The 13th edition of Top Marques Monaco is the place you want to be with your kids on the last weekend of Zone B school holidays if they are remotely interested in supercars or fast shiny things!
Hosted at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the show is the premium auto show for the Principality and you’ll see everything luxurious including slick cars, watches, superboats (all displayed by gorgeous promo ladies in sparkly dresses and high heels) as well as innovative machines and forward-thinking inventions that aim to change transport on land, sea and in the air.
Top Marques Monaco : A top place to take kids
This year at Top Marques look for:
- Bond cars! – fans of the films and the fast cars in them will be pleased to know James Bond is returning to Monaco for the first time in 21 years and you’ll get to see fancy wheels such as the 4.7-litre V8 Aston Martin DB10, the Jaguar C-X75 which featured in a chase through the streets of Rome in Spectre, the Range Rover Sport SVR, and the Aston Martin DB5. I love Astons in all models – old and new – so you may see me there drooling over a bonnet or two…
007’s Spectre cars will be displayed at Top Marques Monaco 2016
- Other Bond memorabilia thanks to the Propshop (they took care of all the gadgets behind the Bond films Spectre and Skyfall as well as on Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
- The ArcaBoard, the first ever flying hoverboard to be launched worldwide for the first time on 14 April. Personally, it doesn’t look aesthethically cool to me (a hovering Lego platform rather than board?) but my 5-year old announced ‘wow that’s cool’ so I’ll reserve my opinion further.
- The Kormaran, a catamaran that transforms into 4 configurations at the switch of a button
- The European launch of the Martin Jetpack for personal aviation – the world’s first practical jetpack without wings or a body due for release later this year. Of course I’m biased about this one and wish them huge success – it was invented by a New Zealand university student who dreamed of it over drinks at the pub, he went home and built the first prototype in his garage (his wife was the first test pilot!), fast forward a few years and his prototype worked and so he quit his job to work on it. While it will get attention from the super-rich and they’ve received order interest from Dubai Police, they are aiming it at search and rescue missions and emergency responders and after securing investment in 2014 of US$50 million from Chinese aerospace group Kuang-Chi Science, the world is their oyster. Go Kiwis!
Kiwi invention the Martin Jetpack will be at Top Marques Monaco 2016
- The Icona Vulcano Titanium, the world’s first supercar made out of titanium. I’m expecting the high rollers from the Middle East to go nuts over this one.
Potential buyers and media can also get their thrills by test driving a number of supercars on the famous Monaco F1 Grand Prix circuit – if that’s not a bucket list experience then you may as well stay at home. Head to the Test Drive Paddock right next to the Forum’s main exhibition hall to check them out.
Test drive anyone? (image copyright: GTspirit Ltd 2013-2016)
My Top Tips
If you have kids under 6 years of age they are free every day. Older kids? No problem, get a ticket on the Saturday and Sunday as they are cheaper.
How to get to Grimaldi Forum
Arriving by train: Monaco has lots of public stairs and elevators but the quickest way if you have kids and don’t know your way around Monaco is to come out of the train station at the Sainte-Dévote Church exit, go down the stairs towards the church/port and walk to the left along ave J.F Kennedy and Boulevard Louis II all the way to the roundabout at ave Princess Grace. Then you can take the pedestrian overpass to the Forum. The walk from the station takes about 15 minutes.
Arriving by car: To reach Monaco from the A8, take the Monaco-La Turbie exit coming from the direction of Nice, or Roquebrune exit if you are coming from Italy. There is a parking facility at the Grimaldi Forum, and a further carpark along the main beach called Larvotto. The map and rates for the parking in Monaco is here: https://www.monaco-parkings.mc/carpark
What: Top Marques Monaco
Where: Grimaldi Forum, 10 avenue Princess Grace, 98000 Monaco
When: 14-17 April 2016
Tickets are on sale now from www.topmarquesmonaco.com
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