alexsmolik's blog

The deal with car plates: explained !!

Publié par alexsmolik mardi 10 mai 2011 Libellés : car plates, Car trivia, Dubai, facts, Middle-East, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, supercars 3 commentaires

What's the big deal with car plates??

Of course, cars and plates go together. But not everyone really understands the "meaning" of plates and what they represent. What I'll try to do here is to explain what the fuss is all about, according to me. What kind of plates are we talking about? Just browse down and take a look at the pictures, plates such as : 11111, G 55, 77177... I think you get the drift. Those kind of plates are usually a good way for the authorities to make a quick buck : they're very expensive. Sometimes, worth millions of dollars (numbers such as "1" or "5", for example). Attention : although this article is all about arabic plates, the special plates phenomena is not exclusively arabic : countries such as the UK allows car owners to choose their number plate (in exchange of a certain sum of money): 2 BE, F1ANCY, BUL 5, VI...

The Al-Thani supercar collection

Publié par alexsmolik Libellés : Al Thani, ANA Al Thani, baby blue, Ferrari, Harrod's, Koenigsegg, Koenigsegg CCXR, Lamborghini, Middle-East, Pagani, Pagani Zonda, Qatar, supercar collections, turquoise, Zonda UNO 4 commentaires

The Al-Thani supercar collection

Many rich persons collect cars as if they were stamps. The middle-east is home to some of the most amazing supercars garages you could imagine, especially with the royal family. Among all the private supercars garage in the world, the Al-Thani's has got to be one of the most fascinating. The Al-Thanis are the ruling family in Qatar, a country in the persian golf.

This garage is exclusive not only because of the cars themselves (considering many private collections are far greater in number) but mostly because of the cars' color: turquoise. This bright shade of blue, turquoise, is bound to catch one's attention. I personally find it amazing. Not only the paint is turquoise, but so is the interior. Making this private supercar collection my personal favorite. All the cars belong to a few persons "ANA Al-Thani", which stands for "Abdulrahman, Nasser, Abdulla". Probably three brothers or cousins (funny fact: the Al-Thanis are the new owners of Harrod's in London, and two of their supercars were clamped outside their own store in the summer of 2010).

Some of the supercars include:

Koenigsegg CCXR "Special One" (watch my video of the car)
Lamborghini LP 670-4 SV (watch my video of the car)
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (watch my video of the car)
Pagani Zonda "Uno" (watch Marchettino's video of the car)
Lamborghini LP640
... and what is next ??!!

Source of the pictures: car forums, FlickR

Take a look at more pictures from his collection (click to enlarge)

The Al-Nahyan supercar collection

Publié par alexsmolik Libellés : Abu Dhabi, Car trivia, Ferrari, Lamborghini Reventon, Middle-East, Porsche, supercar collections 0 commentaires

The Al-Nahyan Supercar collection!

The Al-Nahyans are the royal family of Abu Dhabi, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Abu Dhabi is a very very rich emirate because it has a lot, a lot of oil (contrary to popular belief, Dubai doesn't have THAT much oil. Of course, they do have a lot). No wonder the Al-Nahyan family members have such amazing cars! Some of you might even know the famous "rainbow sheikh" (lots of videos of him and his cars on YouTube): he had a different color Mercedes-Benz for each day of the week, forming the colors of the rainbow. He also creates all sorts of weird and fun vehicles and even opened a huge museum to show his cars to the public. But what interests me is the rest.

In their collection, you can find many supercars:

3 Bugatti Veyron (those that were in the Top Gear episode), EB110
matte black BMW M5 Lumma
Mercedes-Benz SLR (x2)
Ferrari Enzo, F40, F50, 599 GTB Fiorano
Maserati MC12
Lamborghini Reventon
Porsche Carrera GT, and a very rare 911 GT1
Jaguar XJ220
Ford GT

... and many others, I presume! Like if that wasn't already enough to make me happy!! :)

Here are some pictures (click to enlarge)

Supercar collection from Bahrain

Publié par alexsmolik Libellés : Bahrain, Bugatti Veyron, Car trivia, F40, Ferrari, Ferrari 250 GTO, Lamborghini, Lamborghini Reventon, Middle-East, Porsche Carrera GT, Saleen S7, supercar collections 2 commentaires

Incredible supercar collection from Bahrain !!!

A few years ago, there were a few pictures going around the internet, of a guy that had a Lamborghini Reventon (1 of the 20 ever built) and a Bugatti Veyron FbG by Hermès, as well as a Saleen S7. Well what we saw was apparently just a fraction of what this guy actually has! I don't know much more about who the owner is or anything, so let's just let the pictures talk for themselves, to prove how intense this car collection really is.