Felix Welch is excited. There is a new Lexus that is almost ready to be unveiled here and he is pretty sure people will like it. It is the Lexus LS 600h L and, as Welch is the general manager for Lexus distributor Al Futtaim, it is understandable that he wants to see them fly out of the showrooms in large numbers.
But why the excitement? "This is a hybrid that is top of the range," is Welch's short explanation. Hybrids have been associated with smaller cars that might help save the planet but don't excite in the performance department (Lexus's stablemate hybrid, the Toyota Prius has been described as "the saddest little vehicle" by Jeff Dunham, the American comedian.)
But the LS 600h L is a definite departure from the often dull image of green machines. The Mercedes S400 BueHybrid, a direct competitor to the Lexus, is slated for release in August. Meanwhile, the Japanese manufacturer is looking at a launch date for the first quarter of 2010, but an earlier release could be on the cards.
"It ticks every box," says Welch proudly of the LS 600h L. "It's greener than the LS 460, it's faster, it's technically cutting-edge."
So, what is the technology of which Welch speaks so highly? The LS 600h L has a 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine as well as an electric motor powered by a battery. When the car starts at the push of a button, it noiselessly comes to life with the electric motor on standby.
At low speeds and in stop-start traffic, the car runs on the zero-emissions electric motor but, when you put your foot down, the petrol engine kicks in to provide enough power with a combination of the two motors to provide 380hp but with greater fuel economy.
Rather than charging up the battery by plugging it into a power outlet, the LS 600h L has a system known as regenerative braking.
Whenever the driver hits the anchors, the kinetic energy produced during braking is transformed into electricity by a generator and stored for later use. Between the dials and on the centre screen, the driver can constantly check up on the amount of charge left in the battery.
I got to drive one of the cars Lexus is using as a test vehicle to ensure that it is suitable for the heat, sand and dust.
When the electric motor is running, it is whisper-quiet, but the petrol engine quickly comes into effect as soon as you floor it. The transition from electric motor to dual power is seamless; so seamless, in fact, that it can do the 0-to-100 kilometre per hour sprint in just 6.3 seconds. This, Welch hopes, will satisfy the high priority drivers here tend to place on power and performance.
"In the UK, for example, fuel economy and low emissions are a priority before performance and technology, but here it tends to be the other way around," says Welch. By pushing the power angle in the marketing, it is hoped that a natural awareness and appreciation of the green benefits and fuel savings of the car will follow.
Indeed, so impressive was the burst of power when I found a clear stretch of road and accelerated, there were whoops of joy from the photographer sitting in the back seat.
Along with the performance and the eco-credentials, the element of luxury in the LS 600h L is another important selling point.
After all, this is Toyota's premium brand and buyers will expect more than Camry cloth seats and whatever sound system lurks in a Corolla. The long-wheelbase exterior is made a tad more interesting by the sleek strips of chrome running down each side as well as a hint of opalescent blue on the badges.
The interior of the LS 600h L is also impressive. I've never been a massive fan of the styling of Lexuses, but there were some lovely touches on this one.
The beige interior was surprisingly stylish, the suede ceiling was a tactile delight, the wood on the gear lever was all class and the leather seats were satisfyingly squishy. Could this be the first Lexus to possess something resembling a soul?
Adding to the plush appeal was an excellent Mark Levinson sound system and a whole world of fun in the back seat. Of particular interest to those who prefer to be chauffeured around is the rear seat massage programme, the DVD player and the anti-paparazzi window shades. The rear centre console has a world of business class airline-style buttons for reclining the seats and raising and lowering the thigh and footrests.
The LS 600h L feels like a proper luxury car and has the combination of power, performance and plushness to appeal to a market that has already proven highly successful for Lexus.
For many buyers, the green advantages won't be the number one priority but even if it ends up in garages across the UAE because it makes light work of Emirates Road, the environmental benefits are nothing to be scoffed at.
With Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and soon BMW jumping on the hybrid bandwagon in the UAE, the previous hippy image of hybrids may very quickly be a thing of the past.
glewis@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
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.”
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
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
