The Zarooq Sand Racer – the first (road legal) car specifically designed for the UAE desert – is set for 2016 release
Two years ago we were introduced to the W Motors Lykan Hypersport, a limited edition supercar developed and manufactured across Europe but which is Middle East to the core (it’s too long a story to explain in detail here, so just check out our interview with CEO Ralph R Debbas and catch us up). And while the look designed by Anthony Jannarelly made us sit up, his latest work – the Dubai-born Zarooq Sand Racer – has tweaked our interest yet further.
Details so far remain scarce, save a couple of raunchy looking renders, and we’re unlikely to receive any more until an announcement concerning the launch on 24th November. Saying that, the ‘first of a series of elite high performance cars’ features a centre-mounted 3.5-litre V6 kicking out between 300hp and 500hp, and boasts a kerb weight of just 950kg thanks to a predominantly carbon fibre build. The chassis meanwhile has been designed in collaboration with GP2-winning Campos Racing, which also recently took the inaugural Formula E championship with Nelson Piquet Jr (as NEXTEV Team China Racing).
Named after the Schockari Sand Racer – the fastest and agile snake in the Middle East – Zarooq Motors’ new off-road project is the brainchild of Mohammed Al Qadi, Iannis Mardell and Bruno Laffite, the latter a former Formula 3 and nephew of former Formula 1 pilot Jacques. Asked about the project, the Frenchman explained, “the UAE are famous for amazing deserts, extreme safari motorsport and dune racing, but the performance of US and Japanese cars just wasn’t good enough. So we decided to assemble a team to design and build the car we have all dreamed about, specifically made to race in the desert.”
The Sand Racer is just the start though. The Zarooq team is also set to launch a single-make championship in the UAE with dedicated race packages, to run alongside an off-road racing school in a bid to boost the region’s fledgling grassroots motorsport initiative.
First deliveries are set for early next year – the first 20 of which will be a Special Inaugural Edition - with prices starting from $80,000.
