$2.2 Million In 10 Minutes: Man Sets Sydney Sale Record On House He’s Barely Seen
$2.2 Million In 10 Minutes: Man Sets Sydney Sale Record On House He’s Barely Seen

With the Sydney property market as bananas as it is right now, fortune (again – for now) favours the bold. You’ve got to move fast and act decisively if you want to secure your dream home (or next investment property…)

And that’s exactly what one Eastern Suburbs man has done, dropping a cool $2.18 million on a property after only seeing it for the first time ten minutes before it went to auction. Talk about cojones.

23 Queen Road Paddington, a classic inner-city terrace that recently saw a lavish renovation, was already pretty hot property (pun entirely intended), with the agent – Ray White TRG’s Evan Williams – having brought forward the auction from June 8 due to the insane demand, news.com.au reports.


It’s a move that’s clearly paid off for the sellers, considering it sold for $230,000 above the reserve. (You could buy a new Porsche with that sort of change.) The property also set a record price for Paddington per square metre, according to Williams.

Modern appliances and a minimalist aesthetic elevate this terrace beyond your usual inner-city fare. Image: realestate.com.au

While it seems like a rather impulsive way to go about buying a house, the buyer didn’t go in completely blind. According to feet on the ground, the mysterious buyer was actually the local veterinarian – who lives in the area and knew the property was on the market. They were evidently quite a keen bean, having opened the bidding for the terrace at $1.9m; $100k above the $1.8m price guide.

We can understand why they were so keen, too: according to realestate.com.au, the median price for a two-bedroom in Paddington is a rather hefty $1.8 million (about half a million above the Sydney-wide median) – so in the grand scheme of things, $2.18 isn’t outrageous. Or maybe Sydney’s just cooked and our perspectives are completely warped.

RELATED: Real Estate Loan Calculator Reveals Exactly What It Takes To Buy A House In Sydney

You think $2.18 million is tough? Get this: the sellers bought 23 Queen Road for just $280,000 about 27 years ago. Sure, the place has been renovated since, but bloody hell – it really brings into sharp focus how much property prices have ballooned over the last three decades.

Sydney’s one crazy town, that’s for sure.

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Qantas Offering ‘Mega Awards’ For Certain Kind Of Passenger
Qantas Offering ‘Mega Awards’ For Certain Kind Of Passenger

Australia is now going down the ‘USA route‘ of rewarding vaccinated citizens for their efforts. Rather than mayors offering burgers, chips and cash, however, here we have Qantas offering pricked passengers the chance to win free flights for a year.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has called for more Australian companies to introduce vaccine incentives.

As 9news.com.au reports, Qantas is encouraging passengers to get the jab by offering several deals. These will include unlimited travel for a year for 10 fortunate families, as part of a scheme that will launch in July.


“We are looking at giving 1000 points flight vouchers, credits and we are going to offer ten mega prizes, at least one for each state and territory, where a family of four get unlimited travel on the Qantas and Jetstar network, anywhere in the network for a year,” Mr Joyce told Today.

Qantas is working with hotel business Accor Group, which Joyce said will offer a million points and free accommodation to the chosen families.

“We are trying our best to help with this rollout – it will be retrospective and will include anyone who has already been vaccinated and will apply to anybody that is vaccinated until the end of 2021,” Joyce said.

“I’m encouraging a ‘Team Australia’ moment where every corporate out there helps with this vaccine rollout and to reward people that have had the vaccine.”

Mr Joyce also commented on a number of other issues of interest to Australians, such as travel bubbles and the resumption of international flights.

 

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“We are still planning to be ready at the end of this calendar year [to resume international flights],” Joyce told Today. “We are activating the aircraft, we are training our crew, the government has given us a support package to do that and have asked us to be ready.”

“I’m hopeful by the time we get to July-August we will have some certainty on which markets will open and when they will open, so we can give certainty to our travelling public and to our people about when they are going to be back at work.”

 

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On the topic of travel bubbles, Joyce said Qantas had seen demand from Australians wanting to travel to New Zealand running at double pre-COVID levels.


He also related: “We’re hoping for the Pacific islands – Fiji, Vanuatu – there’s potentially a lot of destinations that we could be operating to,” as well as talking about how vaccine rates can influence certain destinations’ eligibility.

