Fastest Cars: Middle East

Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts

World's Largest BMW Showroom Opens in Abu Dhabi, Best Selling Model in the M.E. is the 7-Series

Abu Dhabi, home of all things extravagant such as the largest indoor and first Ferrari theme park, can now lay claim to having the world’s largest showroom for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and BMW motorcycles.

BMW Group’s long-standing importer for the region, Abu Dhabi Motors, invested some AED 300 million (roughly €62 million or US$81 million) in the new 35,000-square-metre showroom over its three-year construction.

The facility features separate showrooms and sales areas for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars, and for BMW motorcycles, with more than 70 automobiles and 10 motorcycles on permanent display.

Aston Martin has released the first official images of the final production version of its new limited run V12 Zagato that we first laid eyes on as a concept in both road going and racing flavors at last year's Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy.

The new V12 Zagato will make its world premiere at the 2012 Kuwait Concours d’ Elegance next week with its European debut to take place at the Geneva Salon in early March.

As the name suggest, it was designed as the ultimate Vantage by Italian coachbuilder Zagato to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first partnership with Aston Martin, the 1962 DB4GT Zagato.

When oil prices go up, car sales, especially those of gas-guzzling models, go down. There's one place, though, where the exact opposite is happening right now: it’s the Middle East where new car sales are booming.

Sure, many countries in the region, like Bahrain and Syria, are facing severe political turmoil, but on the other hand, since oil prices are on the rise with crude oil having gained 6.7 percent over the last 12 months, revenues of local governments have increased accordingly.

Said governments, wanting to avoid uprisings, are injecting cash into the economy increasing their citizens’ income.

Bet you weren't expecting Arabian style drifting (called hagwalah) to find its way into a mainstream music video clip from a British female rapper. Yet all this took place in M.I.A.'s brand new song called "Bad Girls" which fuses the sounds of Middle Eastern music with rap lyrics.

The 36-year old singer of Sri Lankan descent, whose real name is Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, filmed the entire music video in the Middle East showing local drivers with a selection of European cars like the Alfa Romeo 156 and the BMW 3-Series hagwalah-ing.

Drift over the break to watch the music clip.

Draining all the publicity it can get from the Juke-R's appearance in Dubai where it competed against the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Ferrari 458 Italia supercars on a makeshift track, Nissan has now released official footage from the race.

This is the third video we've seen of Juke-R's win in the past two weeks, so we won't blame you if you've had enough of…Nissan's Groundhog Day. The rest of you can watch the new clip right after the break.

If there happens to be an opening for a professional bull rider over at CBR, then the man that tamed motorcycle number 73 at the United Arab Emirates national race series on the Dubai Auto Drome needs only to show this clip to be accepted. Check out the video and you'll see what we mean. Read more »

First Production Aston Martin V12 Zagato to Debut at Kuwait Concours d’ Elegance

We were expecting to see the final production version of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show but instead the British company turned one of the racing concepts into a road-spec show car to give an indication of what it would look like.

Now the time has come for Aston Martin to put the concepts aside and show the first finished customer car that will make its world premiere at the Kuwait Concours d’ Elegance from February 15 to 18.

While there's nothing new to report from the automotive front at the 2012 edition of the ongoing Qatar Motor Show, which ends on January 28, we do have a fresh assortment of photos of the other kind of models we usually find at all auto shows.

If the opening photo piqued your interest, head on past the break for our high-res gallery and hope you enjoy our selection.

Nissan is making a strong statement with its product launches lately pitting its vehicles directly against more expensive offerings from established premium brands.

And we're not only talking about Infiniti's recent commercial where the M35h beat the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid in a quarter mile sprint, as the Japanese carmaker also setup a race between the prototype 485hp Nissan Juke-R and the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Ferrari 458 Italia supercars.

The race took place on a tightly designed makeshift track in Dubai on the sidelines of the local 24hrs Endurance Race.

Following on from the first grainy video, Carscoop reader "Meto D" tipped us off on a higher-quality clip shot from the air that also includes footage from inside the car driven by the winner of the 2008 PlayStation GT Academy competition, Lucas Ordoñez.

As one of the largest and most important auto shows in the Middle East, the annual Qatar Motor Show's primary goal is to serve as the launching pad for the local debut of the industry's latest models before they arrive in showrooms.

That said, with the exception of some non-significant debuts such as the one-off, black and yellow themed Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport that we told about on Monday, the show doesn't host any noteworthy world premieres.

Nevertheless, for those of you that want to get a sample of the 2012 edition of the Qatar Motor Show that will be open to the general public from January 25 to 28, we've prepared a high-resolution gallery that you can check out for yourself right after the break.

General Motors isn't the only company pushing out a black and yellow themed edition of one of its cars as Bugatti is doing the same - fortunately without the toy-ish / kitsch Transformers decals...

Whether you like the color combo or not, Bugatti has presented another one-off edition of its Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which is the open-top variant of the series, ahead of its world premiere at this week's 2012 Qatar Motor Show that runs from January 25 to 28.

There's no question that the Nissan Juke-R is wickedly fast, but is it actually fast enough to give a lesson to exotic supercars like the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, for example?

Well, there's a lot to take into consideration including the place and the person driving (let's not forget that any car is as fast as its driver is), but for whatever reasons, this time the Juke-R came out as the winner.

