you really think about it, if you don’t think photos are important, wait ’til that’s all you have left.”

“Making memories.”

Stick that in your overly stamped passport and shut it…That being said, if we’re to give the soulful snobs their due, it is also true that if you get obsessed with taking photos then it can become a detractor to your travel experience.As travel blogger Alex Collihole (one half of @borderlesscollies), who is travelling Australia with Jess Collihole (the other half of @borderlesscollies) recently told DMARGE about Hutt Lagoon, “I certainly believe that sometimes trying to get ‘the shot’ can spoil the enjoyment of it, however this time it was fun to get the creative juices flowing and try something new.”Watch the following video, for top tips on how to take better travel photos.

DMARGE also discovered earlier this year that chasing waterfalls is not as easy (or fun) as it looks, if your goal is Instagram Steeze rather than pure enjoyment.RELATED: I Went To NSW’ Most Instagram Famous Waterfall. It Was A Complete Disaster In summary? Take a photo of it – it’ll last longer.

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The post This ‘Snobbish’ Trait Instantly Outs You As An Unenlightened Traveller appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Many of us likely have fitness or sporting heroes we look up to, those we wish to emulate, and whose workouts we try and replicate in the gym in the hope of seeking sweet, sweet gains. The Internet isn’t short of them either, you’ve got Hollywood royalty such as The Rock, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Wahlberg, all the way through to fitness fanatics who live on Instagram, such as George Bamfo, Josh Golberg or Jo Lindner. 

But what about those who really understand what it requires to be physically fit and mentally strong in order to succeed at the highest level? Enter Anthony Minichiello. The former Sydney Roosters wing turned fullback, who had a glittering career playing at both club and country level for around 15 years, is someone who is living proof that you need to be constantly dedicated to the cause. He also understands that a few bicep curls or the odd barbell bench press, isn’t going to be enough to get yourself into fighting fit shape. 

So, just how do you trick your body into becoming ripped like the man himself? DMARGE spoke exclusively with Mini to find out what he used to do during his playing career to keep himself strong, and how he continues to maintain that level of fitness now that he’s in retirement. 

Watch Anthony’s incredible fitness and technique in the gym [Watch below]

Reflecting on the aforementioned bicep curls and bench presses, Mini doesn’t actually hit the weights room all that often: “I like to mix my training up nowadays from one strength session a week, mixed with 3 to 4 bodyweight MiniFit workouts.”

“Weekends are a bit of fun, with some gymnastic strength training,” – he was formally a gymnast in his younger days – “core workouts pretty much every night in front of the TV, and tennis once or twice a week.”

“You want to get into a healthy movement habit, something everyday even if it’s a stretch at night before bed. It will set you up for long term muscle and connective tissue health.”

Anthony also recognises that training is only some of the battle to maintaining a good level of fitness. The kitchen is where it really counts, and so ensuring you’re eating the right foods and good quality foods, you’re going to set yourself up for success.

RELATED: Chris Hemsworth’s Bodyweight ‘Extraction’ Workout Will Have You Begging For Mercy

Anthony has found an intermittent fasting diet to be particularly effective for him, although he doesn’t stick to a super strict regime.

“I practice intermittent fasting daily, but I don’t stick to a specific window. I listen to my body, some days you’re just hungrier than others, that’s normal, so I will eat. Other days it’s a 16 to 18 hour fast. I’ve done a few 3-day fasts before as well, and by the end you feel amazing and you realise that most of us overeat each day.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love food as well, but my minimum daily [fasting window] is 12 hours, just so I can give my digestion system a good rest from food and allow my body to heal and turn over cellular debris. That’s what fasting does, when the body’s energy is not spent on digesting food, it can go and heal and decrease oxidative stress and inflammation that cause chronic illness.”

“It’s an amazing tool to have in your kit bag, don’t overdo it, but weave it into your life.”

We wanted to further question Anthony on his fasting habits, and, gaining from knowledge from an episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, in which Stanford University professor Andrew Huberman says it’s better to contain your eating period to the time in which you’re most active, i.e. the morning, we wanted to find out what sort of schedule Anthony adheres to.

