This is tuner-outfit Raw Performance’s Honda S2000 engine-swapped with a modified “2JZ” motor, racing against a Toyota Supra built by Majestic Motorsports. If you’re up-to-date with your engine codes, you’d know that the “2JZ” is actually the same engine that lies under the bonnet of the Supra as standard. Considering that the S2000 is a much lighter car, the results are expectedly crazy.
The fourth annual all-day off-road event, Nissan Xplore UAE, organised by Arabian Automobiles in association with ENOC Lubricants, was held on 9th March 2012. Participants of all sorts, including expert off-road enthusiasts, amateur learners, families, and some even with children queued up for the rough-ride adventure.
It isn’t often that we get to fly to other countries to test-drive a car. So it was doubly interesting that our only fully-sponsored foreign trip of the year involves the 2012 Isuzu D-Max pickup truck. At the Bahrain Formula 1 circuit no less.
We thought it was impossible, but someone apparently managed to spin a Nissan GT-R, and that too on a drag strip. We have no idea how the grippiest car ever engineered can do that, unless severely messed with.
Kia, besides its sister-concern Hyundai, has been in a phase of rapid evolution over the past few years, rolling out several new models which are far superior than their predecessors and strong contenders to the current competition. One such new vehicle from the stables of Kia, is the all-new 2012 Kia Optima. First introduced in the UAE through an official media drive-event during late 2010, the new Optima has managed to gain respectable popularity in the mid-size segment solely due to factors such as affordability, build quality, value for money and visually-appealing designs. Nevertheless, it is still underrated when it comes to comparisons against its overpriced Japanese competitors.
We’re not quite sure of the order of the words in its name, but the short version is we finally got to drive a Mini Coupe, in Cooper S trim no less.
For the British carmaker Jaguar, this week marks the most important day along their journey. After decades of being in the hiding, the leaping-cat is making a comeback into the competitive arena through historic motorsports, giving birth to the Jaguar Heritage Racing programme.
There are a lot of stereotypes floating around about “which is the best offroader” when it comes to dune-bashing. Many automatically say “Toyota Land Cruiser” or “Nissan Patrol”, with a few naive ones even adding in “Jeep Wrangler” and “Land Rover Defender”, generally by people who’ve never been off-road in anything more than a desert-safari ride. The truth is there is no such thing as the “best offroader”. But if we were to make a list, we’d put the Nissan Xterra Off Road edition above any of the aforementioned trucklets.
The slow-selling GMC Terrain crossover has no place in a truck-centric brand, but it is here to stay, and the girlified line-up expands further with the 2013 GMC Terrain Denali.
Last week, we drove the 2012 Lexus LX 570. A couple of years ago, we drove the 2010 Lexus LX 570. And four years ago, we drove the 2008 Lexus LX 570. So what has changed over the last four years?