“A few months ago I thought maybe Singapore, Taiwan (and) Japan would be the first cabs off the rank, but with the great progress that’s been made in the US and the UK you may actually see those markets opening up before the rest, because the vaccine rollout’s been so successful in both countries.”

 

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See more of the latest Australian travel news below.

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Australia In The Dark Ages While Germans Get Free Electric Cars
Australia In The Dark Ages While Germans Get Free Electric Cars

The takeup of electric vehicles (EVs) is quickly gaining steam across the globe, particularly in Europe. Pardon the pun.Norway leads the world when it comes to EV adoption, both in terms of market share and market penetration per capita. Other countries, including car manufacturing heavyweights like France and the United Kingdom, have set ambitious goals to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) sales in the coming decades. Electric cars are becoming more and more common on European roads, and the continent has one of the best charging networks in the world.One of the main driving factors for this move towards EVs are the elaborate and generous incentives that virtually all major European countries offer for consumers looking to buy or lease a new car. For example, if you’re looking to buy an EV in Italy, not only do you get an up to €6,000 subsidy towards your purchase, but you don’t pay any taxes on it for the first five years and receive a 75% reduction in tax after that. Not bad.But when it comes to sheer value for money, Germany leads the pack. Europe’s most populous country and leading EV market is currently offering incentives so unbelievably generous that one car dealership is now letting customers lease a brand-new EV completely free.Regardless of what you feel about EVs, it’s hard to beat a free new car.

How is this possible? Mid last year, Germany increased their already magnanimous EV incentives as part of a broader range of economic stimuli in order to combat the COVID-19-induced downturn. This prompted Autohaus König, a dealership chain with more than 50 locations across Germany, to offer leases of new Renault Zoes entirely covered by subsidies, according to Bloomberg.Naturally, Autohaus König has been swamped with people wanting a car for free, and business is booming. The German government has also announced that they’ll continue this temporary subsidy boost until 2025, Deutsche Welle reports, so they’ll surely be slinging more free Zoes for a while to come.The French-made city car has been Europe’s best selling plug-in electric car since 2020, and globally ranks as the fourth best-selling EV of all time. Renault briefly sold the Zoe Down Under, but haven’t offered the car since its recent facelift – which not only boosts its battery capacity and offers a punchier motor but makes it aesthetically more appealing.It’s no big surprise why: they only sold 63 of them after three years, with Renault citing the lack of Australian government incentives as the main reason for the Zoe’s axing. CarAdvice relates that over the same period, Aussies bought two-and-a-half times more Rolls-Royces, seven times as many Lamborghinis and twelve times as many Ferraris than Renault Zoes. Ooft.

The charging port of a Ferrari SF90 Stradale, Ferrari’s first hybrid car. The Italian sports car manufacturer plans to introduce its first EV proper in 2025. Image: Autocar
When Renault did sell the Zoe here, prices started at an eye-watering $47,490 – a lot of money, considering that the Renault Clio (their comparably-sized ICE that’s also been discontinued in Australia) cost less than half as much. For comparison, the cheapest new EV on sale in Australia right now is the Chinese-built MG ZS EV crossover, priced at $40,990.Meanwhile, Germans are getting to drive around in Zoes for free thanks to this ultra-competitive lease, or can own one for chump change.RELATED: Audi Slams The Door On Electric Vehicle Haters With ‘Continent-Spanning’ ExperimentOf course, even if Zoes were available for lease or purchase in Australia, it’s unlikely we’d be better off than the Krauts, even without considering government EV incentives. The tyranny of distance and Australia’s comparatively small auto market means we pay a hefty premium for European cars of all stripes, whereas Germany’s right next to France and has more than five times our population.Still, Autohaus König’s free Renault deal draws into sharp comparison how fundamentally lacking Australia’s federal incentives for EV ownership are. We wonder how fast you can drive a Zoe like on the Autobahn…

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Study Reveals Unlikely Activity Bringing Australian Couples Together
Study Reveals Unlikely Activity Bringing Australian Couples Together

What brings you closer to your partner? Watching Netflix or going to the Opera? The answer may not be as clear cut as you think.A new social study released today by Opera Australia has laid some interesting findings bare.97% of people felt more connected to their partner after experiencing an opera performance together, the study found.It remains unclear whether this was due to shared suffering, or mutual appreciation… Either way: given the demands buffeting modern couples in these unprecedented times (in 2020, 42% of Aussies experienced a negative change in their relationship with their partner, Opera Australia claims), anything that brings them together is surely worth some applause.Opera – and its glammed up representation of ~lurve~ has been a powerful aphrodisiac for centuries.

