English Design House Callum kicked off sales of its limited-production “Tarmac rally car” EV last week by parking the prototype mid-week in the local shopping center, coming away after two days with more than a dozen confirmed orders. An auspicious start indeed. In terms of intelligent design, the launch was as impressive as the car.
The shopping center was Savile Row, the street in London where the current meaning of the term “bespoke” originated, and the first showing of the much-anticipated prototype was the highlight of the third running of the “Concours on Savile Row.” Savile Row isn't all that big, so the number of cars shown isn't large. It's a cut-down classic car show where the quality is extraordinary and the passersby equally so in terms of their discretionary spending capabilities.
Savile Row is in the heart of Mayfair, London's most fashionable district for the last three hundred years, bordered by the Thames, Hyde Park, SOHO and Buckingham Palace. The sold more than 275 million board games in its heyday, introducing a significant portion of humanity to the concept of economics and the value of property. The was published in more than 30 languages but the two main international editions had Park Lane (American edition) and Mayfair (non-American) as the most valuable properties, where rents were the highest.
Number 1 Saville Row was built in 1693. Tailors began moving into the area in the mid-1700s because the local clientele was "a cut above the rest".
