DUBAI // If seeing a six-wheeled super truck on the roads of Dubai was rare, then seeing one driving down the lazy river of a waterpark, or over 800ft sand dunes in the desert, must be rarer still.
But that was what happened when Richard Hammond, a host of BBC driving show Top Gear, did when he test drove the Mercedes-Benz G63 6x6 in Dubai.
The drive, which took place last November but was aired on Sunday evening, is likely to generate interest in the six-metre long car, which weighs three and three-quarter tonnes.
“Even in a country so chock full of showy-offy cars, it’s still really rather special,” said Hammond.
The car is valued at Dh2 million, and one was displayed at the Dubai International Motor Show in November.
Despite its rarity, or perhaps because of it, the 6x6 is likely to be a hit in the UAE, said Phill Tromans, the publishing editor at Awesome Group, a Dubai company which publishes car magazines Evo, Automart, and Crank and Piston.
“A lot of automotive customers in the Middle East like stuff that are new and different,” he said.
“With considerable disposable income among the population, it’s often not enough to just have the latest sports car, so machines like this attract considerable interest.
“The Mercedes 6x6 is based on the G Wagen, already a very popular car in the region, so when you combine a traditional favourite with something a bit different and very exclusive, it’s hardly surprising that it’s gone down very well.
“A limited edition G Wagen that stands out from the rest of the range and can excel in the desert is a pretty decent recipe for Middle Eastern car fans.”
Athanasios Kravvaritis, head of communications at Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler, said there were reasons why Dubai was picked as a place to test drive the vehicle.
“When it comes to the roads of Dubai, the bigger, the better,” he said. “It was also quite evident that the landscape of the UAE is a perfect way to showcase the model’s off-road potential.”
The 12-minute Top Gear feature includes scenes shot in the Empty Quarter. At one point, Hammond is pulled over by a Lamborghini Aventador in Dubai Police livery.
In one odd moment, the two metre tall car is seen ploughing through rubber rings at the lazy river at a Dubai waterpark.
“I’m not going to pretend that this is anything but a preposterous machine,” said Hammond. “It’s one of the car world’s mad moments.”
mcroucher@thenational.ae
