carscoop: Middle East

Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts

Hagwalah: And the Award for the Most Imprudent Driver and Crowd Goes to…

We have seen a slew of eventful episodes from Middle Eastern and especially Saudi Arabian drivers practicing the popular but unlawful art of drifting on public roads locally known as "Hagwalah", but never before have we encountered something like this.

For around two minutes, we see the driver of a baby blue pickup truck that had been involved in one too many accidents judging from the condition of the body panels, spinning the car on a public road.

Nothing new, right? Well, not exactly, as the driver was going in drifting circles right in the middle of a massive crowd with some people getting right in front of the truck as it was drifting!

CNG Tank Explodes in Driver's Face While Refueling

A very scary accident that could have easily resulted in several deaths was captured by a security camera at a filling station, possibly located somewhere in the Middle East, though we can't confirm this from the video (if you happen to know where it took place, leave us a comment below).

A man driving what looks like a Peugeot 405 sedan backed in the gas station. The employee then began filling the car while the driver opened the boot at which point, there was an explosion that flung the man to the ground.

Jaguar Land Rover Mulling Assembly Plant in Saudi Arabia

Aluminum is playing an increasingly important role in the construction of Jaguar-Land Rover’s (JLR) new models, in an effort to decrease weight and thus, reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

The most recent example is the brand-new Range Rover that will make its official debut at the upcoming Paris Motor Show.

The use of an all-aluminum monocoque body, which is 39 percent lighter than the outgoing model’s conventional, steel body, and the aluminum front and rear chassis members have resulted in the new SUV weighing a whopping 420 kg (920 pounds) less than the previous model, depending on specification.

Watch Saudi Arabian Drifters Chase Down a Police Officer

We all know how popular (there's even a music video) but also how dangerous the Saudi Arabian street drifting practice known as 'Hagwalah' is.

We also suspect that all of you who have watched the numerous videos on CarScoop and other websites have surely wondered about the absence of law enforcement, especially with so many deaths and injuries caused by reckless drifters.

Well, here's a video that shows a police car arriving at a gathering of drifters, reportedly in Saudi Arabia (if this incident took place somewhere else, drop us a message and we'll rectify it).

Ferrari Collector Convinces Maranello to Build Him a One-of-a-Kind 599 GTO Coupe

As far as hobbies go, collecting V12-engined Ferraris certainly beats golf or fly-fishing – provided, of course, that you have the means. Cheerag Arya, or CA as he prefers to be called, is one of the lucky few.

CA, who was born in India, has spent much of his time in the US and for the last six years live in Dubai where he has established a new manufacturing plant at Ras al Khaimah, one of the seven states that constitute the United Arab Emirates.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan: Watch a Bad Ass Hoodlum Turn Into an Obedient Pussycat

Now here is a road rage incident with a somewhat unexpected ending. For starters, and as you may have already figured out by our movie-related title, this incident did not take place in Russia but in Israel.

While we saw the video posted on several channels today, we tracked down the original clip on YouTube, which was uploaded in April of 2011 and somehow escaped our attention at the time.

The footage from the dashboard mounted camera shows the car driving along the road when suddenly (at the 1 minute mark) a blue-colored Renault 19 makes an illegal pass and stops right in front.

Lexus Driver Taunts Local Saudi Cops

While in many parts of the world, passing a couple of police cruisers at speeds that exceed 220km/h (+137mph) can get you in a whole lot of trouble, this doesn't always seem to be the case in vast desert highways of the Arabian Peninsula, which are the playgrounds for those who practice the dangerous local sport of 'hagwalah'.

In this video, we see the driver and passenger of a Lexus model following a Honda Accord drifter on either side of the road before he decides to taunt several police cars including a Toyota FJ Cruiser and a Ford Crown Victoria.

See Anything Wrong with this Picture?

We're all for driving your car to the ground in order to save on the cash but this owner seems to have taken it to the extreme.

Even though the yellow sedan of unknown origins still has a working engine, a driver's seat and four wheels, the rest of the car is in shreds.

Scoop: Is This is the New 2013 Toyota RAV4 SUV?

A forum member of a Toyota fan club in Saudi Arabia has allegedly captured a trio of revealing shots of the next generation 2013 RAV4 crossover.

The car was covered in a white plastic wrap on the outside with see-through plastics protecting the seats on the inside, which suggest that this may be a dealer model.

The exterior details match what we have seen from the prototypes spotted over the past few months testing on the road, so chances are that this is the real deal.