“Now in 2021,” Opera Australia claims, “the findings are clear that an operatic environment can inspire deeper connections between couples in the audience watching.”Certified Australian relationship and sex expert, Georgia Grace, supported the study’s results, saying activities like the opera can “absolutely foster a greater sense of intimacy between partners.”“Opera music is scientifically proven to stimulate the pleasure centres of the brain, which is the same part that fires up when you fall in love2. It can feel deeply arousing to engage in new behaviours, particularly romantic ones like going to the opera, and I see many couples who find that trying new experiences together has an aphrodisiac impact,” she said.The study was conducted in collaboration with market research company YouGov, and was designed to measure the effect opera can have on the intimacy of couples. It was developed in response to recent news that many Aussies (42%) have experienced a negative change in their relationship with their partner due to the impacts of COVID-19.“I would suggest couples try watching an opera performance together, as it is a fascinating way to explore intimacy, eroticism and how your body responds to certain stimuli. The more curious we are about our bodies, and the more we engage in new activities, the greater our capacity for pleasure and intimacy with another person,” Georgia added.

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The social study results also revealed that 91% of participants said a night at the opera was an intimate and romantic experience, with 66% strongly agreeing that it aroused their emotions and stimulated their senses.Opera Australia’s Artistic Director, Lyndon Terracini, says he has seen the romantic impact of opera first-hand for many years.“I’ve always said opera has the power to move people, and the impact it can have should never be underestimated. When that experience is shared, it can absolutely bring people closer together,” he said.

“The results of this study certainly show that’s the case. I’ve felt it as a performer but even more so as an audience member. When you hear those amazing operatic voices and the emotion behind them, it can hit you right in the chest and be a profoundly moving and emotional experience.”

To mark the commencement of the winter season on the 22nd June, Opera Australia is launching a new ‘Lovers Special’ to help couples experience the power of opera together, from the 31st of May.Bonus: the first 100 couples to use promo code LOVERS at opera.org.au will get 2-for-1 tickets and a drink on arrival for Aida at the Sydney Opera House from the 22nd of June to the 13th of August.

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Secret Lithuania Destinations Only Locals Know About
Secret Lithuania Destinations Only Locals Know About

Whether you think digital nomads are locusts (sucking the globe’s free wifi and swarming over its cheap digs) or revolutionaries (liberté, égalité, four hour work week!) no one can deny the remote work appeal is growing.

Even though the pandemic has prevented many new acolytes from joining the movement, it has freed up many to work more independently, made working from out of the office more culturally acceptable, and set the stage for an even greater flow of digital nomadism around the world once travel gets back to normal.

It would appear many tourism operators and national tourism boards around the globe are anticipating this. As DMARGE reported last year, everyone from Portugal to Bermuda has been throwing out enticing offers in order to attract this new wave of self-sufficient workers, offering everything from special visas to (in some cases) healthcare and even monetary grants.


Lithuania is also now also recognising this (slow) resurgence in travel, inviting visitors (both digital nomads and regular tourists) to come and see some of the country’s most overlooked gems. As Lithuania Travel (the country’s national tourism agency) recently announced, as part of an effort to promote its nation, “Remote work options now allow millions to stay in their travel destination for a longer period of time.”

“Combining both the duties of work and the pleasure of travel, people are given the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a different culture and experience it like a true local.”

Image: Lithuania Travel

To that end, Lithuania Travel has prepared a list of locals’ favourite places and activities in each of the country’s three biggest cities – Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipėda.

RELATED: What You Don’t Know About Russia

Check out what’s on offer, courtesy of Lithuania Travel (who recently released the below list of “secret places to visit in Lithuania’s biggest cities – as recommended by locals,”) below.

