“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.
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Header Image Via: Sotheby’s
Lately we’ve got Group C racing on the mind and that’s no thanks to Autodromo’s recent release. If you haven’t checked out their latest offering, you should stop reading and see it here. This week, another Group C racing related thing crossed our radar, but it wasn’t a watch. Currently on the Sotheby’s auction block is a 1991 Jaguar XJR-15 in pristine condition. This devilishly cool looking piece of machinery is only 1 of 27 ever made and is the production version of the Group C Sports-Prototype Jaguar XJR-9. We’ll save the specs listed in the auction description, as we’d rather spend time just drooling over the curves and lines of this XJR-15. The odometer on this thing currently reads 153 miles. One hundred fifty three. It’s barely lived a life. A word of advice to whoever wins the auction, which by the way is estimated to fetch upwards of $1.5 mil, drive this thing! And we’ll all be ready to snap a photo when you zip by.
In general, having a set of binocs is a very underrated piece of gear. It’s one of those things that you wish you had out in the field, at a baseball game, or if you’re doing some casual bird watching from your living room window. NOCS Provisions has been on our radar ever since we featured them here in WSG, and is currently our go-to if we need to add a set of binoculars to the kit. NOCS recently just released the grab-and-go Voyager. Swiss engineering all around, the NOCS Voyager is equipped with top shelf optics, an IPX7 certified waterproof case, and layered around with a rubber grip in a multitude of colors to choose from. For $95, this is a very approachable, buy-once-cry-once set of binocs that you can’t go wrong with.
If rarity is based on the amount of models made, then the 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T SW has got the Jaguar XRJ-15 beat. Nicknamed the “Black Ghost,” there were only 23 of these made. As the legend goes, the “Black Ghost” got earned its namesake from a Challenger that belonged to Godfrey Qualls, a US Army veteran and Detroit police officer who street-raced this beast at night time. The car itself has a ton of history, but Qualls story significantly adds to the car’s provenance. This thing is mean and muscular, and we’re sure that whomever was lined up against the “Black Ghost” probably regretted being there to begin with. Check out live photos of the 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T SW and more importantly, read about Godfrey Qualls in the Silodrome editorial piece, here.
Air Force One is a flying fortress. There’s not much the jumbo jet can do (don’t tell that to President James Marshall) in mid-air, hence the reason why every time you see it in flight, there’s a fleet of fighter jets flying alongside it. But all of that could soon change. In 2020, the U.S. Air Force Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate signed contracts with three different aero-manufacturers doing innovative things – Boom Supersonic, Exosonic, and Hermeus. Boom specifically, has their Overture in the pipeline and claims to have an airliner capable of cruising at Mach 1.7 and can travel about 4,900 miles on a tank of sustainable aviation fuel. Of course with speed, you’ve got to go light, which means there’s going to be some sacrifices to be made. Sayonara presidential suite. Check out how Air Force One is going to potentially pull this off in Jalopnik’s entire article, here.
Everything Everywhere All At Once Prop Auction
There also seems to be a ton of multiverse talk around the office too. So we must appropriately mention the Oscar nominated film Everything Everywhere All At Once. A24, the indie studio behind the surprising cinematic phenomenon, is holding an auction that will include some of the memorable props in the film. Hot dog hands, anybody? The auction will help raise money for three different charities – Laundry Workers Center, Transgender Law Center and Asian Mental Health Project. Despite some of the more questionable props that will be bidded on, this most certainly will go towards a great cause.
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