BRIEFS

n NEW X5 IN GCCBMW’s latest genereation X5 is now available in the Middle East. On sale with a new facelift (although it’s hard to tell) and two new engines, each is mated to an eight-speed gearbox as standard. The twin-turbo straight six xDrive35i comes with 306bhp and costs $81,700, while the xDrive50i starts at $92,600 and has a 407bhp V8 under the bonnet.

n A MINI LEBANESE ADVENTURETwo half-Lebanese friends will set off on a road-trip across Lebanon in a Cooper S Cabriolet this month in a bid to discover their roots. Nicknamed ‘The No Nos’, Jordana Fawaz and Nour Samaha will start in Beirut and plan to visit their fathers’ villages, with stopovers in Tripoli, Hermel and Jezzine. ‘Nos nos’ is an Arabic term describing someone who is of half-Lebanese, half other origin.

n GEMBALLA SHUTGemballa is no more. We reported back in March that company head Uwe went missing in South Africa in mysterious circumstances and sadly, he’s still nowhere to be found. The famed German tuning company has been forced to close its doors after 30 years in operation. Details are still sketchy and read like a detective novel, but some reports suggest that Uwe was travelling to South Africa to find backers for a new Middle East/Africa branch.

e’re in the process of

restructuring,’ says Ali Salman,

Marketing Manager for Ultimate Motors. Though not yet gone, things have evidently not gone as well as hoped for the Dubai-based hypercar retailer.

Since setting up its showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road near Dubai Media City, one SSC Ultimate Aero has been sold, while other promising sales of the Zenvo ST1 failing to come to fruition. When we drove the intriguing Zenvo ST1 back in February (issue 036), it seemed interest was high, with several deposits being put down for the $1.2m 1089bhp Danish supercar. The Arash AF-10 that was set to arrive in the region in January is still undergoing final

TRYING TO HOLD ONIT’S BEEN A DIFFICULT 2010 FOR ULTIMATE MOTORS

injured.’ The showroom is now being

relocated to a more prominent spot on Sheikh Zayed Road and should open by this August.

Interestingly, Ultimate Motors is planning to ‘drop some brands and take on some new ones’. Salman doesn’t give away any hints, except for saying that the new cars ‘will be in the mid range’.

‘We’re now setting up a new showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road and we’re planning to spend the next three months recruiting and training more staff,’ said Salman.

Both Al Hai and Salman are optimistic about a speedy recovery and are looking forward to starting anew. Ultimate Motors will have a display at next year’s Top Marques supercar show in Abu Dhabi on January 19-22.

Serial local rally winner Nasser Al Attiyah has ventured into the

competitive world of European circuit racing by recording a class victory at the famed Nurburgring 24-hour race.

Driving a Bio Natural Gas-powered 325bhp VW Scirocco GT24-CNG, the Qatari driver won the category for alternatively-powered cars, coming ahead of two other identical factory

VWs and finishing 16th overall – a considerable feat, taking into account the 250 starters.

‘The 24-hour race was a completely new challenge for me,’ said Al Attiyah. ‘It was a little too cold for me – but it was quite simply a fantastic experience.’

Sharing the car with Al Attiyah were Vanina Ickx (daughter of F1 and sportscar legend Jacky), and Germans

Dieter Depping and Klaus Niedzwiedz. This year was the first time regulators introduced the alternative energy category to the Eifel race. Bio Natural Gas is made from biomass, raw materials and is claimed to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80 per cent.

Last month was the second time Al Attiyah was part of a VW podium lockout, coming second in the Dakar rally earlier this year in a race Touareg.

Rally drivers dabbling in road racing isn’t a new phenomenon. Past drivers to have similar goes at road racing, though with varying successes, include Stéphane Sarrazin, Carlos Sainz and Sébastian Loeb. Though Kimi Räikkönen has recently done the reverse, while two-wheel-expert Valentino ‘The Doctor’ Rossi also had a stab at it.

AL-ATTIYAH'S RING WINCLASS VICTORY IN GAS CAR FOR QATARI RALLY ACE

testing in the UK. Ultimate Motors also had plans

for an ‘Ultimate Café’ where customers would spend time, and even a GT race series in the Middle East. All will be put on hold for the time being. ‘The market is still suffering,’ comments Nasser Al Hai, President of Ultimate Motors. ‘And we’re still

The Zenvo ST1 wasn’t as big a hit as hoped

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‘W