Vilnius – the cozy capital

Filled with culture and life, Vilnius city centre is only a 15-minute drive from the airport. This is where Paupys, one of the historical districts of the old-town, and one of the most culturally diverse, blooms. While it is still off most tourists’ radar, a freshly open area – Paupys market – has already become an acclaimed modern gastronomic space that houses many cultural events.

 

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The locals’ old-time favourite, Barbakanas, is a spot situated just a short walk away from Paupys area. This original renaissance bastion – part of the UNESCO World Heritage List – offers a full view over the red-roofed Vilnius old-town and serves as a hang-out spot for the residents and visitors alike. Another short walk away, surrounded by picnic grass fields, basketball courts, and a skate park, The White Bridge square attracts countless spectators as hot air balloons rise above daily to catch the sunset.

 

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MO Museum is the most residents’ go-to place for a modern art experience offering a collection of over 5,000 modern and contemporary pieces dating from the 1960s to this day. For those keen to spend some time surrounded by nature, Belmontas – a common choice of local joggers and hikers – offers a showcase of waterfalls on the dam and verdant forest trails. It is also home to a host of unique geological wonders, such as the Pučkoriai outcrop – the largest one in Lithuania.

Kaunas – an urban open-air museum

The second-biggest city of Lithuania has plenty to offer as a city-break destination. The recently redeveloped Unity Square serves as a skate park for local skateboarders and families, and is filled with lunch spots for the local students and workers. Marked by its extravagant architecture, it has been awarded a prestigious iF Design award. Lastly, the square is littered with 40 fountains—a spectacle that the youngest country’s visitors particularly enjoy.


The Book Ministry is a bookshop cafe adored for its unique book selection and the seven types of Arabica coffee – a selection that is sure to appeal to each taste. The bookshop’s terrace is located right on the main pedestrian boulevard in the city – Liberty Avenue. Just a short walk away, Courtyard Gallery is a tiny, self-managed open-air gallery that has been built in cooperation with the residing neighbours and perfectly captures the unique charm of the city.

 

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For a green break, Panemunės Šilas is just a short (bike) ride away from the city centre. Being the largest park in Kaunas, it is frequented by the local joggers and bike enthusiasts for its beautiful scenery of Nemunas – the largest river in Lithuania.

Klaipėda – among pine forests and white beaches of the Baltic Sea

 

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Sitting pretty on the shore of the Baltic Sea, Klaipėda offers a variety of nature activities for its residents (and tourists) and is perfect for those looking to spend more time in nature. The Baltic breeze on the white beaches in Giruliai and Melnragė accompanies those sunbathing, swimming, or riding a bike along the seashore – the most common choices for a weekend activity, especially during sunny weather. Just a few minutes away – Melnragės pier provides a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Located by the river Danė, Žvejų street offers its visitors the chance to discover the city’s less-known old-town charm, and is where many locals gather to have a dinner out or simply enjoy a warm afternoon. This cobblestone street leads towards Smiltynė terminal, the only place to catch the ferry and visit the magnificent dunes of Curonian Spit that lure people from the whole country and abroad.

Balancing various natural and urban attractions, Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipėda, Tourism Lithuania says, provide visitors with a different lifestyle experience.


Their catchphrase? Feel the true, authentic soul of these cities and immerse yourself into the real urban environment by living this real local experience – because “Real is beautiful.”

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LeBron James Does The Unthinkable With Luxurious Pre-Game Outfit
LeBron James Does The Unthinkable With Luxurious Pre-Game Outfit

LeBron James has never been afraid of going out on a limb when it comes to style (or dunks).The 36-year-old Los Angeles Lakers lynchpin has made a habit out of ruffling feathers with his fashion choices over the last twelve months, from upsetting gender norms by toting a handbag pre-game to pioneering the ‘matchy-matchy’ summer outfit trend that took over 2020.His latest look might be the most radical yet – and one that’s sure to upset fans of fine tailoring.Ahead of the Lakers v Suns game last Friday, ‘King James’ rocked a typically eclectic outfit that included boatloads of bling, a Warren Lotas baseball cap, John Elliot shirt, Burberry socks and a pair of as-of-yet unreleased Sacai x Nike Blazer Low “Light British Tan” sneakers. So far, so LeBron.But the really shocking part of his outfit was his shorts, which look like Thom Browne suit pants that have been chopped off above the knee like they were denim shorts. It’s a risky look that’s divided fan opinion – a bit too cutting edge for his own good (literally).

