Car mad buyers look to berlin

A team of Berlin architects has created a car lover's paradise pad; an apartment which you can drive right  into

Giving new meaning to a drive-thru, the eleven loft style apartments in a run down area of Berlin's city Centre all feature a lift which you can drive your car into, and go straight to your apartment.

You can then view you precious vehicle through the glass wall which divides the inbuilt garage from the living space. The partition can be slid open and shut should you feel the need to bond with your car during the evening.

Johannes Kauka, Managing Director of architecture firm Topos, who is creating the apartments, said, "Cars have become design statements, an expression of your lifestyle, so why not integrate them properly into your life?

"The effect is to make the car part of the interior decoration: a work of art that the proud owner can admire from his sofa," Ms Kauka added. 

So far six of the eleven car-loft apartments in Berlin have been sold, including one to the chief designer of an international motor company. The smallest, at 224 square metres, £373,000, while the sixth-floor penthouse costs just over £1 million.

The apartments are intended for cities that have car-theft issues, and so far, St Petersburg and Cape Town have shown an interest.

It is also aimed at cities which have housing so close to floodable rivers that underground parking is impossible.

If the project is a success it will be taken to Brussels, Mexico City and Abu Dhabi, where there are plans to construct car-lofts with space for several limos. They will be on rotating bases so that the cars can be spun gently, allowing proud owners to view them at every angle.