You probably haven’t heard of IXO (Iconic Xtrem Objects) but they’re Spanish carbon fibre prepreg experts, and their latest project was a collaboration with Bugatti in the form of the world’s most expensive pool table. Trust us when we say, this thing is mind-blowingly indulgent. The table’s chassis is machined aluminium, the screws that keep it together are titanium to prevent any galvanic corrosion. The bed is made from slate that was sourced from an Italian mine known for having the highest quality, quartz-free slate, and it’s double the thickness of any standard pool table’s slate bed. The felt cloth is made by Iwan Simonis – a venerable textile company founded in 1680 that’s widely considered to be the best in the world in terms of quality (hence it’s also used on all world championship billiards tables). The bodywork of the table is made from gorgeous blue carbon fibre. The super-light cues are made from the same carbon fibre. The balls are Aramid Tournament Pro balls, which are, you guessed it, the balls of choice in all world championships. There’s a 13-inch touch screen built into the cue rack that automatically keeps track of scores thanks to sensors in the pockets. The illuminated drawer in which you keep the balls, chalk and (carbon fibre) triangle is lined in aniline leather and motorised. And then there’s the pièce de résistance: the table can be specced with a gyroscopic system with a solid-state, high accuracy sensor supported by four Siemens industrial servomotors, one in each leg, which allows it to make silent and vibration-free adjustments in just 5 milliseconds and thus stay level at all times. Sure, this could be useful in case of an earthquake, but it was more likely invented for megayacht owners. Only 30 of these tables will be made, at 300,000 USD each.
February 1, 2022 Mai Alami