/Middle East Madness

Middle East Madness

arab1 at Middle East Madness

There’s so much oil in the Middle East, apart from the vast sums of money it injects into their economy, it seems the fumes have gone to their heads too. You don’t often consider this part of the world when you think of motor sport or petrol heads, but believe me, they are car mad, insane and downright crazy. Put it this way, you’ll never hear the phrase, “That can’t be done,” in Oil Land.

arab2 at Middle East Madness

Take drifting, for example, a sport that is about as extreme as it gets in pushing a car to its limits – whilst the rest of the globe are happy shredding tyres and sliding sideways, the Arabs feel that high speed mixed with oncoming traffic is needed to take it to the next level. It doesn’t matter if you are a sheik and own an entire race team either, as most of the lunacy takes place in normal economy cars… oh, and don’t forget the automatic gunfire; you can’t have fun without that.

arab3 at Middle East Madness

Meanwhile, in quieter parts of the Middle East (if they exist at all), you may like to take some time out from the Near Death Drift Experience by petting your pet Lion, Tiger or Cheetah. You may even wrestle with them and let them climb all over your supercar for that perfect Instagram moment. Or how about taking your Cheetah out for a spin on your speedboat?

arab4 at Middle East Madness

Humaid Albuqaish does just that, and having managed to gain half a million online fans and followers, it becomes clear these cats are more than just status – he adores them and they reciprocate by playfully hugging him and posing on his car collection. Those stripes don’t go with that Bentley shade of green though.

arab5 at Middle East Madness

Whilst Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches are out of most people’s reach and are considered luxurious supercars by nearly all, a wealthy Arab sees them as just daily drivers. To make a Ferrari “super” it really needs to stand out; being a Ferrari just isn’t enough.

arab6 at Middle East Madness

Pictured above is Iraqi kickboxing world champion Riyadh Al-Azzawi’s Ferrari 458 Spider. The champ was spotted blinded on a London street when he parked up to do a bit of shopping. What’s a £4000 gold wrap to an Iraqi world champion?

arab7 at Middle East Madness

If you haven’t seen this celebrity craze of vinyl wrapping supercars, here’s a picture of Justin Bieber’s Fisker Karma… hmm, I think you either love or hate this look.

arab8 at Middle East Madness

As the name suggests, vinyl wrapping is no different than applying an enormous sticker to your car. This method is a lot cheaper than chrome paint and a lot more durable too. Also, if you’re Justin Bieber and you feel like wrapping your Audi R8 in a lovely big cat print, you can simply peel off the chrome and add the stylish and sophisticated animal print wrap.

arab9 at Middle East Madness

So the next time you see Ken Block tearing around an airfield or Vaughn Gittin Jr drifting a V8 Mustang, just remember those crazy people from Oil Land who think cars should be driven on two wheels.

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(Journalist) – James is a published fiction and article writer from London (UK) with a serious penchant for Ferrari F1, anything with an engine, and English Pointers.