Author Archives: JP Zakher

Final Red Bull Car Park Drift in Jeddah

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Red bull car park driftThe Final Red Bull Car Park Drift is happening tonight at 9pm (beirut time) at Corniche al Hamra in Jeddah. You can watch the event LIVE by clicking on the video below. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, It’s a huge and pure drifting event in which the participants must drift as much as possible from start to finish. The finalists will be selected with regards to several criteria like the amount of smoke generated by the car, its noise,its beauty and the length of the drift. For the Final in Jeddah, qualified drifters coming from around the KSA will be participating. There will be drifting shows by Red Bull athlete Abdo Feghali (who broke the record of the longest vehicle drift) and Mad Mike (a video of his Mad work will be released soon, stay tuned). The Lebanese edition of the Red Bull Car Park Drift is scheduled to July. Ill make sure to cover this amazing event once it reaches our borders 😉 Looking forward.

RedBull Carpark Drift

Citroën C3 with Pure Tech engine.

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Citroen C3 dogsThe Citroen C3 is a small 4 door hatchback cheap and economical.  It’s the company’s biggest-selling small car. It has a 1.6 118bhp engine, not fuel hungry at all and very silent. It is its economical aspect that is being advertised in this commercial. Its PureTech engine, will give you 250 extra kilometers of driving. The ad is very simple, romantic and straight to the point. I personally hate the C3. Sitting in it you feel trapped in box full of plastic. As compared to its fellow super mini cars in the range, I would rather get a Ford Fiesta that costs approximately the same and is powered by a similar engine, but looks so much better inside and outside. It even has an Aston Martin look-alike front grill. How awesome is that!

Porsche 911 Turbo S 2014

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Porsche Turbo 2014On this 40th anniversary Porsche is now presenting the technological and dynamic performance peak of the 911 series, the new generation 911 Turbo and Turbo S. At the heart of the new Turbo is a rear-mounted, turbocharged, 3.8-liter flat-six engine, making use of twin, variable-turbine-geometry turbos. For the standard Turbo, the result is 520 horsepower, allowing it to achieve 0-100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. Not quick enough you say? You can opt for the S version with 560 hp, and a 0-100 km/h in just 2.9 seconds. A PDK, 7 speed dual clutch transmission will be the only transmission responsible to drive the ponies to the road. (manual won’t be available).

Porsche-911_Turbo_S_2014_FrontFor an even faster and more precise power distribution to the two axles, Porsche developed a new all-wheel drive system (PTM) with electronically controlled and activated multi-plate coupling which is water-cooled and can drive higher levels of torque to the front wheels. The new Turbo is equipped with a rear-wheel steer system that consists of two electro-mechanical actuators that allow for a 2.8-degrees of rear-wheel steering, and improved steering response and turn-in. For added down-force, Porsche developed an active aerodynamic system,  “Porsche active aerodynamics (PAA)”, a first for Porsche. It consists of a retractable three-stage front spoiler, whose segments can be pneumatically extended, and a rear wing with three adjustable wing positions.

Porsche-911_Turbo_S_2014_RearEven though I always hated the “homogeneity” of the 911 range, this new Turbo is looking good, very good indeed. It obviously looks like the new Carrera but yet it feels very special, very different from it. Porsche have finally created a Turbo that deserve its name, a Turbo that is not just a more powerful of Carrera but a “range” on its own. When Bugatti has been using Active Aerodynamics for more than 5 years now, it would have been a shame for the new Turbo to not be equipped with such a system that is very effective on such high performance cars. The “Turbo S” writing on the front spoiler is such a sexy detail. The tail pipes remind me of the ones being uses on all of Mercedes AMG models. Right? Looking forward to seeing this beauty fill our Lebanese streets like its older sister did.

Renault Clio Sport, “Speed Dating”

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Clio RS Speed DatingWho said that speed dating was only about about dating? I present to you, Caroline, a young, sexy and charming woman driver. She doesn’t have the same concept of “speed dating” as others. That’s why a big surprise awaits her contenders. Even the most macho among them. The date happens in a 2013 Clio RS going insanely fast along a frozen track. The new RS is juiced by a turbocharged 1.6, 197bhp and 177lb ft of torque engine equipped with a dual-clutch transmission. This new engine really pissed the Clio purists that were used to the old 2.0 revvy, normally aspirated engine. More over, the fact that it is only available with that automatic transmission made them even more angry. Renault is trying to move on from that “the French automatic gear boxes are bad” stereotype by developing that new Dual Clutch gear box. Well they are not quite there yet. Some tiny little rumours say that a special “purist” edition will be released soon to make everyone happy. I’ll be watching that very closely.