“Fasting can be incorporated into anyone’s lifestyle. I find it easier to skip or push breakfast back each morning, but some people have an early dinner, or breakfast and late lunch. It’s totally up to the individual and what is comfortable for them.”

“I would say eating late and trying to get a good night’s sleep won’t happen, as you will still be digesting your food and your sleep hormones will be suppressed. So it’s important to leave 2 to 3 hours of no food before bed each night to get quality sleep and have a good circadian rhythm.”

RELATED: Health Hacker Shares Circadian Rhythm Trick That Could Give You Hours More Sleep

While intermittent fasting might define when you eat, it doesn’t dictate what you eat. Within this, there are numerous diets that all claim to have benefits for us, with prominent figures many men look to these days starting to encourage an ancestral style diet comprising foods such as liver. For Anthony, he doesn’t stick to any one in particular.

“There are so many diets out there that confuse people…paleo, keto, vegetarian, vegan, carnivore, high carb, low carb…to be honest, I will go in and out of most of them. I have my own four principals that I follow; the simple thing that we all need to be doing is eating whole fresh food, but even that can be a minefield when you look into the food system.”

“So, my four steps are: Know the source of your food; the process of the food; decrease refined and processed foods; intermittent fast. This might not mean much when reading, but with my new online nutrition challenge launching early next year, I go deep into the reasons for the four steps and will give people the practical tools to create healthy habits moving forward. Plus I will be a qualified nutritionist by then as well.”

Similar to figuring out an effective training routine, playing trial and error with your food can becoming exhausting, as you may not see results straight away, causing you to jump to conclusions and assume your chosen method isn’t working. Anthony’s advice for those starting out is to simply eat clean.

“When I retired 7 years ago I already had a passion for nutrition because I healed my injuries with food, but I just know how good I feel when I’m on point with my eating, you just feel clear and have heaps of energy throughout the day. Nothing is too hard to do and I want live to well over 100, so you have to start now.”

“To be honest, when you eat this way, you’re much more in tune with your body and how food makes you feel physically and mentally. When you eat processed food all weekend, you really know and feel the difference, so you don’t really want to do that every week. That’s not to say I don’t have a bad meal every now and then, that’s fine, because I know my foundation is strong from consistent good nutrition.”

RELATED: Why We Shouldn’t Always Follow ‘Ripped’ Influencers For Fitness Advice

Anthony is also keen to stress the importance of routine, especially during the morning when you’re starting your day.

“There are plenty of lifestyle practices that I do from cold showers to red and infra-red light, meditation, natural sunlight for vitamin D, bare foot on grass on sand, good hydration throughout the day.”

“As for my morning routine, when I wake I do 1 to 2 minutes of diaphragmatic breathing: 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out, to oxygenate the body. I brush my teeth and drink 400 to 500ml of hydrogen rich water with a pinch of Celtic sea salt. I have red and infra-red light panels in my bathroom, so I turn these on and do 10-minutes of meditation, then take a cold shower.”

“After this process I feel great and ready to take on the day! Little things done consistently really create your foundation to health.”

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The post Former NRL Star, Anthony Minichiello Reveals His Big Shredding Secret appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Even if you took away the global pandemic, the queues of people that would form outside Apple stores around the world – often making the national news – as fans eagerly wait to splash their cash on a new iPhone, have pretty much become a thing of the past. The Cupertino-based electronics behemoth doesn’t quite offer anything for fans to get as excited about anymore, save from a few camera upgrades and a faster processing chip.

And because new iPhone models are launched each year, people can now make an informed decision with regards to whether they upgrade or not. What is less common, however, is a new MacBook launch. Apple’s lineup of macOS-powered laptops don’t see quite the same frequent updates as the ubiquitous iPhone, so you would think that when a new one is announced, it would get much more attention.

That could well be the case with the company’s latest launch, although the reasons why are somewhat comical.

That’s because, while Apple has introduced a new MacBook Pro model, powered by either its brand new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors – upgraded versions of the company’s very own M1 chip found in the current 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air – which promise to deliver “groundbreaking processing, graphics and machine learning,” the design should be familiar to longstanding fans of the model.

