2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

I passed by this morning to the Concours d’Elegance to check out the cars but they wouldn’t let me in because they were closed. I managed to sneak in past the lax security but got caught inside and turned away. Turns out today they’ll only be opening at 7PM for VIPs only but I was told there might be a possibility that they’ll let the public in at 9PM. Below are some pictures of the cars that are on display around Marina Crescent and not in the main Concours area which is closed off from the rest of Marna Crescent.

Lightning McQueen and the other two characters from the Disney movie “Cars” are on display at the Marina Crescent fountain. They’ll be on display at Avenues next week but you can see them right now at Marina.

The incredible Porsche 959 is on display near Pizza Express all alone just like that. Most of the passerby’s will most likely think its just a regular Porsche and wonder why it’s being displayed there.

That’s the Ayrton Senna Williams car.

In the parking lot near Ayyame and Starbucks they have old police cars and fire engines on display. There is also a 4×4 display which includes a gigantic over sized H2 which I’ve actually seen being driven on the Gulf Road previously.

Also the picture on the very top of this post is their Muscle Car display. The whole area is closed off so you can only see the cars from a distance.

Blogger Qabaq was at last night’s Zagato worldwide launch event which was held at the Salwa Al Sabah Hall. Only 150 Zagato’s will be made and each will be priced at KD175,000 which is around $650,000. He took some pictures two of which I’ve posted but you can check out the rest on his twitter page [Here]

The Zagato will be on display at the Concours d’Elegance that’s taking place in Marina Crescent starting today.

Concours d’Elegance will start tomorrow and last for the next four days. I passed by tonight for a peek and it just looks amazing. Aston Martin have a HUGE display which will house the Zagato which was launched earlier tonight at the Salwa Al Sabah Hall. They have a ton of race cars this year including the Ayrton Senna Williams car.

I’m going back tomorrow since everything should be up and ready by then. Below is some information on the event:

Date: February 15th to the 18th
Time: 10:00AM – 10:00PM
Location: Marina Mall interior, Marina Crescent and Marina Lawn

Daily Events
15th – Muscle & Classic
16th – Supercars
17th – Kuwait Bike Show
18th – Enzo Ferrari Birthday (see below)

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. They will be on display inside Marina Mall.

Enzo Ferrari Birthday
On the last day of the event, Leonardo Fioravanti the designer behind some legendary Ferrari’s including the 365 GTB 4 “Daytona”, 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer, the 308 GTB and GTS as well as the 288 GTO and the F40 will be giving a lecture at the Concours. His lecture will be on the Ferrari F40 since it’s the F40′s 25th anniversary. The F40 is the last Ferrari he designed and a car many believe to be one of the greatest super cars ever made. Obviously there will also be a Ferrari F40 on display.

– The F40′s nemesis, the Porsche 959 will also be on display at the Concours.

– The first day of the event they’ll be displaying old government vehicles like the old police cars and ambulances etc..

– The last day of the Concours on the occasion of Enzo Ferrari’s birthday, over 150 Ferrari’s will get together at Marina Crescent and then drive towards the Kuwait Towers.

– The Alfa Romeo Bat 11 will be on display.

Now that’s a lucky person. All I wanted was a 1984 factory sealed Voltron set and Nat refused to get me it.

Thanks MSM

According to the website Box News, the Ministry of Health is withdrawing the smoking ban a day after the law got passed because it would be impossible implement. This has to be a joke. Why don’t they give it a shot and try it out for more than half a day before giving up? [Link]

I’m upset. Can we also cancel the ban on running red lights and the ban on speeding since those two seem impossible to implement as well…

Update: I just found two things: 1) I shouldn’t rely on Google Translate and 2) it’s not actually a complete withdrawal of the ban as I had understood from the article. The ban is still in place for public places like airports, malls, restaurants etc.. but now does not apply to shisha cafe’s, hotels and other designated areas. This actually makes more sense since I was actually against the idea of banning smoking at shisha cafes. I’ve gone ahead and amended the post title. I am no longer upset.

One of my goals in life is to one day end up in WIRED Magazine so I’m kinda jealous these guys got in before me. I guess my flavored banak idea isn’t WIRED worthy. Anyway back to the subject. WIRED has a feature in their latest print and online issue on the new Stars of Science Arab reality show. I haven’t watched the show but the article features the final 5 and includes local inventor Mohammed Al-Rifai who created a steam iron robot. You can read the article online on WIRED’s website [Here]

Kuwaiti is aiming to double its tourist arrivals to one million by 2015 as it seeks to boost its tourism infrastructure to attract more leisure travelers, said the organisers of an upcoming travel expo in Dubai. [Source]

Ummm what tourists??

Have you gotten your loved one a Shani today?

Brake Banzeen visited the McLaren showroom in Shuwaikh and took some great photos of the Senna Formula 1 car. Check out his shots [Here]

Two Kuwaiti guys have created an iPhone game called Negooshi which revolves around a kid who takes revenge on some school bullies by using a slingshot. I found the controls a bit difficult to use and the menu system hard to navigate and understand but I liked the Kuwaiti voice overs and the fact that the game is localized. If you’re interested, Negooshi costs $1.99 and is available in the iPhone store right now. [Link]

Just read on Gulf News that “Kuwait has banned smoking and shisha in all public places, including airports, cafes, restaurants, shopping centres and recreational areas.” I thought at first the law was against shisha only but it seems it’s against both smoking and shisha.

Now what’s confusing me is that in the same article it states that “Under the ban, cafes, restaurants and hotels have to allocate a secluded area for smokers.” Isn’t that basically how things are right now? [Source]

The team behind photo documentary Kuwait Invasion: The Evidence is now in the process of putting together another project but this time on the Free Kuwait Campaign and they need your help.

In the coming weeks freekuwait.org.kw is going to be launched and they would like to hear from people who have videos of the Free Kuwait Campaign events that took place in London from August 1990 through February 1991. If you have anything please contact them on [email protected]

This is another important archiving project and whatever you have will prove to be very valuable in preserving this period of Kuwait’s history.

The Historical, Vintage and Classic Cars Museum have a new driving school for children. I haven’t been there yet but looking at the picture above and video below makes me want to take a ride there myself since it reminds me of Efta7 Ya Simsim. I’m currently getting more information on this and once I have more details will update this post. The commentary on the video is hilarious.

[YouTube]

Update: I managed to get more information on this driving school. The school is for free and all you need to do is register for it. Once you register you then have to take a written test of all the road signs. Once you pass that test you take the test drive and if you pass the test they give you a license (not a real driving license of course).

Thanks BuZaid and Zak

An Ayrton Senna Formula 1 car is currently on display at the McLaren showroom in Kuwait. The McLaren showroom was just recently launched in Kuwait and the video below is of one of the cars being driven into the showroom. They’re located at the BMW and Range Rover dealership in Shuwaikh.

[YouTube]

Thanks K

Wonderland from Zero Film Festival on Vimeo.

Looks like a Kuwaiti version of Alice in Wonderland. I’m intrigued.