Maria Sharapova, Porsche’s New Ambassador

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Maria Sharapova in PorscheMaria Sharapova (in the driver seat), the 26 years old No. 2 women’s tennis player in the world, has just signed a three year contract with Porsche as their new global brand ambassador. “Maria Sharapova is an exceptional athlete. She combines top performance in her sports with elegance and power. These are precisely the qualities that are embroiled in our sports cars,” explained Matthias Mueller (in the passenger seat) , CEO of Porsche AG. Porsche has always been a brand for man. The choice of the gorgeous Sharapova is a quite a chock. Well I think she brings a light, beautiful, fresh and sporty image to Porsche. If you have any thought on the matter feel free to leave it in the comments below.

Maria Sharapova Porsche Ambassador

BMW 1M, Perfect Balance

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P90069711The 1 Series M Coupé is not like other 1 Series models. It is not just a remapped version of the 135i as you would expect it. It is a proper M car. For a start it uses the suspension, the brakes, the wheels and the sport limited slick differential of the BMW M3. They have then been specially modified for use in this car. Think of it as having all of the best bits of the M3, but with more than 100 kg less mass to carry around. This baby M is equipped with the 3-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine of the Z4 sports car delivering 332hp at 5,900 rpm and 332lb/ft of torque (370 lb/ft available in over-boost mode) which sounds respectable but by no means exceptional for an M-car.

P90069707You would be surprise, its 50:50 weight balance, perfectly advertised in the video below, allow it to be as fun if not more fun to drive than its bigger sister, the M3. The M botton available on the steering wheel releases the exhaust and sharpens the throttle response. Small, compact and with its muscular wheel arches it is one of my favorite cars. A perfect M car targeted to a young generation. I just love the fact that it is only available with a proper manual gear box. A transmission that has been available for decades and won’t grow old over time, the better driver you are the faster you can shift gears. The interior is sporty and at the same time classy for everyday use. The alcantara, red stitches and M badges accentuates the fact that it is an M car. I just have a small problem with its name. Why wasn’t it called simply the M1? With an M1 badge at the back. Well other than that It is by far my favorite BMW.

Ferrari FF Joins The Dubai Police Patrol Cars

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lamborghini-aventador-lp-700-4-police-car--image-dubai-policeThe Italian police have always been famous for owning the fastest patrol cars in the world, two Gallardo LP560-4, to chase the most outlaw street racers. A couple of weeks ago they were dethroned by the Dubai police department announcing the arrival of an LP 700-4 Aventador patrol car. The tweet by Dubai Police HQ stated “Latest #Dubai_Police patrols, now at your service,” with it was attached the pic of the Aventador equipped with a police siren. The pic was taken in front of the Dubai Mall, the world’s biggest shopping center. Well the “at your service” part of the tweet is not exactly true, this 700hp supercar’s function is just to cruise in tourist areas to impress foreign travelers and give a “classy” and “wealthy” image of Dubai. For car chases, the Dubai Police has at its disposal a couple of brand new Chevy Camaro, an american muscle car that is powerful enough and not that expensive to repair.

72331887Like all that was mentioned above wasn’t impressive enough, the Dubai Police Station just announced the arrival of a new supercar to the patrol team, a 6.3-liter V12, 651hp Ferrari FF. I suspect that the Ferrari, like the Aventador, won’t be used to chase wealthy Dubai citizen that decided to have some fun with their supercars. Instead the FF will be used to cruise around crowded and tourist areas to impress the foreigners. At a time when the biggest part of the world is going through a financial crises, Dubai strikes once again with another impressive spending, adding another achievement to their “Most Impressive in the World” collection.

B.J. Baldwin in the MonsterEnergy 850hp Trophy Truck.

