Where do you begin when trying to summarise arguably the toughest UAE automotive market on record, with Covid-19 forcing the world’s car factories to close from mid-March to mid-May?
Not a single car was sold in the UAE in April as showrooms were forced to stay closed during lockdown, which was replicated in neighbouring countries such as India, as well as across most of Europe and Asia.
Yet globally, more than 350 new models, facelifts and derivatives were still launched during the 10 months that the industry was open, so here are the 20 from 2020 that stood out for being exciting, innovative, much anticipated and / or hinting to an electric future in a distorted year.
Aston Martin DBX
This is Aston's first off-roader, and what a car it is. Designed from a clean sheet of paper, it doesn't compromise on anything, so offers loads of interior space, bespoke levels of comfort and, of course, rapid performance from its 4.0 twin-turbo V8.
Audi E-Tron
Audi's first all-electric car was launched to the world in Abu Dhabi and went on sale this year. It delivers 355 brake horsepower and 561Nm of torque for a top speed of 200 kilometres per hour and zero to 100kph in 6.5 seconds. Select boost mode and for eight seconds you get 402bhp and 660Nm, which cuts the 100kph dash to 5.7 seconds.
Audi S6
A bit of a sleeper among the sometime brash Euro luxury sportsters, the S6's subtle lines hide its impressive performance. A twin-turbo, 2.9 V6 delivers the same 444bhp as the old 4.0 V8 it replaced, but with less fuel and emissions. This is the thinking person's exec-express.
Bentley Bentayga
A mid-life update of Bentley's class-leading SUV introduced more than 1,000 modifications to maintain leadership in an expanding sector. With 20,000 units sold globally, it's an unequivocal success and a Middle East favourite, while some visual concerns from the first model have been sorted with this stylish makeover.
Bentley Continental GT
It's been a big year for Bentley for its two biggest models, with the Continental GT getting its first complete overhaul in 15 years. The 2020 model is lighter, stronger and faster thanks to help from sister company Porsche and, together with an important endurance race win in February, has cemented its place as a high-performance tourer.
BMW 4-Series
The important BMWs have always been from the smaller end of the pool with the 3-Series and 4-Series, so a new model is always newsworthy. Despite its many engineering advances, however, all the talk remains centred around that controversial nose. Officially launched, though yet to be seen on our roads, it’s taking a while for people to warm to BMW’s design overhaul.
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport
In a word, breathtaking, both in a metaphorical and literal sense. As if the quad-turbo, 1500bhp, 8-litre W12 hypercar couldn’t get any faster, Bugatti has trimmed 50 kilograms and shortened up the gear ratios to make its Chiron Pur Sport both lighter and faster in acceleration at the expense of top end. It now “only” does 350kph instead of 420, but gets from zero to 100 in just 2.3 seconds compared to 2.5.
Cadillac Escalade
It seems like the big Caddy has been around forever, but completely redesigned and packing new technology, this fifth-generation iteration includes Sport trim for the first time with black chrome and an all-new, first-class interior. On sale at the end of December, the order books are now open.
Chevrolet Corvette C8
They said it would never be done, but Chevrolet is challenging the Italians by making its latest Corvette mid-engined, giving it proportions and handling much closer to Ferrari with performance to match: 2.9 to 100kph from the Z51 makes this the quickest Stingray in history.
Ferrari F8 Spider
The F8 Spider continues a lineage that began with the 308GTS as a topless, mid-mounted, twin-turbo V8 which now produces a mind-bending 720bhp and hits 200kph in 8.2 seconds. It’s almost too fast for the road.
Ferrari Roma
A more elegant option if you want to carry passengers, the Roma uses a different version of the F8’s turbo V8. It harks back to Ferrari’s glory days of the 1960s with models such as the 250GT and is arguably nicest-looking Ferrari in 50 years.
Jeep Gladiator
Jeep doesn't do things by halves. The Gladiator looks like it ate a JL Wrangler and tacked it on the end. This beast is enormous and unbelievably capable off-road, as discovered first-hand in a flash flood where it powered through swollen rivers. It has a 620kg payload while a new five-link rear end lets it tow up to 2,720kg.
Land Rover Defender
Arguably the biggest launch of the year, the Defender is an emblem of UAE motoring, so replacing the 72-year-old original was never going to be easy. Fortunately, it handles the dunes better than any Land Rover to date and in more comfort than the previous model.
Maserati Ghibli Hybrid
The news is less about this specific model and more about Maserati's future as it heads down an electrified path starting with the Ghibli. Maserati's USP has been its V8 exhaust note, and that will go as EVs take hold. But for now, this Ghibli has a 48-volt alternator and electric supercharger to back its 2.0 turbo four-cylinder motor.
McLaren GT
Unlike the Ferrari Roma, McLaren's GT remains mid-engined with just two seats, so is it really a GT? Well, it has more luggage space than most GTs, provides better balance thanks to its engine being in the centre and was still comfortable after a long day's driving, so that's a yes.
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
A technological tour de force, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class looks like it will steamroll its competitors again as the benchmark luxury saloon. With its unrivalled comfort, chassis and performance, it adds the latest in connectivity and smart intelligence that will ensure it’s still relevant in 10 years.
Porsche Cayman and Boxster 4.0 GTS
This 4.0 GTS duo launched in February and keeps motoring fun with a six-speed manual and a beefy 395bhp, 4.0-litre, naturally aspirated, flat six-cylinder engine.
Porsche 911
Although revealed last year, the 992-gen 911 Carrera didn’t land until this year so it qualifies for this list. The 572bhp Turbo is now also with us, but we’ll stick with the entry Carrera that is still good for 282kph and 3.5 seconds to 100kph.
Porsche Taycan
Another Porsche, but this is the big one: the EV Taycan that has changed the game for luxury electric sports cars. Porsche says more than 50 per cent of its model range will be electrified by 2025.
Rolls-Royce Ghost
Like every Rolls-Royce, the new Ghost is big, comfortable and quiet except it's now also lighter, has four-wheel drive and rear-wheel steer. While the rest of the world changes, Rolls-Royce thankfully remains the same, albeit adjusting to a "post opulence" society.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
Facebook | Our website | Instagram
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Western Clubs Champions League:
- Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
- Friday, Sep 15 – Kandy v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Team Angel Wolf Beach Blast takes place every Wednesday between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
New Zealand 15
Tries: Laumape, J Barrett
Conversions: B Barrett
Penalties: B Barrett
British & Irish Lions 15
Penalties: Farrell (4), Daly
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