It appears Apple has finally listened to customer feedback, by bringing back long requested features and getting rid of those that are just plain shite. Pro users can finally rejoice, because the SDXC card slot is back, along with an HDMI port for easy connection to external displays, and the company’s old MagSafe charging system is back too, which connects via magnetism, so if your MacBook falls or you pull it away quickly, the connector will instantly detach.

This means there’s no longer any need to connect a variety of dongles and adapters into the MacBook Pro’s USB-C inputs; something that was introduced with the fourth-generation in 2016, which was the subject of mockery online.

There are still three Thunderbolt 4 ports for fast connectivity, so all those dongles and adapters you previously purchased can still be used.

Apple has also taken the decision to omit the TouchBar along the top row of keys, replacing it with the old set of physical function keys. The TouchBar has always been a feature subject of debate, with many users not understanding the point of it. Apple’s plan was for it to be revolutionary, since the functions available the interact with on the bar change depending on which program you’re using. In practice, it just became cumbersome and – being touch-sensitive – was always going to run into technical difficulties.

The physical functions keys are now back, however, meaning you can instantly adjust the volume of whatever you’re listening to or the brightness of the screen. Keyboard brightness can only be adjusted within the Control Centre feature of the macOS software, however, but buttons are on hand allowing you to instantly turn on Do Not Disturb mode, or active Siri for voice commands.

But, perhaps the best part of Apple’s announcement, is that despite reverting back to a third-generation design from 2015, the world’s most valuable company calls this move “game changing.” Classic, classic Apple.

Yes, the new MacBook Pros might be quicker than ever, have longer-lasting batteries and have much-improved displays, all valuable features for the professional user. But giving customers the features they’ve asked for and passing those changes off as a result of a brainstorm session gone incredibly well, is kind of amusing.

The new MacBook Pro models arrive in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, although the Liquid Retina XDR displays – which use mini-LED technology – on both are around 14.2- and 16.2-inches respectively, thanks to super-slim bezels. We won’t go into the full details with regards to how much faster the new models are compared to their predecessors – you can read the full release and specs on Apple’s website – but to be fair to Apple, the specs do make for impressive reading, and the MacBooks are sure to be the most powerful ever.

The increased performance, not to mention that “advanced connectivity,” naturally comes at a price. The 14-inch MacBook Pro pricing starts at AU$2,999/US$1,999, while the 16-inch variant starts at $3,749/$2,499. These prices are for the base versions. Apple always offers some specced-up versions too, and you’re able to customise and build your own, by increasing the amount of RAM and storage. Both are available to pre-order now.

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The post Apple Makes Dumb Decision With New Macbook Pro… But For A Very Good Reason appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Munich airport is encouraging people to keep a safe distance away from each other via the use of cardboard paper signs.Images obtained by DMARGE show that Munich has opted for a greener looking approach to social distancing than Singapore, where it was recently revealed they were using what appears to be a plastic covering for middle seats.RELATED: Singapore Airport Adopts ‘Ridiculous’ Solution To Social DistancingMunich, though, has taken what looks to be a more sensible approach.

Munich has also, it appears, started seeing an uptick in commerical passenger traffic again, after numbers dropped spectacularly in 2020.  An overview of annual figures of Munich Airport shows that passenger volume of commercial traffic fell from 47,941,348 in 2019 to 11,112,773 in 2020.Watch TikTok user @regeneports show deserted scenes at Munich airport in 2020 in the video below.

It will also be interesting to see how the popularity of napping pods in airports increases (or decreases) in the coming years as travel volume returns to normal.Watch TikTok user @always__kiki__ take you on a virtual tour of the beds in Munich Airport. 

In other travel news, various airlines, as we come out of this pandemic are ripping out business class seats to make way for the more profitable premium economy. Oh and the world’s best luxury hotel brands for 2021 have just been announced, too, for those in need of a little escapism.

