Crypto News: A time warp with Maseratis

Welcome back to Pursuits Weekly! This week car columnist Hannah Elliott reports from the UK, joined by Annika Inampudi and Georgie McKay in New York to look at the world’s biggest culture stories, as well as ideas and recommendations around travel, dining and art. Sign up here to get this newsletter every Saturday in your inbox.

A $1 billion salve

Racegoers in vintage fashion on day two of Goodwood Revival presented by Dunlop at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in Chichester, West Sussex. Picture date: Saturday September 19, 2026. Photographer: Kieran Cleeves/PA Media Assignments — Bring me back!

Somewhere in between the Art Deco sirens and Clark Gable lookalikes, the men in flat-caps and Harris tweed, and the on-site hairdressers giving women Coke-can curls, it clicked: I needed this.

Each September, 150,000 people convene on the private estate of the 11th Duke of Richmond, an hour south of London, for a quintessentially British festival called Goodwood Revival. Spectators dress in period-correct attire to watch $14 million Ford GT40s and $50 million Ferrari 250 GTs, gleaming pre-war Maseratis and bellowing Bentleys, careen around the 78-year-old Goodwood Motor Circuit.

It’s a celebration of all things 1948 to 1966, ostensibly about the glory days of motorsport with a weekend of vintage racing and more than $1.3 billion worth of collectible cars and motorcycles on the premises. But really it’s about escape.

People return to Revival for the same reason they visit Renaissance fairs and Burning Man — events like these immerse us in an alternate reality where we and likeminded others quickly form a chummy hive, letting the creativity and storytelling wash over us like a balm. There are booths championing handcrafts like sewing and metallurgy, and official outfit guidance encouraging folks to buy vintage clothes they intend to wear again. The race cars are powered by synthetic fuel. I saw signs in one workshop that said “No Amazon” and “No AI Zone.”

A general view of racing on day two of Goodwood Revival presented by Dunlop at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in Chichester, West Sussex, Saturday September 19, 2026. Photographer: Jas Lehal/PA Media Assignments/PA — Racing on day two of the 2026 Goodwood Revival.

This was my first time attending, and although I have covered elite car events for two decades, it was a revelation. There were double-decker buses, stately Rolls-Royces, Vespas and Spitfire planes. The cafes, lounges, exhibits and even the bathrooms were so well crafted to look like 1960s Italy and Mod London that it felt being on a movie set. As I walked the grass, I couldn’t get over how silly-happy everyone seemed. Me included. I was greeting randoms with a smile and a nod; cheers-ing complete strangers in coveralls while contemplating how I could get another Peninsula Hong Kong mooncake sent over. This was highly unusual behavior for a closet introvert like myself.

“Revive and thrive” is how Charles Gordon-Lennox, the aforementioned Duke, described the ethos on the Bloomberg Hot Pursuit! podcast last year. For those three days, I forgot the political climate, the wars, the AI threat and whether I’m supposed to be using a retinol.

People have been responding to this decadent getaway since its inception in 1998; all three days of Revival have sold out for years, says spokesperson Katharine Morgan. In fact, the stratospheric value of the cars is not reflected in the price of tickets, which start at £77 ($100) per person for single-day entry; three-day passes cost £245. Parking is free, as are children under 13. By contrast, a three-day general admission ticket for the 2027 F1 Miami Grand Prix costs $685, parking not included.

In 2028, the Duke will host the inaugural Goodwood Road Racing Club of America headline event at Willow Springs Raceway 90 miles from Los Angeles. It’s not without some trepidation: How to translate this British gem into an American jewel? Very, very carefully.

We Americans might admire the British pageantry and pomp, where even the rogues are charming, but we lack the same sensibilities refined over centuries. It’ll require a subtle understanding of America’s disparate car cultures and history to translate the magic of Revival on US shores. Like the lack of decent fish-n-chips here in the states, ingredients matter.

Here’s hoping Duke and team can pull it off. By then, I’m going to need another detox.

By the numbers

Special Projects, Five Deeps Expedition, Arctic Svalbard Photographer: James Blake/EYOS Expeditions — No participation trophies here.