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Considering that a Thom Browne suit can set you back as much as $6,000, it’s a ballsy move to take a pair of scissors to your suit pants like this. It’s also a rather unconventional look that we’re not sure will catch on… Or even ought to catch on. Still, he doesn’t look bad per se.Some of his fans on social media were a little less kind. One commenter quipped “stick to hooping you fits be hotdog water” – which might be one of the most creative putdowns we’ve heard in a while.RELATED: ‘Trying To Copy Harry Styles’: Nick Jonas Accused Of Fashion Plagiarism At Billboard Music AwardsWe’re currently in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs, with the Lakers and the Suns tied at 2-2 in their best of seven after the Suns’ win earlier today. Their next game, their fifth, is scheduled for Wednesday at the Suns’ home stadium in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Real Estate Loan Calculator Reveals Exactly What It Takes To Buy A House In Sydney
Real Estate Loan Calculator Reveals Exactly What It Takes To Buy A House In Sydney

Sydney rent prices have become a running joke in Australia. The market has boomed to the point where hoarder houses and dishevelled blocks are now selling for eye-watering sums of money. The issue has become a flashpoint for generational and political tensions, and aspiring homeowners are sick of hearing: “If you didn’t eat so much avocado toast you would be able to afford one.”

Sound familiar? A recent experiment conducted by DMARGE using realestate.com.au’s Borrowing Power Calculator has just confirmed that no matter how much we cut down on our avocado splurging, the average Sydneysider is going to have to make a whole lot of lifestyle changes before buying even half the average house.

Interest piqued? Check out our journey with the Borrowing Power Calculator below.


The first step is to answer the question “where are you in your property buying journey.” Your options are: “I’ve just bought,” “I’m ready to make offers,” “I’m searching and inspecting” and “I’m just browsing.”

For the sake of the experiment we hit: “searching and inspecting” and move on. Next question: “will you live in the property when you buy it?”. We answer: “yes.”

Finally, after nailing down the details (state: NSW, city: Sydney, are you a first home buyer: yes) we get to the following section:

“How many people will be buying this property?”

“How many dependents do you have in total?”

Our answers? “Just me”; “zero.”

Next question? Total funds available for the deposit.


Given the ABC recently reported that the median house price in Sydney is $1,309,195, we put
$130, 919 ($1,309,195 divided by 10) as our answer.

Next question: what is your salary? Here we enter the average salary of a Sydneysider (according to Payscale): 76k, minus tax, which equates to $60,393.

Image: DMARGE Screenshot

Then, provided you have no additional income or credit cards to declare, you get to the following stage: “do you know your monthly expenses (minus rent)?”

According to homeloanexperts.com, the average living cost in Australia for one person is $2,835 per month including rent. The average rent in Sydney is $540 for houses (according to a Domain rental report from December 2020). We minus the $540 from the $2,835, and enter $2,295 into the calculator.

Image: DMARGE Screenshot

Then comes the moment of truth: the result.

Image: DMARGE Screenshot

It’s official: the average Sydneysider in Sydney has the buying power (if they already have a 130k deposit saved up) to buy… half the average house! In fact, with the average house price in Sydney being $1,309,195, with a buying power of $547,000, you’re actually 215,195 short of being able to purchase half of the average house…

Solutions? Get a better-paid job. Find a partner to buy a house with. Buy a house in a less desirable area. Buy a unit. Become a digital nomad and move to Noosa. Hope the bubble pops. That’s the glib take.

To go beyond running our mouths, we spoke to Brodie Haupt – millennial, property guru, and CEO/co-founder of Australian digital lending and payments provider WLTH, to get his thoughts.


“There are a number of signs to look out for when talking to clients that would suggest that they are over-leveraged, starting with personal debt,” Haupt told DMARGE.

“We are seeing personal loans and credit cards with high limits or multiple accounts, and we are also seeing more payday loans, sometimes even multiple accounts. If potential customers are extending themselves before they apply for a loan, it makes it difficult to see how they will be able to service a home loan at current rates. The main issue with this is that rates are currently at all-time lows, so lenders need to take into account what an increase in interest rates would mean.”

