What's truly surprising about BMW's incredible S1000RR superbike isn't that the once staid manufacturer produced such an overtly sporting motorcycle. Although the Bavarian Motoren Werke is best known for its "Boxer" flat twins - surely the fuddy duddiest of motorcycling engines, it has been creeping up on this high-performance mandate for quite some time - witness the K1200S, followed shortly by the even more powerful 1300 version.
Nor is it that the S1000RR's 999 cubic centimetre four is so powerful. It really shouldn't be that big a surprise, since BMW's 2003 P83 was the most powerful in the Formula One paddock (pumping out more than 900hp at an even more incredible 19,200 rpm) from which the Motorrad division gleaned all manner of internal combustion tricks.
Nor should it be a surprise that it's been such a phenomenal sales success, outshining all the Japanese litre bikes that have dominated the open-class segment for so long. Combine otherworldly performance with BMW's reputation for quality and a price tag much lower than anyone anticipated, and you have an almost iron-clad guarantee of at least a modicum of good fortune.
What truly is a surprise - to this cynical motojournalist, at least - is that nobody has really succeeded in besting the big Bimmer since. Oh, Kawasaki took a run at it with last year's all-new ZX-10R but it fell a few ponies and kilometres-per-hour short. Honda says it's taking a different tack with its 2012 CBR1000, code-speak for an admission that they don't actually see winning this horsepower war with BMW. And both Suzuki and Yamaha seem mired in such financial difficulty that it's hard to imagine them scaring up the precious R&D resources to tackle the very difficult problem of unseating BMW as the new horsepower kings.
Which explains why the 2012 S1000RR, while boasting some new bits and software revisions, is still quite familiar. The engine, for instance, is essentially the same, benefiting from last year's switch to a 2kg heavier crankshaft (demanded by BMW's motorsports teams in search of more rideability, even at the expense of quicker throttle response). Nonetheless the 2012 S1000RR's maximum horsepower remains 193; and same goes for the maximum torque of 112Nm.
That's not to say the character of the engine is not changed. Indeed, everything from the throttle return springs to the engine power curves have been manipulated so that the engine feels completely different even though it is, essentially, the same.
The "rain" mode, for instance, now has its own power curve, which is actually stronger than the previous (a maximum of 163hp versus 150) model. BMW found that allowing the extra power actually made it easier to ride in the wet by making the powerband more linear rather than abruptly cutting off top-end power.
Meanwhile, all the other three settings - sport, race, and slick - get the full 193hp monty. As well, though the rain setting retains the "soft" throttle response necessary for guiding a powerful litre-bike over any wet, slimey tarmac, the sportier three modes offer even more direct throttle response than the old S1000. So while there's a noticeable lag in the rain setting, in race mode it's as if the electronic fuel injection is hard-wired to your synapses, so direct is the connection between wrist and piston. Part of the credit is S1000RR's fatter mid-range - there's more torque available between 5,000 and 7,000rpm thanks to exhaust and intake improvements - but the electronics have also been modified as well for more immediate response to the throttle.
Those thinking of going racing will appreciate the additional changes to the Dynamic Traction Control system's "slick" mode, which is now more liberal with wheelies. And the EFI now bleeds a little fuel through the engine under closed throttle. BMW's race teams complained that the previous model's engine braking caused the rear end to lose traction when braking hard for corners and that cracking the throttle open a smidgen reduced the back-torque to the rear wheel. Racers will also appreciate that BMW's onboard laptimer has a new GPS function which can tell, section-by-section on the racetrack, if you are going faster than your previous lap (a green light on the dashboard shines if you are quicker over the last 100 metres than the same section on the previous lap). Supposedly, this will be popular with the go-faster boys, but being decidedly cowardly, I never mustered the courage to take my eyes off the track long enough to check my progress.
That all sounds well and good, but how does the new version feel when compared with the outgoing model? Well, ultimately it doesn't feel faster (nor, truthfully, does it need to, as the S1000RR's acceleration never fails to take the breath away), but it is substantially easier to ride. The more direct throttle response eliminates the sensation that you were piloting a virtual Xbox game rather than riding an actual motorcycle. The improved mid-range torque gives you much more leeway in gear selection through corners, the engine finally feeling as torquey as its 999 cubic centimetres. Even the lighter throttle allows more precise throttle control, especially important when there's 193hp on tap.
Aiding all of this speed is revised chassis geometry - less rake, lower ride height in the rear, altered anti-squat geometry and a slightly shorter wheelbase - that BMW claims makes the newish S1000RR easier to turn after blitzing the straightaways. And, indeed, it is easier to initiate corners and hold a tight line - especially evident as we hustle the RR around Valencia, Spain's Circuito Ricardo Tormo. It also retains the previous model's incredible high-speed stability and feels positively planted no matter how hard you're squeezing the front brake for that tight hairpin. But, although it steers more precisely than before, the new S1000RR still balks a little in tight, decreasing radius bends as if it could use even more than the 2.5mm reduction in fork offset that BMW determined was adequate for 2012.
That said, the S1000RR is still the fastest thing on two wheels. BMW can talk all it wants about linear throttle response and controllable power delivery, but out on the long back straight of Ricardo Tormo, one of F1's premier test tracks by the way, all that you're really thinking is how oh-my-goodness fast it is.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
