This is probably one of the funnest racing events I have been to yet, a very large selection of very scary machines on the track with a lot of surprises. Prepping these machines for the track takes time but it will pay off when you abuse the hell out of it on the track, and some of them perform smoothly, and some just can’t take the abuse. There were a few machines didn’t finish all the events, but I loved how pumped up everyone was.
I enjoyed the Outer Circuit & GP Circuit a lot, I was going around and the outer circuit and I can tell when my brakes give out. A few hot laps, then one cool down, and then I left the car cool down for about 20 minutes before hitting the track again. The Audi R8s were out to kill, these guys abused the hell out of their machines and GT3RS’s were extremely competitive this time around. Then there were the GTRs, these beasts are scary on the track, they hold well on the corners and take off on the straight line, the Japanese knew how to build them. The surprise is always with the Mitsubishi Evolution, you have no clue what they are going to do and this time around they more then performed, it was impressive. Black & Yellow Evo’s stood out the most.
At the end of the day we are all exhausted and go to the Sofitel where about 90% of the drivers are staying so we practically took over the hotel. You find drivers in the lobby & restaurants, its a lot of fun getting together with everyone like that, and then there were a few guys who brought their motorcycles. Personally I wish I had my bike with my but I don’t have the time at all to ride around town, too many things to do and to take care off, and after the meal all I want to do is pass the hell out.
Next day on the GP Circuit was a lot of fun, I loved those corners and I have to admit it does drive me nuts when another car passes me. Still I catch up with them on the straight, but this year it was different. This year it was another level of machines, a 500 bhp car is not as impressive as it used to be there are scarier machines with tuned suspension to attack the track, its not all about the engine. I for one enjoyed abusing the scooter around the track.
Agent Hobbs enlists the aid of Dom and team to help bring a rival gang, led by Owen Shaw, to justice. In exchange for clear records, they must put an end to their schemes, no matter how personal the cost.
I can NEVER get tired of a Fast & Furious movie, and they just keep making it better. Loved the First One, then Tokyo Drift became my favorite, and then they got very serious with Fast Five and it was bad ass, and now Fast & Furious 6 looks to top Fast Five with the crazy action and driving scenes and bring the story around. I love that they keep bring it back, I love these movies, after watching any of them I think that I am a get away driver who can do anything, just watching the trailer gets me pumped up.
Now this mean looking machine looks even better as a roadster, I really like the Aventador, it is an Italian marvel. The roadster version looks really good, gives it this sexy look. They shut down the highways for this parade, plus they took one runway from the Miami Airport and took off down the runway, now thats something that I want to try.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yGh1efQp4s?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
This is a video from the creative guys of 360 Dewan, it is unreal, it got my blood pumping. Cars have already started rolling into Bahrain, people started flying and driving in. I can’t wait until it starts, there are a lot of scary machines on the track. People are still prepping their cars to the last moment, its going to be exciting I can’t wait to get it started.
Check out the amazing post & full post at 360Dewan
I always look forward to the Car Show in 360 Mall, I have participated in all of them and spending most the weekend there is pretty entertaining. It also helps that Open Flame Kitchen is right there, so we had lunch and dinner there pretty much every day, and breakfast and Laduree which is really good. This time around the guys were even more organized then before, cars were put in efficiently, and it was quickly done, then they started setting up the lights and all the other stands to get things going for the Car Show.
What I love about it is the unique machines that are placed there and the number amazing machines. The funny part is that there are about 20 more machines that aren’t placed there because there isn’t enough space but I still liked the selection. I do love seeing those KTM XBows they look like they came out Batman’s cave, very cool looking machines. I picked up a few GR hoodies this year since they were flying off the racks, and got all my GR ID’s and gear. I’m curious to see how the McLaren MP4-12C & Italia 458 do on the track since they are known as track machines. But there are also a lot of heavily modified Japanese Machines so we shall see how that goes. Also one of the best part of the car show is seeing the reaction of the kids, some of them really thought the XBow as the Batmobile, and they either like specific brands or they love specific colors. The Black Nissan GTR with the Red rims attracted a lot of people and especially kids.
The beast that was parked on its own requires to be mentioned, an Underground Racing LP1500-4, heavily modified suspension and brakes, this is far from a normal machine and it even sounds scary when you start it up. This is the first time I have seen a Gallardo with a roll cage built into it, you can’t tell by looking at it, only when you open it up. It is an excellent piece of machinery.
