2011: a visit to a world full of excesses

It is Thursday, December 14, 2011 and the day is ending. We are driving through the city with a song from the movie Mission Impossible 2 on the background. A well-known song of Limp Bizkit, Take a look around. The quiet melodies and solid rock in the song are probably the perfect description for this special city where we are for a visit to the company TopCar and the TopLine exhibition. While a low-lying misty cloud brings the city to sleep, another crazy day ends. Moscow is vibrant, exciting and as the title describes a world full of excesses. You are in Moscow or you aren’t even close to that. In the following detailed report we look back one more time on the adventure that took place in December 2011.

It all started in November when I received an invitation from TopCar, to visit Moscow in December. While most of you would rather depart towards the sun in this time of the year, we were given the opportunity to visit the cold Moscow. That is something totally different than a visit to Monaco, Geneva or Gothenburg, just to name three cities that I have visited in 2011. The idea everyone has about Moscow is totally different than other big cities in the world. Yet I accepted this great opportunity and Karsten was lucky to accompany me on our travel to the country of the Lada, vodka and ushanka’s.

Wednesday We go back to December 13, the day of departure. The PR-manager of TopCar had made a full program with some visits to the exhibition TopLine, the company TopCar, some reports with cars of TopCar and of course visiting the city of Moscow itself. While it’s not cold and rainy in the Netherlands, we get a text message at around twelve o’clock at night that it is currently snowing in Moscow. We fly at six o’clock in the morning from Düsseldof International Airport and need about four hours to get to the border of eastern Europe where they have a time difference of three hours compared with the Netherlands. Our final destination is Sheremetyevo International Airport. Traveling to requires a visa, so the control at the airport is very strict compared with other countries within Europe. Russia wants to know exactly when you enter and leave the country, if possible on the minute correct. It takes some time to get used to this when you have never been in such a strict country before. In addition, Sheremetyevo International Airport is huge and English isn’t used very much. It takes some time to find the exit. At one o’clock in the afternoon we meet Anton, the PR-manager of TopCar and Olga, our translator for the coming days. It is snowy outside but that doesn’t make any difference for the Russians on the road. It is the first of many remarkable experiences we gain during the miserably long journey to the headquarters of TopCar. The traffic in Moscow is a total chaos. The roads around the city have six lanes, but all these lanes are just packed from six o’clock in the morning until eleven o’clock at night. Those who become impatient of the Dutch traffic jams can get a good lesson of self-control here in Moscow. Every free space is quickly taken by people in a hurry, with often a small drift because of all the snow on the highways. They do not scatter salt like we know in the Netherlands and most drivers are experienced enough to react to dangerous situations. Meanwhile, some people stop on the middle of the highway, just to fill their windshield wiper fluid or just for something else. You don’t have to stop on a parking lot in Russia but you can just do this wherever you want. So you can stop on the highway, on a highway exit or any other place you can imagine. It is one big fair ground and those who are not experienced with these circumstances will have some damage quickly. We ourselves have an appointment with Oleg, he is waiting for us on the highway.

After a ride of about two hours we arrive at the headquarters of TopCar where we get our first tour. We get to see the first sketches of the new Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG on which TopCar is working and we hear about other plans of the company including McLaren. During the tour we hear all the ins and outs of the company and see several models in the workshops. You could already read about the company in a special we published earlier. TopCar is a company in development. They are very busy and the company is actually open 24 hours a day, as long as the customer pays.

Shortly after our first encounter, Oleg leaves with his own TopCar Vantage GTR2 for an appointment and we dive back into the traffic jam in order to check in at our hotel. The next five nights we stay in the Kadashevskaya hotel. This small but very good hotel is located just a five minute walk from the Red Square. We agreed to have dinner at six o’clock in the afternoon in the center of the city with the rest of the team of TopCar. We found out on our fist day that it is very difficult to make a decent agreement. Purely by traffic it is almost impossible to get somewhere on time. The first restaurant where we check in is the Vermishel on the Tsvetnoy bul’var. The Vermishel is part of the Ginza Project in Moscow. This is a project where a large number of restaurants are build with all their own, unique style. The contradiction of the restaurant with the big mess in the center is huge. The chaos on the streets gives way to a stunning setting on the fifth floor of a luxury department store. During dinner we get busy, talking about cars and the differences between TopCar and other tuning companies. Another thing quickly mentioned was fishing. This is Oleg’s big hobby and therefore a great inspiration for the design of the models. If you look closely at the design certain elements from the fishing world will be found here. We hear more great information about the Mini Bully. This is a project of which only one copy is made. The Mini was designed by Denis Simachev, but who is this Denis? This is an eccentric Russian who had a totally golden Porsche 996 Turbo. This car was spotted in St. Tropez a few years ago. The Bully has unique graphics on the side of the car that are put on by airbrushing them. The interior is beautifully finished with carbon fiber and leather with the necessary stitching in a diamond pattern. For those who want to go out for dinner in Moscow, it is important to know your budget. In Moscow you pay 20 to 30 Euros for a meal in a normal restaurant and this gets more expensive very easily. The first conclusion of a busy, chaotic first day is that the people of TopCar are very passionate about their company and their products. It is not just about making money but they want to make good quality products. TopCar is not the only one in this, there are more companies with the same attitude. Nowadays there are so many car manufacturers who are only busy with mass production that there is no passion for their product anymore. Tuners can be seen as the only coach build companies left. How unique is a Ferrari, Porsche or Bentley nowadays? After the dinner we made the planning for the next week. Thursday is dedicated to the TopCar Stingray GTR and a first real introduction to the city of Moscow. After dinner we went on a search for a location for the photo shoot with the Stingray GTR and we soon found a nice place. After that we quickly went to bed after a long day.