Mansory-Prepped McLaren MP4-12C for Sale in Abu Dhabi

If there's one place in the world you're guaranteed to find a Mansory-tuned McLaren MP4-12C it is Abu Dhabi, the capital and richest of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates.

We discovered this example at a high-end dealership in Abu Dhabi named Prestige Cars, which unsurprisingly, doesn't provide any details about the limited edition version of the MP4-12C other than that it is a 2012 model.

U Spy: New Land Rover Range Rover Prototypes Filmed on the Hot Roads of Dubai

If you are not content with the spy photos of Land Rover's all-important, next generation Range Rover and would like to see the luxury SUV in action, then you'll be pleased to know that Carscoop reader Jay M. has tipped us off about a video showing two prototype models on a highway in Dubai.

The YouTube poster notes: "I saw two 2013 Range Rover prototypes driving down the Dubai Bypass Road this morning on their way from the Al Tayer Motors facility in Dubai Investment Park out to the desert for hot weather testing."

This Rolls-Royced Nissan Patrol is So Wrong in So Many Levels…

When you think about Dubai and cars, you probably imagine exotic Italian coupes and über-luxurious limousines and crossovers, some of which possibly draped in shiny chrome foil wraps and tuned by some of Europe's most unapologetic tuning brands.

But there's also another side to Dubai's automotive scene, one less ritzy but equally gaudy at times.

Lamborghini Gallardo Charred to the Ground in Kuwait

Yes, it's yet another Italian supercar going up in flames on the road. This time the car is a Lamborghini Gallardo and the place is the sovereign Arab state of Kuwait.

As you can see, the fire has already engulfed the Gallardo with not much left to save when the firefighters show up to do their job.

Hagwalah This: Saudi Bus Full of Passengers Drifting

Just when you think you have seen it all from Saudi Arabian drifters, along comes a fresh video to remind you that they will always find a new way to endanger themselves, the crowd and other road users.

So what's more dangerous than a Japanese sedan practicing Saudi style drifting known as 'hagwalah'? Why a bus full of people that insist on not wearing their seatbelts, of course!

Catch the video right past the break.

Infiniti FX Fettled by UAE-Based Tuning Firm Matdes

From the far depths of the unknown that is the tuning world of the United Arab Emirates, comes this styling proposal for the Infiniti FX, which was brought to our attention by Carscoop reader Ula K.

Named Matdes, the tuner says it specializes "in creating distinctive individualization design programs for the Infinity FX".

U Spy: Reader Spots Mercedes-Benz CLA Compact Sports Sedan in Dubai

We will have to wait until next year to find out how the Concept Style Coupé (CSC) will look like in final production trim on the road, but eagle-eyed Carscoop reader Omar A. was alert and ready to snap a few shots when a prototype of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLA passed right by him on the busy streets of Dubai.

It is not uncommon for Mercedes-Benz to test upcoming models in the United Arab Emirates with our readers having scooped several models in the past such as the SLK roadster.

Fiat Group Suspends Vehicle and Components Sales in Iran

Evidently, the Fiat Group has succumbed to international pressure to stop doing business in Iran, joining the ranks of other automakers like Porsche and Hyundai, both of which recently suspended sales in the country.

"Fiat supports the international efforts for a diplomatic solution of the issues relating to the relations with Iran," the Italian company said in a statement.

This is How the Nissan Juke-R looks on the Streets of Dubai at Night

Another day, another video of the production-intent Nissan Juke-R. After the release of a short film that tells the tale of the GT-R-powered crossover's race against a trio of exotic supercars, Nissan has now published two new videos of the Juke-R in the hands of the Nissan/Playstation GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoňez.

Ordoňez takes the 3.8-litre, 160mph (257km/h) Juke-R for a picturesque ride in and out of Dubai.

Nissan Releases Short Film on Juke-R's Supercar Race in Dubai

On the heels of the announcement on the limited production run of the 545-horsepower Juke-R, Nissan launched a new cinematic online movie today.

The six-minute long film is named "Desert Nemesis" and it follows Nissan’s inaugural GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez, taking on a handful of European exotic sports cars including the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, through the roads of Dubai’s exclusive International Marina Club.

Nissan's Clever Househunter Test Drive Combo in Dubai

When you are on a tight marketing budget, the only way to achieve your goal is to be creative. Nissan's answer to this problem in Dubai was to team with most popular house-hunting site in the Gulf region called Dubizzle.

The Japanese automaker created a new media format for the website that matches the user's home, budget, neighborhood, and family size with the right Nissan model.

Furthermore, once the users single out a house, the HouseHunter Test-Drive app offers the option of being picked up by the Nissan model that matches their lifestyle to go for a ride to view the home.