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The post European Airport Adopts Social Distancing Strategy Other Airports Could Learn From appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Seems like everyone’s gone a bit James Bond mad at the moment.After a number of delays thanks to The Spicy Cough, No Time to Die – the hotly-anticipated 25th James Bond film and actor Daniel Craig’s last stint as the famous fictional spy – has finally hit cinemas around the world. Naturally, the world’s gripped in a bit of ‘Bond fever’, and it’s not hard to understand why: after the nightmare that’s been the last eighteen months, indulging in a bit of escapism into James Bond’s glamorous world is a tantalising prospect. The guns, the suits, the watches, the cars…It seems not even the British Royal Family is immune. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge – who indeed was one of the highest-profile attendees at the film’s London launch in late September – seems to have been sartorially inspired by 007’s glamorous filmic universe. But he’s not trying to be Bond, far from it. It looks like he’s trying to be a Bond villain.On the red carpet for the 2021 Earthshot Prize, a charitable initiative he founded last year to find solutions to climate change (the perfect cover for someone with sinister intents), William looked positively evil in a dark green velvet tuxedo and turtleneck look. You’d be tempted to call him Blofeld, thanks to his receding hairline, but actually he rather resembles Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin from No Time to Die. No spoilers, though.

It’s a devilishly good look. William’s not normally known for being a style icon (unlike his father Charles or even his brother Harry), but we have to say that the second in line to the throne absolutely hit it out of the park with this outfit. The fact that it’s a bit menacing; a bit alternative is actually very cool.His outfit might scream Bond villain but his choice in watch is much more heroic: a quartz OMEGA Seamaster Professional Diver 300M. Pierce Brosnan as James Bond wore this exact model in 1995’s GoldenEye, but this watch has a far more special meaning for the royal. William’s mother, the late Princess Diana, gifted him the watch in his teenage years, and he’s worn it ever since.RELATED: Joe Biden’s Understated Timepiece Reaffirms ‘Unspoken’ Presidential Watch TrendSpeaking of James Bond watches, check out some of the British agent’s best timepieces of all time below.

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Singapore Airlines has done something remarkable with an A380 – put it on a one hour flight.The A380 is the largest passenger airline in the world; a superjumbo made for long haul flying. The A380 is famous for two things: for being huge, and being quiet (for those inside the cabin).Next month, however, Singapore Airlines is going to put an A380 on a short-haul flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. This flight lasts just 60 minutes, and is “believed to be the shortest A380 passenger flight currently in service,” CNN reports.Emirates previously operated the shortest A380 flight between Dubai and Muscat (coming in at an hour 15 minutes), a route which was suspended due to the pandemic.CNN reports that the A380 will fly on an “ad hoc basis” between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (on the morning flight route) three times a week from November the 4th to December the 2nd, 2021. From November the 5th to December the 3rd, an A380 will be on the evening flight route four times weekly.A Singapore Airlines’ spokesperson told CNN the A380 had been scheduled “for operational requirements.”The A380 is also coming back for certain flights from Singpore to London from mid November – a route which is part of Singapore’s vaccinated travel lane network.Who knows, maybe the A380 isn’t dead after all?

That being said, the much loved jet has certainly been on the decline lately, as it needs booming passenger numbers to make sense to run. Before the pandemic there were 14 airlines operating A380s.Now there are a lot fewer in the sky. There was a point in 2020 where Air France had retired its 10 A380s, Lufthansa had retired its 14 A380s (with the option to reactivate them), Qatar Airways’ CEO had said the airline’s 10 A380s won’t fly for at least a couple more years, Etihad’s CEO had said the jury was “still out” on the airline’s 10 A380s ever flying again and Qantas had said its 12 A380s wouldn’t fly for at least several years.Now, in October 2021, Lufthansa might be bringing its A380s back to Munich for summer 2022 (though this news remains speculative), 5 of Qatar Airways’ A380s set to come back in November (maybe even 10, depending on demand), Etihad is taking a “never say never” (but probably not) approach to the superjumbo (Simple Flying reports) and Qantas has been tipped by Australian Aviation to be returning 5 of its 12 Airbus A380s “ahead of schedule.”

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