Thursday On the first full day in Moscow we had the opportunity to go for a walk in the morning, because we won’t be picked up by Anton and Olga until between eleven and twelve o’clock in the morning. The neighborhood where we stay this week is the district Zamoskvoretsje. In the thirteenth century this district was built as an outpost against the Mongols. Since the reconstruction that took place between 1930 and 1940, almost nothing has changed in this neighborhood. It has a traditional atmosphere with few modern buildings which you can find in other places in the center. In order to start the day we decided to walk to the Red Square to finally see the St. Basil’s Cathedral in real life. This is the famous church with all the domes which makes it look so fabulous. We walk towards the cathedral through the street opposite of our hotel, Bolotnaya ulitsa. Both streets are connected with the Lzhkov Most, a bridge on which newly married couples take photo’s and eternalize their wedding by hanging a padlock on to a metal ‘tree’. People say that this will bring the couple luck in their life. The Red Square is from there only a five minute walk. Of course this is the place you must have seen in Moscow. It impresses by the many buildings that are all very nice to see. We decided to walk back and see if we could spot some cars near our hotel. At 100 meters from our hotel runs the

Pyatnitskaya street where traffic passes by the whole day. We find our first spot in this street, a Rolls- Royce Ghost and several Bentley’s. Also noteworthy is the enormous amount of SUV’s that you see in Moscow. Especially the BMW X6 and the Land Rover Range Rover Vogue are very popular. All the sports cars stay inside, during the winter and these cars are more suitable for this dirty weather. In Russia almost all of these SUV’s are sold with the heaviest engine. It is all about status and therefore you don’t see much diesel engines. The Range Rover Vogue is almost always provided with a supercharged V8 engine.

Around twelve o’clock we are picked up by Anton and Olga and we join the traffic jam on our way to the State University of Moscow for the photo shoot with the TopCar Stingray GTR. Although it is only five kilometers it takes about an hour to get there. The State University is one of the seven that symbolize the city of Moscow. These so-called ‘’ are built after World War II, as symbols of power, in order of Josef Stalin. The State University was at the completion, with its height of 240 meters, the tallest building in Europe. It still is a huge and imposing building. Partly because it is not just a simple , but a whole complex. We chose to do our photo shoot here because it contrasted nicely with the modern capitalism of Russia nowadays. Around the State University you have small parks which are fun to visit and at the beginning of the park you have a beautiful view over the city of Moscow. This is a nice place to watch the ‘Seven Sisters’, especially in the evening. Today, a modern and new apartment, the , is named the eighth sister. Moscow has a lot of skyscrapers that are worth a look. In the business district, Moscow City, the Moscow Tower is, with its 302 meters the tallest tower in Europe. The second location where we continue the photo shoot is inside the park at the State University. At the end of the photo shoot a typical old Soviet granny complained to us. She did not appreciate us parking the Stingray GTR in an area for pedestrians and she began to mention everything was better back in the old days. After about two hours, the photo shoot, of which you have already seen a report, was done. We were heading towards the Crocus Expo Hall where the other TopCar cars were and we were going to have dinner there. The entire Crocus complex consists more than just an exhibition complex. There is a beautiful department store next to the Expo Hall called the Crocus City Mall. The interior is pure luxury. There are wonderful shops and several upscale restaurants were we will have something to eat, later this week. After a first look at the show were everything is still in preparation, we leave again for another round through the city and to see some sightings.

