At the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, they have 2-seater F1 cars on hand for people to experience the sheer insanity of their V10-powered, 700bhp open-wheel race cars. The cars are capable of hitting 5G of G-force, so being tightly secured in the cockpit is a serious requirement.
Unfortunately for this passenger, the belts weren’t on tight enough. See what happens in the video after the jump. Read the rest of this post »
When the Nissan Juke-R first surfaced, some labeled it as a publicity stunt. “Why squeeze the Skyline GT-R’s 480hp engine into a Juke” was what they probably said to themselves. Nissan’s answer to the doubters: show that their Godzilla crossover could take on the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari.
Since the Juke-R debuted in Dubai at the Dunlop 24 Hours race, Nissan decided to unleash it against a few supercars at a little autocross circuit setup near a marina in the emirate. How did it do? Your answer is in the video after the jump. Read the rest of this post »
It came and went by so fast! With the blink of an eye, GulfRun 7 is now past us and let me tell you: this was their best yet. A few minor tweaks changed everything for me, someone who has been attending the event consecutively for the last few years.
What was the major tweak that hit home? The fact that we were based in the GP pit garages (same ones utilized by Formula One) gave a sense of seriousness and maturity to the event.
The GP pits are a lot more spacious, in comparison to the other pit area. And best of all: they’re spitting distance from the long straight near the Start / Finish line. When any car rolls by at full throttle, you not only hear it, you Read the rest of this post »
The first production model of Aston Martin’s V12 Zagato will debut at the 3rd Kuwait Concours d’ Elegance on 15-18 February. The V12 Zagato has the knock-out punch to match it’s go-fast looks with a 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510bhp and 420lb-ft of torque under its hood.
The unveiling in Kuwait is going to be special because Read the rest of this post »
Dubai is known for its flamboyant license plate auctions, where the sales of these plates tend to raise about 70 million dirhams annually! Apparently, the funds raised support transport projects around the emirate.
And because of this craze, which primarily rests with the Emiratis, foreigners are beginning to catch on too. So offering personalized license plates seems like the next step that Read the rest of this post »
The Chinese can copy anything. They’re capable of mimicking the tiniest screw to the largest skyscraper. So why not the Ariel Atom? Cue some random Chinese mechanic living in a shed.
Why the Atom? We’ll never know but this guy obviously knew he could pull it off to some Read the rest of this post »
I was invited by the founder of the Porsche Enthusiasts Club of Kuwait, Tarek Al Shafie, to take part in a group drive up to Camp Arifjan for the U.S. Army’s 3rd Annual Muscle Car & Bike Show.
The show was created a few years back to provide American troops, stationed in Kuwait, with an opportunity to get some face-time with muscle cars and motorcycles from local clubs.
The reason we were invited was to add a bit of German flair to the American machinery usually on display at Read the rest of this post »
As GulfRun 7 kicks off this weekend in Bahrain (January 26th – 27th), there was only one thing left to do: load up the cars and have them sent to the Bahrain International Circuit!
By no means is it easy to organize such an event. For one thing, there is all the pre-planning, securing of the participants, getting all the paperwork ready for transporting the vehicles to Bahrain via Saudi Arabia, let alone dealing with a lot of ‘antsy’ drivers and a lot of horsepower.
Prior to loading up the cars, the drivers were instructed to meet up at Tilal Complex where they were briefed on the driving route to the Read the rest of this post »
A few years back, I posted on the GulfRun blog that Nissan and Sony’s Playstation were teaming up to create a virtual race academy to find some stay-at-home racecar drivers. Well guess what? Read the rest of this post »
A friend contacted me earlier this week and asked if I’d like to attend BMW’s ‘M Meets X’ event, held at the ProKart track. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity.
Organized by Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the objective behind the event was to promote the experience behind the wheel of different M vehicles.
We had the chance to drive three different M cars: the X5M, the X6M and the M3. Prior to jumping in the cars, there were two Read the rest of this post »
I stopped by a crowded 360 Mall today to check out some of the rides participating in this year’s GulfRun event: numero 7.
Inside, the GulfRun boys set up two large stands with some wonderful cars on display. In the pic above we have a red Audi R8 GT (supplied by Fouad Alghanim & Sons Automotive Co.), a silver Ford GT and a white McLaren SLR 722.
A few track cars were also on hand inside the mall with the Ariel Atom and the Read the rest of this post »
The official buildup to GulfRun 7 is finally here with the carwash event held at Al Falah / showshine last night.
What’s hotter than a Lamborghini Murcielago covered in soap suds?
There were a good variety of cars on hand. Read the rest of this post »
I was invited to stop by the Historical Vintage & Classic Cars Museum for an event honoring Carroll Shelby’s birthday. With or without the 89 year old, the attendees and their cars were in the mood to celebrate.
There was a mix of new Shelby Mustangs, older ‘stangs, and some great Read the rest of this post »
The jealousy meter is hitting its max here at Brake Banzeen! Once again, BMW has confirmed that the US market will get a manual gearbox option for its latest M5, while the rest of the globe will have to get its kicks from a dual-clutch automated shifter.
As you may know, this isn’t the first time this happens. The outgoing E60 M5 came with the manual option, but only for the US market while the rest of the world left shifting duties to Read the rest of this post »
BMW’s M brand is probably one of the most recognizable sub-brands in the automotive industry. The M division was initially developed to support BMW’s motorsport activities, but as time marched on, it became a monster of its own. BMW M is now responsible for creating modified versions of BMW cars with the engines, transmissions, suspensions, aerodynamics and more all bettered with performance in mind. But haven’t you ever wondered what the tri-color badge actually stands for? Read the rest of this post »
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