2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
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Here are two videos taken from the Chasing Classic Cars Discovery show when they visited Kuwait during last year’s Concours.
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As you can see, the Concours d’Elegance attracts some of the biggest names in the automotive industry and really puts Kuwait in the limelight.
The luxurious car show Concours d’Elegance is going to be held for the third time in Kuwait next month. Like the previous years, it going to be an important and prestigious event that will attract people from both inside and outside Kuwait.
What is the Concours d’Elegance?
Concours is a French word meaning competition. The concept of Concours originates in 17th C. France when aristocrats used to choose their best horse carriages to parade around parks of Paris during the summer week ends and holidays. Later these traditions changed to automobiles from the 20th C. Concours today have strict regulations and cars are inspected by qualified judges. Trophy winners are carefully chosen. Each year there are numerous events which take place across the world, many of which are world famous, including Villa d’Este in Italy, Goodwood in UK, and Pebble Beach in USA. The Kuwait Concours d’Elegance is rapidly becoming a fixture in this international program, able to attract some of the world’s rarest and exotic motorcars.
Date: February 15th to the 18th
Time: 10:00AM – 10:00PM
Location: Marina Mall interior, Marina Crescent and Marina Lawn
Tidbits
There are going to be some very interesting cars this year at the show including the Zagato, Jaguar F-Type, the McLaren and other surprises which they wouldn’t tell me about except that they’re “Concours Special Editions”. Valentino Balboni the former chief test driver for Lamborghini is going to back this year. Bruce Meyers the inventor of the Dune Buggy will also be at the event.
The new Supercar De Macross GT1 is going to be officially launched at our Concours. The GT1 has an 800hp Rouch engine and incoporates technologies currently used in F1… including some that are banned.
The Concours categories
Vintage: Class-A 1900 – 1930
Classic: Class-B 1931 – 1945
Post war Classic: Class-C 1946 – 1965
Modern Classic: Class-D 1966 – 1975
Muscle Cars Section
69 Dodge Daytona
70 Plymouth Superbird
71 Plymouth ‘Cuda 340 Convertible
67 Mustang Shelby GT500
74 Trans-Am SD
69 Shelby GT500 owned by Carroll Shelby him self!
and many many more.
Hollywood Cars
This year they’re bringing real life sized Pixar/Disney cars including Lighting McQueen, Finn and Mater.
Daily Events
15th – Muscle & Classic
16th – Supercars
17th – Kuwait Bike Show
18th – Enzo Ferrari Birthday
Once I find out more information I’ll add it to this post.
Here are some related links:
kuwaitconcours.com.kw
@KuwaitConcours
Facebook.com/Kuwait.Concours
I was contacted by Ford recently to test drive their all-new 2012 Ford Explorer. The last time I had driven an Explorer was ages ago and it was on a road trip from Montreal to New York and all I remember was how comfortable it was. Their new car looks a lot better and more exciting compared to their previous model which is why I was looking forward to trying it out.
The first thing I noticed when I started the car was the combination of an analogue and digital dashboard. The speedometer was analogue while the information on both its sides were digital which I thought looked very cool. The second thing I noticed was the large screen in the center console which turned out to be touch sensitive and featured something called SYNC which I’ll go into detail in a bit. So first impressions wasn’t bad at all.
Since I had the car with me all weekend I drove it down to Bnaider and as expected the ride was very comfortable. The Ford is pretty big and spacious with three row of seating with the last row of seats having ample leg room. When the last row is folded down you also end up with a pretty large and spacious boot which I like to call IKEA friendly. The model I had (XLT) came with a rear view camera which was practical although I wish it also came with a front cam or at least front sensors since the front of the car is pretty long and high. While we’re on the subject of wishes there are two things I really disliked in the Explorer. The first is the touch buttons on the center console. For some reason Ford decided to have all the physical buttons touch sensitive but I have something against touch buttons because I can’t tell if I’ve pressed them or not specially when my eyes are on the road. Although you hear an audible alert when you touch a button I always prefer to actually feel a button being pushed in which doesn’t happen with these buttons. The second thing I disliked about the car was that it was front wheel drive. I thought that was odd for an SUV especially since it was full time front wheel drive and didn’t have an option to flip into four wheel drive. That turns out is an extra option which the car I drove wasn’t equipped with.