One of the places we visit is Barvikha, many know this small town from the spots on Autogespot. Barvikha isn’t actually really special. On the way to it you’ll get past the Rublovka district where extremely rich people live. In the surroundings of this district you will see the necessary exclusive cars. When we got to Barvikha it is quite special to see the style of the ‘mall’ in real life. The complex consists of several buildings which all have a wooden exterior. They have chosen for this style because it fits in with the rest of the environment, because there is a lot of wood in the surroundings. On the site there are many upscale shops including a Bentley and Ferrari dealer. It is very clear that people in this shopping mall want to keep their privacy. There is a underground parking with continuous security and also there are enough security guards on the site itself. When you come here as a tourist and you are not familiar with this culture, you will soon feel uncomfortable. When we were making some pictures of the Ferrari dealer we immediately were approached by several security guards. Partly because of the multiple rich clients it is understandable that security is quite strict. During the way back to the center of Moscow we hear some facts about the Russian license plates. The Russian license plates contain two parts, one with the actual license plate and the other one with the area code. Moscow has multiple codes including 177, 197, 99 and 77. Then there is the second part which consists three digits and three letters. When the license plate has three the same letters the car is often owned by an important or very wealthy person. License plates are, just like in the United Arab Emirates, a bit of status and it gives you respect.

Back in the center we parked the car near the GUM department store. You can compare this store with Harrods in London. It is one of the many exclusive stores in Moscow. The big difference is that this department store is traditionally decorated. There are classic shops where you can find typical Russian products. Of course we had to buy a traditional Russian hat, an Ushanka, here. After this we tried to find some spots in a classic alley near the Red Square. This alley is called Tret’yakovskiy Proyezd and much exclusive cars have been spotted here. Also, the second Ferrari, Maserati and Bentley dealer in Moscow is located near this alley. To end the day we went for a snack and a drink to the Japanese bar and restaurant Mio DJ.

Friday We started the Friday with a walk through the city looking for some spots. The walk we made was fun to do. Actually this was just a big lap around the Kremlin. This is the area where you can find the most exclusive cars. The morning started rather strange when we past the GUM department store. A black BMW 7 Series came around the corner and stopped just in front of us together with a police car. Some security guards with bulletproof vests and rifles stepped out of the car to make room for some older ladies who wanted to visit the store. This all happened in front of us and gave us a moment to think about the things you can do and the things you can absolutely not do in Moscow. In the Netherlands you will never see such form of personal security while this happens daily in Moscow. After this we walked to the well-known Tretýakovskiy Proyezd where we found a Ferrari California. From this alley you can walk towards the Mokhovaya street where you will pass several state buildings and also the beautiful Bolshoi theater. A complete crazy building is the building of the Duma. There are countless numbers of BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Classes and even the Maybach of Vladimir Zhirinovsky Volfovich in front of the building. This is a colonel in the army and also the founder and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. All cars and dark buildings radiate nothing but power and strength. If you follow this same street to the west you will find some other beautiful buildings that show the other side of Moscow. When we find a white Bentley Continental Flying Spur not much later. We are stopped immediately by a security guard when we take a picture of this car. This car has three times the same letter on its license plate so apparently the owner is important or very wealthy. Not much later we decided to go back to the hotel when we only saw a Rolls-Royce Phantom and some other limousines, not really worth capturing in a city like Moscow.

The second part of the day consisted visiting the exhibition TopLine, to fill our evening with drinking champagne and playing golf. You have already read a report about this exhibition on the website. After the exhibition we got our first experience with the Russian nightlife. The party were we went took place in the so-called Art Club where you are only welcome on invitation. The location was a building which was still under construction, the first four floors were empty and the fifth floor was transformed into a small club. The whole ambience of the party was very mysterious and the typical Russian house music which was played the whole night only reinforced this special atmosphere. If you are among the Russian you have to, as you can predict, get in touch with the tradition of drinking Vodka. This is something you can’t get used to as a Dutchman. During the night people drink much less beer if you compare it with the Netherlands. Mainly, the Vodka and mixes are preferred here in Russia. With a stiff drink we returned back to our hotel at an unknown time, to wake up, not very clear, on Saturday morning.