The best part now to GulfRun is coming up, Bahrain International Circuit from the 24th until the 25th of January. Lets just hope all the machines make it there, its going to be quite a scene to see all these machines on track. Usually I take it easy when I start but that isn’t always the case, but lets hope I get some good timings on the track.
This is when all the normal super cars turn into race cars, there is something about designing the stickers and placing them all over the cars in the right spots that just make them look faster. The best thing about GulfRun is that they get the permits required so you can drive your car on the road with these stickers, and a permission letter from the Ministry of Interior, but there are always a few idiotic cops to deal with.
Thursday night the cars piled up, it seemed like it was a challenge between the Nissan GTRs and the Porsche GT3s, and all of us are caught in between. This year there were two Challenger SRT8s, I know some people don’t think they are track cars, but they cool look and I bet the guys driving them will have a lot of fun. Now for my unexpected challenge is the appearance of a new 2013 BMW M6, I want to see how this will turn out between the two of us, the challenge has been accepted by the owner so I’m going to have something interesting to challenge on the track.
AS usual the staff at Al Falah Car Wash were quick handling over 40+ cars and getting them arranged ready for the stickers. And the sticker guys were all over the machines, quick and efficient as usual. The only major thing I did for GulfRun was to switch out my tires and check the brakes, I won’t be pushing too much but I won’t be beat that easily too. Just writing this gets me excited, can’t wait to get to the track.
Every man should drive or at least ride in this car in his life time. There is just a an insane thrill when it accelerates and it is a bundle of fun on the road. The Ariel Atom is known for being a very fun car to drive, and now with these improvements they have just modernized it a bit and given the engine a nice bump.
This crazy-fast ride still has the 2.0L 245 hp engine found in the Atom 3 but there’s now a supercharged variant with 310hp. It has projector headlamps, LED signals, a stiffer chassis and improved suspension. I especially like the modified lights, it looks clean, and I bet its a ton of fun on the road.
You just won’t believe this was done by amateurs, and I know it takes a lot of skill to control those cars like they did. It really does look as good as a blockbuster movie, and I loved that all the cop cars were corvettes. RC Helicopter just took it over the top, very cool.
The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is the 740-horsepower replacement for the 620-hp 599 GTB. But they put it against the best of the last breed and both the 599 GTO and the F12 are beautiful machines. 661 bhp 599 GTO vs the F12 740 bhp, and damn they looked good. The point was to see how well the newest in the line of Ferrari’s front-engined V12s stood up against the highest and hardest-edged iteration of the last. Italians know how to make their machines.
Its events like these that I do love and enjoy, for the first time in Kuwait I see a tuning event at this level. With Bumper2Bumper, GulfRun, and Top Speed Motors. Top Speed Motors is an Automotive Performance company who have experience modifying every type of Japanese, Italian, American, and German cars, they have been top winners in several races across the US, and from I have seen these guys know what they are doing. It was surprising to discover that a Dyno such as this even existed in Shuwaikh, I have heard of a few dynos in different garages but they were always in these quick fix garages and not the best setup. This is the first corporate company that I have seen that has its own Dyno, and GulfRun working with Bumper2Bumper they pulled off a very cool event.
They had a Nissan GTR on the Dyno which was getting tuned, and these guys at Top Speed Motors knew what they were doing. These guys working on several machines earlier in the week, they got another 80 bhp at the wheel for a modified ’12 Mercedes C63 and that thing is a beast. The event was taken over by the number of Nissan GTRs, and the one on the Dyno got some impressive numbers but I couldn’t remember because of the ringing in my ears from the crazy exhaust and the flames that came out of it.
They got a 2 Door CTS-V on the dyno which got a decent 585 bhp at the wheel and a very decent amount of torque. The whole event was a lot of fun, it felt like the precursor to GulfRun, a lot of people getting their cars tunned and tweaked. I was annoyed I didn’t take full advantage of these guys being here since my Beemer needs a bit of work, its been a while since anyone looked at the computer. But they were here only for a week and they were working on two cars a day from day to night to give each machine the right amount of attention, and they were extremely helpful with all the questions. It seems this may not be the last time that Bumper2Bumper, GulfRun, and Top Speed Motors