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Dubai Motorshow comes around every two years and in the two years since the last one Dubai has changed beyond all recognition.In 2007 the town was bumping and construction was going on left right and centre. Car manufacturers were selling massive amounts of cars and not only that they were pumping out a very rich mix of product (high spec).
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This year however Dubai has ground to a crawl and the car industry is really hurting. The markets are circa 40-60% less than they were and dealers are really having to think about it now.With this in mind I half expected Dubai Motorshow to be a bit flat and empty, however it seemed as though there was a lot of optimism in the air and manufacturers brought along some pretty smokey machinery to wow the crowds.
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From the super expensive and sexy Aston Martin One-77 to the very sexy All New Jaguar XJ to the ludicrously torquey Audi Q7 V12 Diesel…Hopefully 2010 will be a year of less bad news and time to reflect in the region. The vibe at the show certainly gave the impression that it might just happen.
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One-77…I my my…What a car! Truly stunning in the flesh if a little proportionally intense. The fact that it cracked 220 mph in testing this past week makes it even more respectable.
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A personal favourite of mine and a true Q-Car in the modern sense of the word. The 510bhp Jaguar XFR is a car that has taken Jaguar back to the top of list when it comes to big lithe super saloons…If you havent had the pleasure of driving one, make sure you do. Someone, somewhere is driving around in the one that I’ll buy in 10 years time…
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Another exclusive and another car that I found myself falling for…The Gentlemanly Rolls-Royce Ghost. To think it will hustle to 100kmh in less than 5 seconds is slightly concerning.
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A raving success throughout Europe, however I question just how well it will go down in the UAE/GCC/Middle East. Im looking forward to seeing the Abarth blasting around though….
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The Satin paint on this M3 shows that BMW are very much switched on to the needs and wants of the market. How it will look in a couple of years after being scratched by Mall of the Emirates Car washers will be something I wouldnt want to see though.
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When the Mulsanne was initially launched at Pebble Beach, the crowds gasped at the utter ugliness…6 months later and it is beginning to look pretty cool…Not pretty though.
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Massively imposing isn’t it..
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The V12 Vantage driven by Dr Bez of Aston Martin ( a Motor Industry Hero of mine…) and Richard Meadon of the now and sadly defunct Drivers Republic during the ‘Ring 24’s looked pretty hardcore.
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Blisteringly fast…slightly pointless…very ugly!
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Land Rover rocked up with the seminal Range Rover. Still looking as fresh as a daisy and extra cool in full Autobiography spec. The full leather headlining made for an incredible smell…
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Having never had a good dig around the latest BRABUS product before I was totally knocked off my feet as to just how well they do it…
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Locally made in Abu Dhabi and powered by a mental LS1 engine, this desert rat was pretty incredible. Hummer eat your heart out…
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Tasteless…Yet somehow made the Panamera look a little better than stock.
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More to come about this bad boy very soon…
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Fraser
I do hope you are right about things picking up, Phil: there were some pretty neat new vehicles on show and it was good to see some old names back. Interesting who was missing though, so perhaps a sign that things are not quite back to normal yet, despite the brouhaha.
The new Chinese stuff is worth watching though; apart from being cheap to buy and presumably cheap to run, the quality has shot up in spades from where it was last time round, and if you can forgive some of the more obvious plagiarisms, there are some quite attractive cars coming, especially in the A and B segments.
However, lest anyone who attended the show forget, Dubai is still one of the few locations where taste is inversely proportional to bank balance – some of the horrors on display in the secondary halls looked as though they had been subject to a children’s colouring-in competition that had not been announced!