The manager at the Emporio Armani store at Caesars Palace was on his knees in a fit of hysteria; tears were streaming down his face.
“We’ve been robbed!” he wailed.
It was 4 p.m. on Thursday, September 29, 2005.
Meanwhile, hovering above the Las Vegas skyline, a helicopter lowered several ropes onto the roof of Caesars Palace. The thieves on the roof worked quickly and in tandem. Within minutes, the helicopter flew off with the stolen Emporio Armani Sportbike hanging between its skids.
“That’s the only bike of that type in the world,” lamented Bianchi's Richard Stroem at a hastily-arranged press conference. Armani had teamed up with Bianchi (the Italian brand which these days is owned by a Swedish holding company ) to offer the one, the only, Emporio Armani Sportbike.
The Armani bike is an aluminum hybrid. It's available in small, medium, and large. It comes with an iPod holder. It’s black (it only comes in black). Most importantly, it sports the Armani label.
The Armani bike that was stolen had just made its debut at Interbike in Las Vegas. Armani then made the ill-fated decision to put the bike on display at its store at Caesars Palace. Within hours, it was stolen.
Did the burglary occur as I described?
A better question, I think, is did the burglary occur at all?
A high-end store such as Emporio Armani has stringent security measures in place. A thief is unlikely to get away with stealing a tie, let alone a bike. In addition, there are countless security cameras in operation at Caesars Palace. There’s no way someone could walk out of there with a bike and not be caught on film. So, where’s the picture of the thief/thieves?
I hereby declare that the Great Armani Bike Burglary is a hoax.
A publicity stunt.
Armani wants you to believe that the Emporio Armani Sportbike is really, really valuable. That the bike is sought after by discriminating thieves.
In reality, the Emporio Armani Sportbike is an overpriced hybrid.
The bike, itself, is a hoax.
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9 comments:
I so want one.
Yo, I'm completely unsuprised that elite burglars are after this bike: It's got Shimano Sora, dude. You can't get componentry like that at your local bike shoppe, bro.
yep. sora seals it. it was a stunt. fully and completely. bianchi makes their bikes with robots.
whats with the triple?
does this prove a link with well dressed males and their sexuality, along with cetain implications about said cranksets?
Hey now, there's nothing unmanly about a triple. The custom tourer I ordered a couple months ago has a 20x34 low gear. At 90 rpm, that's less than 5 mph.
The Armani bike is sweet. Just the name is sweet.
Jim, if you happen to learn how much one of these Armani bikes goes for, please pass it on.
They went for $1500 AUD in Australia, so I'm guessing they were $1500 USD in the USA. Also, I was at Emporio Armani in LA (the Brighton store off Rodeo) and was told that the last one in the US was sold a few days ago, on sale for $1200 USD. I myself bought one of the new Emporio Armani Burton snowboards (with bindings) for $1095 USD. Only 12 in the world, 6 in the US, 2 per store.
I've actually got one. They are basically an overpriced fashion item, based, I think, on a Bianchi Cameleonte. But as I got it new for 270 UK pounds on ebay summer of 2007, it was worth the horror of my serious cycling buddies! But you can't leave one of these out of your sight in a British city - it's the ultimate chav scumbag magnet.
Wow, Liam. This is the first report I've received from an actual owner. How do you like it?
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