Category: Automotive

I’ve always wanted to do that but with an Aventador and a McLaren.

via 7amadqalam

Turns out it was parked illegally in the taxi bay along with another Mercedes G Class from Kuwait that was also got towed. [YouTube]

via Q8allinone

Update: I found out what happened in the video above and it turned out to be just an innocent mistake that was blown out of proportion because the car that was towed was an Aventador. The store is the owner of the car parked the car in an illegal parking spot not knowing it was a spot dedicated to taxis. The sign was written in French and there were other cars parked so he just parked next to the other cars. Turns out the spot he parked in specifically was a taxi spot which is why it got towed.

The first RaceRoom in the Middle East is opening up today inside Baroue at the Avenues. The RaceRoom is sort of an arcade but one that’s filled with realistic car simulators. They used to have one simulator before which was the Gulf Run simulator and I guess it was really popular because they’ve now expanded on that idea. For a bit more information you can check out their Facebook page [Here]

Update: I passed by Baroue awhile ago and turns out they’ve remodeled the whole top floor. It’s now a proper arcade FILLED with racing games. The place looks super cool and it’s just one racing game after another all around the place. Sadly they don’t have a vintage gaming section filled with original Daytona 1 and Sega Rally 1 machines, that would have been the icing on the cake for me. The actual RaceRoom is a private room located in the middle of the arcade floor filled with 6 realistic racing simulators. That room is going to be open from tomorrow but the rest of the floor is open right now. I took a bunch of pictures which you can check out below.

Spotted the above at a checkout counter in Sultan Center. After checking their Facebook page it turns out Sultan is having a competition to promote child safety in cars by asking parents to submit pictures of their kids with their seat belts fastened. Then, based on the amount of likes the photo receives and the relevance to the campaign they’ll have a chance to win KD500.

If you’re interested in participating you can check out their Facebook page [Here]

[YouTube]

via Jalopnik

The other day I posted about the new camera system that’s going to be active starting the 15th of June, well I just found out from The Buz Fairy that they’re talking about the First Ring Road average speed cameras that were installed back in 2010. Not sure what took them so long to activate them.

A reader (Cajie) spotted a notice on those digital highway billboards on the 5th Ring Road stating that starting on the 15th of June a new camera system will be active. Does anyone have any information on this? Are these the new emergency lane cameras?

[YouTube]

This video has been circulating the web for the past 2 days (warning it’s graphic) but I was wondering if anyone else thinks it could be a fake? For some reason this feels like a Saudi awareness campaign to try and show the guys who street drift like this what could happen. The car rollover effects also kinda reminds me of [This]

Update: Frankom just shared with me some more videos of this incident in the comments below and I’m not starting to think it’s real.

The Historical, Vintage & Classic Car Museum is holding their 2nd ever Automotive Photography Contest starting from now till June 2nd which will be the last day you can submit your shots.

The following are the categories of the contest:
Best Photo of a car
Micro Photo of the Car
Black and White
People’s Choice (voted on by the museum visitors)

The prizes for first place are KD500, second place 300 and third 200. Each of the top 50 will also get KD50. The overall winners will also get KD1,000 for first, 750 for second and 500 for third. So there is a substantial amount of money to be won here.

I went through the rules, everything seems ok, the only issue I had was with the following statement:

– When you participate in the competition you will grant the Museum ALL copyright of the images submitted, and you may not reclaim any rights.

At first I thought they meant that they will basically own the photos after you submit them but turns out they just mean they will have the right to use and reprint the images for calendars, posters etc.. without requiring your permission which is fine by me.

I’ll most likely be taking part with my McLaren and Fiat 500 shots if I can figure out where to get my photos printed and boarded. If you’re also interested to participate then download the PDF with the full details of the competition from [Here]

A reader sent me a link to this video of an accident that took place on the Gulf Road sometime last month. I’m not sure what the cause was and I really hope no one got badly hurt. The video doesn’t contain anything graphic but it’s might be difficult for some viewers to watch. [YouTube]

via Tuan

I’ve previously test driven the Fiat 500 and loved it which is why I decided to rent the convertible version this weekend while I’m here in Lebanon. But, while the Fiat 500 was a lot of fun to drive on flat roads, it’s horrible to drive up a mountain.

I don’t think it’s the lack of power but more the crappy automatic gearbox. The car will just not shift down into the right gear when you really need it. It actually stalled with me TWICE on a tight steep corner which is why I’m now driving the car in manual mode not auto so I could choose the gears I want when I want them.

The version of the car I’m driving is the 500c where “c” stands for cabriolet. Since the weather is fantastic right now in Lebanon driving around in a convertible is the way to go about it. The car I’m in also has a black leather interior which looks a lot nicer than the beige interior of the car I test drove in Kuwait. But, I don’t think I could recommend anyone to get a Fiat 500 if they live in a mountainous country unless they get the manual version (or drive the auto gearbox in manual mode).

While looking for something else I accidentally found a PDF on the Ministry of Oil’s website that has a bunch of old pictures of petrol stations in Kuwait dating back to the early 50s. The PDF is over 200 pages and around 40MB’s in size so not really practical to go through it. But, I chose four of my favorite pictures and posted them below for you to see.