“For anyone applying for a home loan, there needs to be a comfortable buffer in place, just in case the interest rates shift,” Haupt added, when we asked for his take on what counts as being over-leveraged in today’s market, which we all believe is overhyped – but which some believe may be propped up forever by the government.

“It is expected that rates will shift, but we would expect that this would be over a number of years, with small incremental increases to ensure that Australians would be able to slowly adapt to change. A 1 per cent change in rates would potentially put the majority of Australians with a loan under a huge amount of pressure.”

“We have seen over the last few months, as house prices continue to rise, more Australians are trying to increase their borrowing capacity to be able to get into the property market. This can create a number of issues down the line, especially if people are overextending themselves in order to buy the home they want, while rates are low,” Haupt explained.

“If they are overextended at current rates if there is a shift in the near future, how will they be able to service the loan on an ongoing basis? This increases household debt and stress, which can negatively impact Australians.”

On the topic of locking interest rates in (or not) Haupt told DMARGE: “In some scenarios, fixed rates can make sense, especially in regards to fixing a percentage of your overall loan.”

“One of the issues with fixing your loan is removing the flexibility, so although the rates might look attractive, it might end up costing you much more in the long run. For whatever reason, your financial situation might change and you might be able to pay off a large portion of your loan or you might want to pay off larger instalments if you got a pay rise so you can pay down your loan faster, but a fixed loan can impact your ability to do so and end up costing you more money in the long run in fees.”

“Before choosing a fixed rate, it’s a good idea to make sure that you are aware of all the fees and do your research so that you understand all the information at hand. This will help protect you from unexpected costs that may pop up.”

“The difference between buying an $800,000 unit vs a $2 million house for a couple will all depend on income, savings, investments, and current financial position. It is important to look at how comfortably you are able to make repayments. If you are looking to work out if you are over-leveraged, do your calculations and ensure that you can comfortably live after making your repayments.”

“This includes being able to save money, as well as having an emergency fund for unexpected expenses, such as medical bills and damages to your home and motor vehicles, that always seem to occur when you least expect it.”


There’s your Sunday dose of realism, served hot.

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$1.4 Million Nissan ‘Rice Burner’ Most Expensive Japanese Car In Australia
$1.4 Million Nissan ‘Rice Burner’ Most Expensive Japanese Car In Australia

99% of the time, the pointy end of Australia’s car market tend to be populated with either European exotics or mint-condition locally-built muscle cars. Occasionally, you’ll get something oddball, like a really nice Toyota Supra MkIV or a Dodge Viper RT/10, but it’s normally the kind of brands you’d expect: Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Nissan… Wait, what?You read that correctly. Right now, the third most expensive car listed on Carsales – Australia’s biggest automotive classifieds – is a Nissan.Which, superficially, you could maybe understand. Skyline GT-Rs or really nice 240Zs go for silly money these days. But what’s even more surprising is that it’s not a GT-R that’s topped the charts. Actually, it’s a hit Nissan Pulsar hatchback from the 90s.Specifically, a 1994 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R that’s currently being warehoused in Melbourne… That they’re asking $1,350,000 for. It immediately brings to mind that quote from The Castle – “tell him he’s dreaming”. But is it really as insane of a price as it seems?

