The Middle East is forced to feel content with the 360 hp Chevy-badged Lumina SS, but its Australian maker is really having some fun with it for the domestic market. The 400 hp HSV versions of the Commodore (aka Lumina) sedan were released a year ago in Australia, but this is the first time they have unveiled the HSV version of this Holden Ute pickup derivative, named the HSV Maloo R8.
Yep, Dubai Police has taken delivery of 101 BMW 5-Series cars, half of which will be used as patrol cars. They are a good step up from the Mercedes-Benz C-classes, Toyota Fortuners and Nissan Pathfinders the cops keep trolling around in already.
The Jaguar X-Type was always considered a joke since the day it was released. It drives well enough, it looks great, and it even improved its reliability record over the years. But its price combined with the fact that it is simply a reworked Ford Mondeo was enough to spell disaster for what was supposed to be Jag’s volume model. Unlike the S-Type-to-XF transformation, the X-Type gets a minor refresh to keep it going until it is killed eventually.
To give our lumbering Infiniti QX56 some company this Eid, we also got a brand new GMC Acadia as a little brother. Except that the “little one” is also pretty big and likes to park in the adult parking lot. It’s a good thing and a bad thing that parking is free during the holidays. Good because I don’t have to shell out more money to the RTA. Bad because every cheap nincompoop will now come out of the woodwork and fill up the limited spaces.
We were supposed to pick up an Infiniti FX for this Eid-Al-Fitr, so it was a surprise when we were handed the keys to the QX56. Confusing letters aside, we never drove it before, and it is going to be an interesting exercise driving what it possibly the largest passenger vehicle that isn’t a bus. Less obnoxious than the Hummer H2, but still quite a bit longer, it is at least easy to drive.
Shelby Supercars (SSC), manufacturer of the exotic Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo which recently blazed its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘World’s Fastest Production Car’, will be present at the 2007 Dubai Motor Show.
Subaru has unveiled the new STI version of the redesigned Impreza WRX. It is powered by a 2.0-litre boxer-four with a twin-scroll turbo mated to a 6-speed manual. SI-DRIVE, multi-mode Drivers Control Center Differential (DCCD) and Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) are also standard.
Whoever handles the marketing for Peugeot in this country is doing a really good job of keeping secrets. We went about town to look at a used 206 GTI (for use as a benchmark car), and the owner told us he had already ordered a 207 RC last month. So we go to Peugeot’s UAE dealer website and, amazingly enough, the whole 207 model range and prices are posted.
Lexus has released the high-performance 2008 IS F in Japan. The IS F’s 5.0-litre V8 engine is derived from the Lexus LS600h engine, and makes 417 hp at 6600 rpm and 504 Nm of torque at 5200 rpm. It also has the 8-speed automatic transmission from the LS, but programmed to shift quicker, taking as little as 100 ms to shift gears using the paddle shifters.
Already revealed as a coupe, the BMW M3 was known to have a sedan and convertible bodystyle in the works too. And now, the 414 hp M3 sedan has just been unveiled.