If you’re interested, you can download the PDF containing other images from their website [Here]

Members from the Kuwait Quarter Mile Motorsports Club were crowned winners in multiple classes including the Pro Mode Bike class won by Meshal Al-Sabr, and followed by fellow club members Mohammad BuRashid, Misfer Al-Misfer and Mohammad Al-Awad respectively.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti racers Mohammad Al-Baddah, Yaqoub Al-Ali and Ahmad bin Belal won the first, second and fourth places respectively in the Superstreet Bike class. In sports cars classes Tariq Al-Qudairi was crowned champion of the Index 4.8 class, while Imad Al-Jassem came in fourth place in the Pro Mode class. The Superstreet V8 class was dominated by Kuwaiti racers in the meantime, as the top four places went respectively to Mohammad Dashty, Mohammad Al-Sulaiman, Faraj Al-Ajmi and the Q80 team led by Abdullah Al-Shatti [Source]

What sucks is the fact that these guys can only compete abroad since their only drag race strip here in Kuwait was closed down years ago.

Check out some pictures from 1985 of guys drag racing here in Kuwait [Link]

A blog reader contacted me around two weeks back asking me if I wanted to review his McLaren and of course I said yes. After spending the day with it this weekend I can easily review the car with 3 words… “I want one”. Seriously I want one. I can’t afford to buy it but that doesn’t change the fact I really really want it.

There are a lot of reviews of the McLaren online and Top Gear have a great one which you can watch on YouTube. So, not wanting to come about this review in the same way I decided to look at the car differently. It’s obviously a fast super car and everyone already knows that but I was curious to how the car would perform as a daily driver in Kuwait. I would hate to spend this much on a car and then only drive it on weekends. I’d want to drive the car to work, to the gym or even to the supermarket.

First thing I looked for after getting into the car was cup holders and I ended up finding two right behind the center console. Cup holders are great for holding your drinks but they’re also more useful for storing items like your phone or sunglasses. The McLaren not only has two easy to access cup holders but there is also a 12v socket inside one of them which means you can plug in your phone charger as well. That’s practical. Another practical feature is the AC, both the driver and passenger have separate control panels which is a feature you usually find in large cars but not super cars.

The seats are also fully electric and have 3 memory positions which is convenient if the car is being shared between say a couple or family members. The sound system is naturally located in the center console and is made by the high end audio guru’s Meridian. The sound system control panel is a large touch screen that is more than double the size of the iPhone and is 100% iPhone/iPod compatible. Once you connect your iPhone or iPod to the car you can then navigate your music by touch and even view album art beautifully all on the center console screen. I think it has the best iPod integrated system I’ve seen so far. The car boot is a lot bigger than I expected. I wouldn’t take the car to IKEA if I need to get a bookcase but it’s definitely supermarket friendly.

The McLaren is very comfortable to drive. I actually found it more comfortable and forgiving on worn out roads when compared to say my old Z4. I’m also pretty tall (6’1) and I didn’t feel claustrophobic or cramped in the car neither did I have problems finding my correct seating position (the seats are incredibly adjustable). Driving the car I was actually impressed by the fact I could cruise in it at 80km/h and not feel like I should be driving it a lot faster. Of course once you step on the gas the car is breathtakingly fast but as a daily driver you want to be able to drive on regular roads at regular speeds and the McLaren does that really well. Even the car’s gas mileage is pretty good at 15mpg which is similar to my FJ Cruiser. I did find the brake peddle a bit too stiff to press but it’s something you would get used to after a few hours in the car.

The only two things that hurt the car as a daily driver is the ride height and the doors. It’s a pretty low ride since it’s a sports car which means the majority of the speed bumps you’ll need to take sideways. The second issue is the doors, they swing open upwards which means you can’t park in very tight spots. If the parking spot is tight you won’t be able to open the doors so you always need to make sure you have ample room on the sides. But again if you’ve paid this much for the car, I doubt you’re going to be squeezing it anywhere.

I love the car but then again who wouldn’t? The thing is I don’t only love it because it’s a super car, I love it because it’s a super car you can actually use every day. I wasn’t kidding when I said I want one, I do I just can’t afford the starting price of around KD70,000. But if anyone from McLaren is reading this, give me a fat discount (like 75%) and you’ve got yourself another customer.

While I was at the Violet Concept Store checking out the Wolf Designs watch winders (check previous post) I got to see something else that was very very cool. The Violet Concept Store have an “OriginTimes’ Big Block Winder” on display! The Big Block Winder was featured in Robb Report’s “21 Ultimate Gifts” back in 2010 and while the Wolf Designs watch winders are on the affordable side, this watch winder lies in the other end of the spectrum.

The Big Block Winder is a large watch winder that’s made from an actual Bugatti Veyron engine block. The watch winding mechanism are located in each of the 16 cylinder locations and the whole thing is controlled with a futuristic looking control panel. This thing is a beast! The price? KD35,000. Expensive I know but this wasn’t built for us. If you have 16 decent automatic watches which cost on average say KD7,000 and up then you probably already have an actual Veyron in your garage and this watch winder is just pocket change. It’s for the person who has everything. You can check out some more cool pictures below or on the Robb Report website [Here]