Fiat is apparently making a return to the GCC market, as evidenced at the 2009 Dubai Motor Show with the display of the Fiat 500. The new 500 has been trundling around in Europe for a couple of years now. Event photos by Faisal Khatib.
The 2009 Dubai Motor Show is running from the 16th to the 20th of December, featuring lots of glitzy luxury cars and tons of supercars, even though it was supposed to have a ‘green’ theme this year. A few international debuts also took place here, with the Kepler Motion, the Luxgen7 SUV, the Brabus GLK V12 and the Kia Cadenza being the notable ones. The number of local debuts is too numerous to list. Photos by Faisal “Energizer” Khatib.
Taiwanese carmaker Yulong, building cars since the 1950s for their own region, has started their international expansion, starting with the Luxgen line of vehicles in the GCC. Their first product here is the Luxgen7 MPV.
Honda is skipping the 2009 Dubai Motor Show, but that did not stop their UAE office from previewing new models for next year, at a press event in Dubai yesterday. The 2010 Honda Civic 5-door hatchback, Honda Civic Type-R hatchback and the Honda Accord Crosstour were displayed. Also launched were a range of original Mugen accessories.
Peugeot introduced three all-new models at a pre-launch event for the UAE, held on the occasion of the 2009 Dubai Motor Show. The Peugeot 308 CC convertible, the Peugeot 2008 crossover and the Peugeot RCZ coupe will go on sale in the GCC by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
A new equipment package for the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M from tuners G-Power. It consists of a widebody kit, suspension upgrade and a power increase to the tune of 600 hp.
With a top speed of 322.3 kph, German tuner Brabus claims that their new modified Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class crossover has set a new speed record for street-legal SUVs on an Italian high-speed test track in October. That’s because the exclusive special model is powered by a twin-turbo V12 engine. Incidentally, it will also makes its world debut at the 2009 Dubai Motor Show.
Honda will not be taking part in the 2009 Dubai Motor Show. However, they have chosen instead to showcase their upcoming GCC-spec models for next year at a press event next week. The new models consist of the marque’s funkiest models, in what looks like an attempt to inject some excitement into an otherwise boring UAE line-up of family cars.
The 2009 edition of the Dubai Motor Show will run from the 16th to the 20th of December, at the exhibition halls of the Dubai World Trade Centre. Numerous cars will be displayed for the first time in the UAE, with a handful of world premieres as well.
The Honda CR-X of the 1980s was a Civic-based hatchback-liftback-coupe combo that catapulted Honda’s status among compact sports cars, even if it was rather humble on the spec sheet. Honda has already announced the revival of the car as the CR-Z hybrid, with a concept version already shown at recent auto shows. The brochure for the production version has been leaked.