Peep the ‘potato cannon’ exhaust. Image: Carsales
Based on the fourth-generation N14 Nissan Pulsar subcompact, the GTI-R was produced between 1990 and 1994 as a hotted-up homologation model so that Nissan could enter Group A rallying. While the body of the GTI-R is largely the same as its cheaper econobox siblings, it’s easily distinguishable by its large rear wing and bonnet scoop – ‘riced out’ from the factory, so they say.Unlike real hot Japanese hatches, its modifications are function – and far more than skin-deep. Its unassuming body hides a meaty turbo-four making 169kW and a remarkably advanced four-wheel-drive system that allows the car to do 0-100km/h in 5.4 seconds: truly impressive in the 90s and still rather impressive by today’s standards.Pulsars are hardly uncommon but the GTI-R remains a rather rare beast, especially one in this condition. While the listing doesn’t include any interior or engine bay shots, the car superficially looks brand new. It’s apparently unmodified and in “mint condition” according to the seller – a rarity, considering this car (like many affordable Japanese sports cars from the 90s) have been absolutely thrashed and fiddled with by generations of boy racers.Okay, so it’s perhaps the nicest example of a rare JDM pocket rocket. But surely they’re not serious about that price?It’s common practice on online classifieds for sellers to list cars with either insanely low or high prices in order to attract people’s attention, as scummy as that behaviour is. It’s absolutely rife on Facebook Marketplace, where plenty of cars are listed for $1 or $1,234… Or they’ll deliberately drop a zero and then say in the description something like “PRICE IS 14,000 NO LOWBALLERS I KNOW WHAT I’VE GOT”. You know the drill. It’s entirely possible that’s what’s going on here.
A more affordable alternative: the next most expensive GTI-R in Australia. Image: Carsales
For perspective, the fourth most expensive car on Carsales right now is a 2020 Rolls-Royce Phantom listed for $1.2 million and the second most expensive car is a concourse-condition 1963 Aston Martin DB5 we’ve previously written about here at DMARGE.RELATED: This Globetrotting $1.7 Million Aston Martin DB5 Is Immaculate… But There’s A CatchEven more pertinently, the next most expensive GTI-R on Carsales is this 1990 model above, listed for $38,700 in Sydney. It’s older, has more km’s on the clock and has been extensively modified – but it’s otherwise in cracking condition. It’s also less than 3% of the price of the 1994 example.Maybe the insane price has got to do with the 1994’s heritage plates. Heritage plates can be worth an absolute fortune: according to numberplates.com.au, “in Victoria, for example, the number ‘1’ would be worth a few million dollars, whilst a random 6-digit number would be worth around $5,000.” So a two-digit heritage plate like this Pulsar’s could be worth a pretty penny, potentially much more than the car it’s attached to… But again, is it worth almost $1.4 million?We’re just not sure. Browse the listing and judge for yourself.Watch Tommi Mäkinen drive the Nissan Pulsar Gti-r Rally Car

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David Beckham Needs To Stop! The King Of Smart Casual Does It Again In NYC
David Beckham Needs To Stop! The King Of Smart Casual Does It Again In NYC

David Beckham has done it again.Not only content with being one of the most influential footballers of all time as well as an incredibly successful entrepreneur, the 46-year-old Englishman is also one of the most stylish men on the planet. While he wasn’t always this stylish – some of the outfits (and haircuts) he rocked in the 90s and early 00s that were truly criminal – these days, he’s easily just as fashionable as he is skilled with a soccer ball.Case in point: this impeccable smart casual look he was spotted rocking earlier this week in New York. Enjoying a meal at notorious ‘jet-set’ restaurant Bar Pitti with his wife Victoria, David looked like a million bucks in an Ottaway Style x Benson & Clegg polo, blue pinstriped trousers, brown brogues, sunglasses from his own eyewear brand and a Tudor Black Bay on his wrist (naturally).It’s a classically dapper look that reaffirms his status as the king of smart casual. Take notes, gentlemen.

Image: Getty
Polo shirts in particular are a truly underrated smart casual staple. While the original polo shirt owes its origin to the equestrian sport that it’s named after, the modern polo as we know it was invented by René Lacoste, the French seven-time Grand Slam tennis champion and sportswear innovator.Polos remain an important part of modern sport – for example, they’re virtually universally regarded as standard golf attire, too – but they’re also a great option for men looking for something less formal or fussy than a buttoned shirt but more formal than a simple t-shirt.Becks’ polo somewhat unusually doesn’t feature any buttons on its placket, which makes it subtly stand out whilst still remaining rather smart. A king, truly.RELATED: The Best Polo Shirts For Men That Will Instantly Add Cool To Any LookSpeaking of attention to detail… The eagle-eyed might have spotted that his phone case is a Goyard number. Becks seems to be a fan of the exclusive French leather goods brand: he was spotted later in the week toting a Goyard suitcase whilst wearing what seems to be his very favourite fashion item, namely his bright orange beanie.
Image: Getty
If you’re looking for more of Becks’ goodness, check out Beckham showing off the stunning new Tudor Black Bay Ceramic.Benson & Clegg, Goyard, Tudor… Must be nice.

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