In the video clip from Carsandspeed that follows, we see the 485HP-strong Juke-R winning a race against the three aforementioned supercars on a tightly designed makeshift track in Dubai as part of a promotional event on the sidelines of the local 24hrs Endurance Race, in which it took part as the official pace car.

We managed to find out that the man behind the wheel of the Juke-R was 26-year old Lucas Ordoñez from Spain who was the winner of the 2008 PlayStation GT Academy competition.

What could be more embarrassing than a pink-coloured Range Rover SUV? Why, a pink-hued Range Rover SUV fooling around in the sand dunes of the Arabian Desert in a front of a very large crowd and then getting stuck, of course.

You can watch this driver's Moment of Zen in the video clip that follows after the break.

The Chrysler Group's Mopar division is expanding its operations to support growth in international markets with the opening of two new parts distribution centers in Shanghai in China and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Read more »

Hezbollah, Colombian Cartels and 30 U.S. Car Dealers Implicated in Money Laundering Scheme

The Lebanese Canadian Bank and two Beirut-based exchange houses, Hassan Ayash Exchange Co. and Ellissa Holding, along with 30 auto dealers in the United States, are being accused by U.S. federal authorities for participating in a US$400+ million money laundering scheme to benefit Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah and Colombian drug cartels.

“The intricate scheme laid out in today’s complaint reveals the deviously creative ways that terrorist organizations are funding themselves and moving their money, and it puts into stark relief the nexus between narcotics trafficking and terrorism”, said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Even though a Ferrari on fire is nothing new these days, in any other part of the world, a brand new or relatively new 599 GTB Fiorano slowly burning in the middle of the road like an over-sized shish kebab would have at least caused some commotion. But not in Dubai, the land of all things grand, ambitious and insanely expensive.

There's a couple videotaping the roasting Italian spécialité but nothing much else is happening with the drivers on the road just continuing their way.

We don't know how the accident happened nor if anyone was injured – though we assume that if the driver was still inside, someone would have stopped to help. Video follows after the jump.

As it turns out, despite their advanced all-wheel drive system, Bentley's luxury limousines and coupes aren't very good when it comes to off-road activities. Who would have known!

We saw it last year when a blissfully unaware owner of a Continental GT Coupe got bogged down in tons of mud in Russia (see the epic video clip here), and we're seeing it now with this Saudi Arabian owner of a Continental Flying Spur sedan who had some troubles conquering the desert sands. Wonder why...

For some amusing footage, follow the break to watch the videos for yourself.

Sebastian Vettel has entered the Formula One record books once again, this time by matching Nigel Mansell’s 1992 record of 14 pole positions in a single season. Moreover, he can enjoy being alone at the top if he secures a pole position at the Brazilian GP with which the 2011 season comes to an end. Read more »

Greece Turns to Iran for Oil as Fears of Default Make Western Suppliers Unwilling to Trade

Greece has been making the world headlines for quite some time now – and for all the wrong reasons. After years of excessive borrowing, its economy eventually went down and the country's government was forced to turn to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for help.

Help was indeed provided, but at a price: severe cuts were required and the Greek government, despite initial promises, stalled for a long period.

This caused fears of a Greek default that could spread to other European countries with vulnerable economies such as Italy and Spain, threatening the euro and even the stability of the European Union itself.

Consequently, many suppliers have practically stopped dealing with Greece. “Companies like us cannot deal with them. There is too much risk. Maybe independent traders are more geared up for that”, an unnamed trader with a major international oil company told Reuters.

The wraps came off the spanking-new Chevrolet Trailblazer study today at the opening of the 2011 Dubai International Auto Show.

We shared the first pictures of GM's near-production midsize sport utility vehicle on Wednesday night, but we now have more details as well as a bunch of new photos and videos including one from the presentation in Dubai.

The study previews the production model that will be sold around the globe, beginning with Thailand in early 2012. GM has not said if it will be offered in North America, but being that it is based on the Chevy's new Colorado, which will be built and sold in the States, we can't see why not.

World's Largest BMW Showroom Opens in Abu Dhabi, Best Selling Model in the M.E. is the 7-Series

Meet the Final Production Version of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Arab Spring Brings Increased Car Sales in the Middle East as Governments Toss Around Money

M.I.A.'s New Bad Girls Video Clip Looks up to Arabian Drifting

Nissan's Official Footage of the Juke-R Versus Supercars Race in Dubai

Chuck Norris Approved: Rider Tames Wild Racing Motorcycle

First Production Aston Martin V12 Zagato to Debut at Kuwait Concours d’ Elegance

Meet the Booth Models of the 2012 Qatar Motor Show

New Aerial Video of the Nissan Juke-R's Race Against the Gallardo, SLS and 458 in Dubai

2012 Edition of the Qatar Motor Show in Photos

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport "Bumblebee" Special to Debut at the Qatar Motor Show

Watch the Nissan Juke-R Pawn a Ferrari 458, a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Mercedes SLS AMG

Pink Range Rover Trapped in the Sand Dunes of the Arabian Desert

Chrysler Group Opens New Mopar Parts Distribution Centers in China and Dubai

Hezbollah, Colombian Cartels and 30 U.S. Car Dealers Implicated in Money Laundering Scheme

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano Slowly Roasts in the Middle of the Road in Dubai

Saudi Edition: Bentley Continental Flying Spur Grounded in Sand

Formula 1: Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Results

Greece Turns to Iran for Oil as Fears of Default Make Western Suppliers Unwilling to Trade

New Photos and Videos of Chevrolet Trailblazer Show Model

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