The Porsche Macan was announced only a few months ago, in the latest idea by the former sportscar-maker to move downmarket in order to better compete with crossovers like the Audi Q5. Ironically, it was also recently announced that Volkswagen now completely owns Porsche, so essentially the competition for female (and female-like) buyers will be in-house. Here are some photos of the upcoming Macan, caught hot-weather testing in Dubai.
After a late-night chase, Dubai Police claim to have recently seized a vehicle that was speeding close to “350 kph”, only to discover that the car, which looks to be a Nissan Patrol Safari, was installed with an “extra engine” modifications powered by jet fuel.
The Subaru BRZ, the carmaker’s first rear-wheel-drive in a long time, has just hit the dealer in Abu Dhabi. It has already been launched in Oman and Saudi Arabia recently.
Ah, the Bentley Continental GT. The last time we drove it was on an epic run down Jebel Hafeet at midnight. We’re now too old for shenanigans like that, especially with a million-dirham car. So when we got the convertible version, the Continental GTC, we just did what any actual owner would do, and that is hit every hotel in Dubai this Ramadan to gauge reactions to the car.
Mercedes-Benz prototypes are seasonal to Dubai, as new camouflaged models are spotted around the city at regular intervals as they undergo hot-weather testing. This time, we have the 2013-2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class trundling around in the UAE.
We all know that the BMW 1M is no slouch off the mark, but the specialist tuners at Manhart Racing had already transformed the existing model into a 415 hp fire-breathing monster. However, they now announce a new addition to their lineup, called the MH1 S Biturbo.
The latest 2012 Porsche 911 is the first all-new design for this long-running sports car since 1998, when it first went water-cooled. Every model before that was simply an update on the original design that debuted in 1963! With cars like the Nissan GT-R proving that the Germans can be beaten at their own game, engineering stagnation is something Porsche cannot take for granted any more, and with the new 911, they have moved their star model further upscale. The only job left now, as per tradition, is to churn out a million variants, the first of which is the 911 Cabriolet.
Out there, on Dubai’s ultra-modern highways. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a camel! Details are sketchy, but apparently it escaped from somewhere and ended up on the highways near Dubai Marina. And somehow it is managing to stay in lane too.
The electric Nissan Leaf was the darling of the EV industry, slapping the Chevy Volt in the face with its lower price as it took the top spot in U.S. electric-vehicle sales. However, a major issue with heat is starting to emerge, and that makes any sort of debut in the Middle East unlikely.
We get lots of requests to do videos, but we generally don’t waste time churning out boring nonsense. If you haven’t heard already, we drove a McLaren MP4-12C recently. And we have video too. For footage that barely lasts a minute, you can see the launch control, the air-brake spoiler, the active suspension, the braking power and even the exhaust note, all shot during our road-test just outside Dubai. Video by Faisal Khatib.