Abu Dhabi is a land rich in things of automotive interest. Lots of money in the region makes for an interesting mix of cars on the roads and Yas Marina Circuit offers a wide variety of recreational activities related to racing of which we have participated in two. The first was part of the 'Arrive and Drive' session at the Kartzone at the circuit. The Winner family showed up at the kart track after a leisurely brunch at the Yas Hotel. We shared the track with a dad and his daughter so we were only 6 karts total - not a very big field. The girls had a good time although Mackenzie's lap times fell a bit after a pretty good job of trying to drive through a barrier along the track. Before taking the track there is a safety briefing where we were told no bumping or unsafe driving and the other dad (English nationality) made a comment about "This is not like NASCAR". I retorted that let's hope it is not like F1 or there will be no passing. We got out on the track and I passed that guy twice. NASCAR - 1, Formula 1 - 0.
The following weekend we went to the circuit for an Australian series called V8 Supercars. The closest thing we have to that is Nascar. There were lots of activities including a skate boarding exhibition. The girls got a chance to meet the number one skate boarder Tony Hawk and get his autograph. They were heavily fired up about that. Before the race we had the chance to walk down pit lane and meet the drivers. The girls got as many autographs as possibible - even though we have no idea who they are. Even so, it was very nice to have that kind of access to drivers and check out the pit garages close up. The race was incredibly loud and it was a good thing we had ear plugs. We did not stick around for the Eric Clapton show that was held at Ferrari World after the race.
I occasionally go for a jog around 5:30am in the morning along the corniche. This is not a particularly active time on the streets but a few times I get an interesting vehicular encounter. More than once I have seen these two cars racing up and down the corniche - a Lamborgini Gallardo and a modified Dodge Challenger. Great sounding cars at wide open throttle and dang fast. I have also seen (really more hear than see) a Jeep SRT-8 and a BMW X5 M racing at this time of day. Both have gorgeous sounding V8s and are burning in to triple digit speeds between the traffic signals. I, of course, love it.
For Mackenzie's birthday we went to a plaza along the corniche so the kids could rent little three wheel bikes and race around. In a matter of about 10 minutes I saw a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Lamborgini Gallardo, a Jeep SRT-8 and a sweet Harley. All except the Harley gave it full throttle when leaving the light! 10 minutes!
We have two Shisha bars very close to the apartment. These cater to the local population and here are a few cars I have seen in the parking lot - Lamborgini Murcialago and Gallardo, Mercedes SLS (the new gullwing), Ferrari 360, 458 and 599, Audi R8 V8's and V10's, Corvette ZR-1, about all the AMG Benz products and M products from BMW. There is also a small contingent of custom choppers that show up. It is always a nice display of cars down there.
I also get a good automotive aural experience while sitting on my balcony. The folks with the fancy cars frequently accelerate away from the stop light at full throttle. The Italian V8's, V10's and V12's all have a great higher pitched wail while the german V8 and V12 ground pounders have a deep bellow. American iron is also well represented - Corvettes, Camaro's, Mustangs (GT's and GT500's) Challengers, Jeep SRT-8's, CTS-V's all have a good old yankee sound. And many of the cars get additional modifications so they sound even better. The loud cars bug Adrienne but I love it.
We also had a Ferrari/Maserati dealer open up a block away. I go over and peer through the window about once a week. About three weeks ago a blue Ferrari California appeared on the showroom floor. A few days later it showed up in the parking garage downstairs. Yikes - that's what I call a transporation allowance.
Here are two radical cars seen on the streets of Abu Dhabi. A Bugatti Veyron and a KTM X-Bow. Look them up if you don't know what they are. One is radical in terms of price the other in terms of extreme design - both in terms of exclusivity.
My own cool automotive experience occured yesterday. We went on a picnic about an hour away in the desert. This was my first opportunity to fully utilize my 4-wheel drive for some dune bashing on the way back to the picnic spot. We even let the girls have a go in the e
Abu Dhabi is certainly a car lovers paradise.
Editor's Note: My favorite Abu Dhabi car image is a fancy orange Lamborgini (John says it was a LP-640) being driven by a woman in a full abaya and burka. The image of the car is saying "look at me" while the woman in the abaya is saying "don't look at me".