Other than those two quirks I didn’t have any other major issues. The SYNC feature which I mentioned earlier is very cool although I wasn’t able to fully take advantage of it. Right below the center console is a small compartment which can easily hold an ipod or iphone with accessories. In that same compartment is an SD card slot, two USB ports and RCA (video and audio) inputs. The car also has built in bluetooth and Wifi. I’m not sure why all the cars don’t come fitted with Wifi, it should really be a standard feature nowadays. I was also able to connect the car to my phones 3G connection using bluetooth but the car can also connect to internet using USB 3G modems and Wifi. You could also have the car connect to your phones internet via bluetooth and the car can then share the connection over wifi for other passengers to use. My problem is once the car connected to my internet I didn’t know what I could do with it. I’m guessing I need to download apps or widgets but since it wasn’t my car I didn’t spend too much time experimenting.
The car I drove had a pearl white exterior with a beige interior. If I was getting this car I would definitely go for a gray or black interior since it would make the car interior look a lot trendier but I’m not sure if they carry those colors locally. The starting price for the new Ford Explorer is KD9,999 and goes up to KD14,000 depending on the features and model. For more information on the Explorer click [Here]
Ford if you’re reading this.. I WANT TO TEST DRIVE THE RAPTOR!
There is a parking lot I pass through every so often where all the cars park behind each other so no car can leave with a bunch of cars having to be moved first. What I found interesting is the unspoken understanding among those drivers. Even though everyone parks on closes on everyone else they all leave their phone numbers on top of the dash board. Some are scribbled on paper, other are typed out nicely and maybe even laminated while others are made into stickers and stuck on the front windshield. This parking lot which could only hold a certain number of cars comfortably can now hold a lot more and best of all it’s community driven.
The Gulf Run 7 car show is going to take place this weekend. This year there will be around 60 cars taking place at Gulf Run and you’ll be able to check out most of them at 360 Mall where they will be on display for everyone to see. So make sure you pass by this weekend, they’re going to be there for two days, Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th. For more information on the event and Gulf Run click [Here]
To check out the full list of cars participating this year follow the link below.
I heard a lot of complaints about traffic at the end of the 1st Ring Road since it ends at a traffic light but honestly I’ve been taking it every morning to work and I have yet to face any traffic issues. The new extension has actually cut down my morning trip by 5 to 10 minutes so I guess people who’ve been complaining about major traffic are facing it at a different timing than mine. [YouTube]
Last week while coming home from the airport, I tried to exit the 50th to the 5th Ring Road but I missed the exit. It didn’t make sense how I missed it but I somehow did. A few days later I picked up Nat from the airport and was again trying to take the 5th Ring Road exit and I ended up missing it for a second time.
Turns out they’ve closed the original exit and created a new one around 2KM earlier than before. There are no signs pointing to the new exit but whats more confusing is why does the current exit start so early and consist of 3 lanes that run parallel to the 4 lane highway. Weird. [YouTube]
Update: According to a reader this newly created exit has actually helped lessen the morning traffic. Previously it used to take him 45-60 minutes to get to work and now it takes 25 tops.
If you’re heading towards the Sheraton Roundabout the First Ring Road is now open. It’s important to note that the road no longer gets you to the roundabout but passes underneath it. The 1st Ring Road now ends at the Justice Palace.
I finally got around to putting together this video I shot last week when I was in Lebanon. I rented a snowmobile up in Mzaar (Faraya) near the ski slopes from a company called Highland Club. It costs $100 for an hour but they have better deals on longer journeys. For example they can take you from Faraya to the Cedars and back for around $400. That’s a 3 hour trip each way and comes to around $65 an hour.
If you’re ever in Lebanon and are interested in taking out a snowmobile you can call them on +9613860867 for reservation and directions or just go up to Mzaar near the slopes and ask for snowmobile rental places. [Vimeo]
Round 2 of the Kuwait Rally Championship is going to take place this weekend. It should be a cool event to take pictures at so if you’re interested and want more details click [Here]
Racers in Kuwait are getting pretty nifty with their filming. The one above has a 3 camera set up! Here is the video description:
Honda NSX-R 500hp Vs 700hp HPE LS9 Hennessey Camaro…
strocked engine built by SOS (Science of Speed)
with a LoveFab single turbo.
+Race was in K-town on 2Lions St.. Time: After Midnight
MUSIC:Swanky Tunes & Hard Rock Sofa – I Wanna Be Your Dog
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This specific incident took place in Salmiya. [YouTube]
According to this article on Al Watan it looks like tints might be legalized. 30% tints would be allowed on all cars and all windows except for the front windshield.
I hope this happens since I love tints and I heart Huper Optik. I can’t imagine driving in the summer without a car tint anymore since a good tint makes HUGE difference. [Link]
Thanks Othman
Police in Kuwait are looking for a man who smashed a woman’s car after she ignored his attempts to draw her attention and to take his mobile number.
[Source]