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M3 girl“Most companies spend their money on ad agencies, TV commercials, radio spots, and billboards to tell you how good their products are. Instead, we support the scene, our bands, our athletes and our fans!” – Monster. Following the series of Ken Block’s mind blowing videos, (which you can access by clicking here) Monster presents their new mascot, B.J. Baldwin, trophy truck pilot and stuntman. Baldwin takes the 850-horsepower, 34-inches suspension, 150 mph top speed Monster Energy Trophy Truck for a spin, jumps over a Nissan GT-R, picks up a hot chick, and ruins the photoshoot of a BMW M3 by covering it with sand. He’s destination, Aria hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada for a date. Add to that a couple of drifts, and slow-motion shots and you got yourself the perfect recipe for a million views youtube video. Monster Energy, I salute you for sponsoring those amazing, crazy, professional athletes. Special thanks to Wael Makarem for sharing the video with TheAdsGarage.

The Best Of April’s Fool Day Jokes

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258025On the 1st of April Nissan presented the faster toaster of all times, the Nissan Sandwich Toast-R. Following the development of the GT-R and the Juke-R, this Toast-R with a turbo light, “blasts sandwiches from 0-to-grilled in 2.9 seconds.” Nissan adds to the Facebook-based prank “Lunchtime just got a whole lot faster,” If only it did actually exist…

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You most probably heard that Corvette released their wonderful Stingray, a 6.2 liters V8, 450hp and 450lb-ft of torque supercar. Corvette realized that the car wasn’t adequate, if you loved the Stingray, you could afford only one car and you had children. Their solution, the AeroWagonette, a small wagon extension that can fit up to 3 kids. This provide an amazingly “screamless” and silent ride for the parents. In case the kids are being turbulent, initial tests have proven that the Scared Straight and Scared S**tless technique to be particularly effective.

April-Fools-6-625x625MINI presents the world’s speediest dating service, as part of the the Connected Drive system a new app called “Connect Us” locates other Mini drivers within range, and connects them together. The app compares and identifies matches (via the Mini Driving Excitement Analyzer) depending on their driving style, the way they treat the accelerator, steering wheel and brakes. MINI states that it is “a matchmaker that goes beyond personal interests, favorite activities and how you like to spend your free time – and gets down to finding the compatible co-driver for the journey of love”.

258027Safety has always been the number one priority of Volvo. They have built their entire company image around it and are famous for it. They used this reputation to fool the readers and reveal to the world their “external car-enveloping airbag”. The first airbag entirely designed to protect your car from the outside. It is made up of a small container built into the car’s roof containing a folded-in, vacuum-pulled balloon that instantly unfolds to envelope the car in the case of an unavoidable collision.

April-Fools-3In order to keep the baby of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge safe, BMW has designed a limited-edition P.R.A.M. – a Postnatal Royal Auto Mobile. This PRAM comes with a Nurse-Assisting Petrol Powered Injection Engine (N.A.P.P.I.E), active aerodynamics, low rolling-resistance tires, a/c and a paparazzi-proof hood making sure that the baby prince and the other VIB (very important babies) have a safe trip around the park.

Jaguar commercial: The XKRS-GT

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Jaguar-XKR-S_GT_2014Jaagg is going mad at the New York motorshow. Presenting the fastest Jag to ever hit the streets, an XKRS with two extra letters: GT. These two additional letters transformed the regular XKRS into a wind slicer. The front-end gets a new carbon-fibre splitter, along with carbon winglets, venting in the bonnet, a carbon fibre diffuser and a fixed rear wing, which contributes to a maximum 145kg of downforce.

Jaguar-XKR-S_GT_2014_HoodThe standard XKR-S’s drivetrain remains, with a 542bhp and 680Nm of torque 5-litre supercharged V8 driving the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic gearbox. The mix of the carbon fiber aerodynamics parts and the supercharged V8 result in a 0-100km/h in 3.9 sec instead of 4.2 sec. This bullet is not only the fastest jag but also the first to be equipped with carbon ceramic brakes. The wheel-arch have been extended for improved air flow and superior brake cooling.

Jaguar-XKR-S_GT_2014_rearIt would really be awkward going to the office in such a car. It is definitively not suitable for daily use but would be perfect for a Sunday drive. With its modified Eibach springs the ride won’t be very comfortable specially on our beloved Lebanese roads. But who cares about comfort when you have a car with a massive rear spoiler at the back, some mustaches at the front and yellow brake calipers in the middle. The commercial reminds me of the XFRS one which you can access by clicking here. The only difference is that this car is advertised as a track car (which it sort of is) rather than a road car. It is what I call a typical “roaring around the circuit” commercial.