$2.4 million

The price to attempt the first crossing of Antarctica by snowmobile. Luxury travelers bored with private jets and exclusive resorts are paying millions for world-first adventures, from unclimbed peaks to undiscovered shipwreck, Madison Darbyshire reports.

2,500

The number of species the birdwatching app Merlin can identify by sound. New tech made birding easier — but at what cost? Alexandra Marvar chronicles her search for “desirable difficulty” as her outdoorsy hobby gets more plugged-in.

Years since Elia Kazan’s movie adaptation of John Steinbeck’s family saga East of Eden. Keeping on theme, Zoe Kazan follows in her grandfather’s footsteps with a new miniseries, Sarah Rappaport writes in her monthly culture recommendations column.

$19

The cost to upgrade for a first-class, one-way train journey from Zurich to Vienna. Upgrading to premium train cabins might be one of the best value upgrades when traveling, Felix Salmon reports. That’s cheaper than a martini in Midtown Manhattan!

Great jewelry transfer

David Webb is one of the jewelers whose signature adds significant value to a historic piece. — Passing it down.

In the coming avalanche of stuff being passed down from baby boomers to younger generations, jewelry is a lucrative bright spot. Gold, silver, platinum and gemstones have material value — with precious metals hitting record highs earlier this year. There’s roughly $750 billion in gold weight hiding in drawers across the country. Go rummage through those jewelry boxes!

Breadonomics

At RYE by Martin Auer, the bread is presented as a work of art. — Special bread gloves mandatory.

New York’s bread scene is abuzz thanks to a $60 single loaf at RYE by Martin Auer. Is it special? Eh. It tastes like rye bread. When planning his New York outpost, Auer decided to charge far, far more than Austrian prices — enough so that the price has become the loaf’s defining feature. The gambit behind the borderline obscene cost makes most sense as a status symbol and wealth indicator.

The next golfers’ paradise: Vietnam

Hoiana Shores Golf Club Photographer: Gary Lisbon — Above-par views, below-par scores.

Listen up, golf aficionados, Vietnam is making a play for your tee times. From Tiger Woods-designed fairways to a $1.5 billion Trump resort, a wave of new courses is transforming the Southeast Asian country is one of the world’s fastest-growing golf markets. Long stretches of undeveloped coast and lush highlands provide a dream landscape for golf architects.

Can AI make us more beautiful?

Beauty tech has conquered new frontiers. The latest: AI facial-analysis tools like Qoves can now map 521 points on a face and can allegedly recommend nonsurgical ways to enhance appearance. So the robot tells you how ugly you are? Or how beautiful! Either way, to find out if your face adheres to the supposed geometric ideals, go answer its questionnaire, upload selfies from all angles, pay $150 and let the AI do its “magic.”

The case for craft

Homo Faber 2026, A Luminous Ark — Not your average paper crane.

If that last bit had you running far from the AI world, keep going until you hit Venice. The Homo Faber Biennial is wrapping up its celebration of handmade craft, featuring more than 700 objects that showcase traditional techniques at risk of disappearing. This year’s artistic director is Es Devlin, best known for creating concert stage sculptures for Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, U2 and dozens of others.

One Very Specific Recommendation: Tunisian Harissa

One of London’s bigger deal restaurant openings this year is Impala. At his singular Egyptian restaurant, chef Meedu Saad serves dishes you won’t find on every other menu around town, including the greens known as molokhia and birds tongue pasta (its a shape, not an ingredient) in a spicy oxtail braise.

Don’t skip the bread service. It comes with Tunisian harissa served in a pool of oil, waiting for the Aish Baladi flatbread to be ripped and dipped. The dried chili paste is redolent with garlic and cumin and it embraces every dish it’s connected to — a particularly strong start to an excellent meal.

Now here’s the bigger secret: Sometimes, if you ask nicely and they’re well stocked, they’ll give you a tasting of two or three versions of the imported condiment, ranging in flavor from lightly sweet to strongly smoky and in textures from crumbly to a dense paste. It’s an instant £6 ($8) sensory trip to North Africa. —Kate Krader

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