Saturday Our Saturday was dominated by an encounter with a spotter from Moscow, Kirill. Under the name of Speedin he made Moscow well-known on Autogespot in the last few years. The first days we made ourselves a little acquainted with the spotting area in Moscow but Kirill knew some more places to show us in the center of the city. In the area north of the Kremlin it is best to just go through every street because you can encounter something in every street. Kirill tells us that a Russian billionaire recently bought his sixth Bugatti Veyron 16.4. It is the owner of the football club where Guus Hiddink signed a contract last week. There are more Russians who own more than one Bugatti Veyron. There was a combo spotted with three Bugatti Veyron’s in Monaco, all from one Russian owner. Underneath another department store we find a parking lot with a variety of exclusive cars for sale. But we prefer to spot cars outside, so we leave quickly. During our walk we find our first TopCar Vantage in the famous Tret’yakovskiy Proyezd alley. That tuning is very popular in Moscow is confirmed in the next hour. We see another TopCar Vantage and find a Porsche Cayenne tuned by Mansory. Outside the historic center of Moscow, there is another area which is worth to go to. This is a boulevard called the Новый Арбат. This boulevard is full of expensive restaurants and shops. The number of luxury cars is a real surprise. Several Rolls-Royce’s and Maybachs are just parked along the busy road.

Next we drove towards the State University for a look over the city. North of the State University is a point where you can look over whole Moscow. At night it is beautiful to see the difference in architecture. On one hand you have the modern business center Moscow City while it is totally different on the other hand. You can also see the ‘Seven Sisters’ where we talked about earlier this story. It was quite a cold night so after a brief look over the city we quickly went for a restaurant. Saturday night we went to a typical Russian restaurant to eat some typical Russian dishes. We started with salted, fried bread sticks and red beet soup. This was combined with two cold dishes, a gelatin appetizer with beef and bacon. Especially the bacon is eaten by many Russians in winter. It is good against the cold and it is healthy. With a bit of Vodka, a Russian snack is complete.

Sunday By far, the best day of the week was Sunday. After a good sleep, Sunday was the real ‘sightseeing’ day with a visit to all the sights and even a small tour with the subway. Our trip began with a visit to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This huge cathedral is one of the sights you must have seen when you come to Moscow. From the outside it is already beautiful, but inside, the amount of gold and the beautiful decorations are just astonishing. After we visited this church we went on to the Kremlin. This complex has a number of different buildings and several churches. When we got their it started to snow slowly and that is when Moscow becomes really attractive. While the gardens of the Kremlin were getting whiter and the temperature dropped, we got into the subway for a trip in the Russian subway system. You can’t compare the subway in Moscow with anything else. Each station is uniquely built and has its own style. While green marble dominates one station, the other station is dominated by its many artworks that refer back to the communism. The best thing you can do is just buy a ticket and travel to as many stations as you can, the subway is like one big museum.

After about two hours in the subway, Moscow was buried under a thick layer of snow. Unlike in the Netherlands, this doesn’t cause a lot of accidents and strange traffic situations. Most people just remain calm while the Dutch highways will be a complete chaos. We went back to the TopLine exhibition for another visit. On the last night of the exhibition it was clearly visible how much rich people Moscow really has. That evening we got into conversation with the owner of PG Bikes. This company makes electric bikes that start at the price of €7.000,- The bikes have a trendy design and the client can compose it the way he wants it. The bikes can get to 70 km/h and the top model even gets to 120 km/h. Another product promoted on the exhibition was the Segway. Another gadget you buy when you simply have too much money.

Later that evening we had a good time outside with spotting a beautiful Ferrari FF in the snow and an old-fashioned game of throwing snowballs with Anton and Olga. To finish the evening we went to the

Denis Simachev bar. This is an eccentric bar were jazz and pop music is played. Everything in this bar is completely different as normal. You don’t come in wearing a suit and the dress code is: “Be yourself”. The most notable figures from Moscow come to this bar. You can eat on a washing table and sit on a toilet. TopCar worked together with Denis Simachev to make the Mini Bully. This bar was a perfect ending of our last night in Moscow. With some special bears and a nice bill, the countdown to the last day has started. This day was all about the Cayenne’s tuned by TopCar.

Monday On our last day we had to make a last report which we were making around the Crocus Expo Hall. We had the opportunity to play with the two Cayenne’s to end the week in style. On a large parking lot we had enough space to play with the cars. Later that day, we had to catch our plane and at 22:00 Dutch time, we had our both feet on the ground again, after a journey full of wonderful new experiences.

While I am looking for a good way to end this story, I am wondering if Moscow really is as crazy as we thought? Is it really a city that regularly exceeds the borders of what is possible? During a visit, like we had, it is really difficult to place things in perspective. But even a month later, the picture of Moscow hasn’t changed. Moscow is a city you must have experienced in your life. Whether it are the extremes in wealth or the differences between capitalism and the old communism, there is always something that amazes you during such a visit. Moscow is overwhelming, those who like to be overwhelmed must book a ticket to Moscow soon. You’ll be completely amazed. We could not get enough of it and will turn back to Moscow for sure, until then you may enjoy the pictures, the stories and the spots! до скорой встречи!

Photography by: Karsten Groeneweg & Emil Ronhaar