The Audi R8 is one of those cars which are nearly perfect, and Audi just keeps improving it, but it takes someone specialized to take the machine to the next level. ABT have squeezed the power it wants out of the V10 as well as skimming most of the fat from the car. They have engineered the car to be at optimal level to serve as a race car and a drivable day car, its no easy feat to take off 100 KG from already highly race ready machine but they have managed to do it perfectly.

With all the modifications comes a nice amount of power to compliment it, with the 5.2 FSI V10 modified to 620 bhp from its stock power. With the weight reduction and power increase this car becomes lightening fast with a 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 9.9 seconds, and a top speed of 325 km/h which is insane. ABT has limited production of this specimen to 25 vehicles, and I haven’t seen a price announced for it yet.

Link: Carzi

Now this is an interesting car coming from Mini, I have always been a fan of the Mini Cooper but now they have come out with the buggy version which is a little bigger but still compact. The name should have been something else, I think they wanted to stick the Mini in there but they should have came up with something different, Mini Cup, Mini Corner, Mini Courage, maybe something else then Countryman. I love the manual Minis, it feels like these little machines are going to take off and the speed dial in the middle is fantastic.

Its available with two engine versions the normal and the S, 122 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque in the Cooper, or 184 hp and 177 lb-ft in the Cooper S. Then there is that all wheel drive option which I would opt out for it since its more fun as a two wheel drive machine, I always have this image of a mini drifting. This four seater even has a very cool and comfortable looking interior.

Link: Autoblog

Just as the guys over at 4th Ring Road have already posted the new Nissan Patrol is out and a substantial difference of what the machine used to look like. The machine was fittingly unveiled in Emirates as being the state known for off roading and the love of SUVs, its befitting the rival of the Landcruiser to be release here first. Looks like they have made quite a different machine then what they once had, a more upscale look to the machine with a more luxurious interior. Benefitting from a 400 bhp engine a lot of comparisons will be made between the Landcruiser and the Patrol and I’m assuming it will be cheaper as well. Looks like they took to Toyotas formula to change from rugged looks to upscale SUV which is more capable then its predecessor. I’m a huge fan of Nissan and looking forward to seeing this machine on the road, looks like Nissan are going for the same badged nose as all their vehicle lines.

Power comes from a direct-injected 5.6-liter V8 that’s good for 400 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. That engine is mated to a seven-speed automatic and a new electronic four-wheel-drive system with four driver-selectable modes (pavement, sand, rock, and snow). The truck rides on a new four-wheel independent suspension, and incorporates features such as a hydraulic body roll mitigation system, hill start assist, and hill descent control.

Link: Autoblog

Motor Trend wanted to take the Nissan GTR on a different kind of run. With that they introduced the Scion Drift team to test out the capabilities of the Nissan GTR against. I wish I had half the capability of one of those drivers, and that GTR looks like its stuck to the ground.

At last the videos are coming up! I knew some videos were coming but I wasn’t sure what video was going to be released but I really like this cool video. It looks better then how wet and messy it got, they did a really good job of detailing those cars. I really liked how my M6 came out, too bad we can’t keep our cars like this all year long the police wouldn’t let us drive at all with those on. They were really shuffling through the cars, jumping from one to the other with all the different stickers and positions, some of those cars looked really good.

Link: GulfRunBlog

I think that I’m out of breath from all that has happened in GulfRun, I got really busy with it last week. I didn’t even have a chance to check my emails over a week or anything online, and I was immersed with all that is GulfRun and I loved every moment of it. So much was going on during the day, going out at night and passing out exhausted and waking up early in the morning.

So many ridiculous machines and excellent drivers with lots of surprises, I think this is probably the best year I have seen with so many people. Lots of people came on Thursday but on Friday the whole area was packed full of people, kids, families, friends, and so many people just walking in. I loved going to Aadliyah at night to go get a bite to eat with all my friends, I have been driving around Bahrain enough that I have figured out most of it but the internals of Manama get me all messed up and if you get caught in traffic there is no way out, you are just going to have to wait it out.

We stayed at the Banyan Tree which was fantastic, just 5 minutes from the track and very relaxing and as usual our villa was over flowing. The villa limit was at four people but we went more then double that and we couldn’t stop laughing. The weather went really cold by Wednesday which is surprising but good for all those who had turbos. The amazing event was the drifting for me, seeing some of those drivers going nuts was fantastic, especially the ISF and the Z4M. The 995 Gemballa did an amazing job as well, so many surprises this year.

Meeting up and heading out isn’t a very simple process, with so many guys who are itching to take off in their cars. We met up at Tilal Complex in Shuweikh, it had the largest amount of parking spots which would be decently empty in the afternoon. We were expecting about 10 to 15 cars to show up when about 30+ cars show up, I knew it was going to be an interesting drive to Doha with this many cars in row. Luckily we had a few SUVs with us that were helping us block off the roads, some times there can be a bunch of maniacs on the road but that went smoothly enough.

The loading went very smoothly, four different trailers filled up completely with all the vehicles, top and bottom. You can check out the list of cars over at the GulfRun Blog, now that looks interesting, some very mean machines are coming to the track. People seem to be more prepared for the track this year then any other year.

This is one of the premiere car events around the world and it was taking place in Marina Cresent over this weekend. I saw the classic cars during the launch on Wednesday but I didn’t have a camera with me at the time, so I decided to take pictures of the machines on the other side. The variety of the machines was fantastic but I didn’t expect to see so many modern cars with them, but I was enjoying it, and across the parking lot were the beautiful muscle cars.

There was a beautiful original BMW M1 parked next to the fountain, now that was a car I wasn’t expecting to see and a few other beautiful machines. What surprised me was the presence of the Alpha Romeo RC8, which is basically all Ferrari with an Alpha Romeo body, I think it even had temporary plates on it. Marina Cresent was packed you couldn’t find a place to sit but we headed to PQ grab a bite to eat and enjoy the cars.

The machines I worry about the most are those Mitusbishi Evolutions, they are machines to be feared. The way they look has no indication of what can be under the body, some can be monsters at 600+ bhp and others can handle like go carts. Then there is that Nissan GTR which looks really good in red, I’m curious what the Mercedes SLR is going to be doing on the track against all these machines, then there is the other 20 cars which weren’t at the car show since they were getting worked on.

The booths were filled with some sponsors, the most active being Wataniya Airways with their airline staff handing out the Diwaniya Membership program, then Wataniya Telecom, Huperoptic had an interesting stand with all the types of tint, then there was Dent Xpress who were catering to all their customers. I was at the GulfRun booth taking some t-shirts for keeps for later, and I go my hands on the hoodie that I wanted. I talked to so many people over those two days I lost my voice the next day. I can’t wait until 360 Mall opens all it’s shops, it is taking some time, I’m assuming that they will all be open by this summer at least. Thanks to (Bassem @ Wataniya Telecom for the photo)

Time has flown by and we are almost at GulfRun, I had my car done with some very impressive cars in the mix. Some very scary cars in the mix as well, I’m asking some of the GulfRunners which is the most insane cars and there is this Evolution MR which is looking very mean and not including a few surpises at the track in Bahrain. The sticker sizes are based on a predetermined pattern from types of sponsors and the size of it, and real estate available on the vehicle. Wataniya Telecom being the largest as the Title Sponspor, followed by Agility, Consolidated Contractors Company, Dent Xpress, and Wataniya Airways as Platinum Sponsors, then Al Sawan Travel, Credit One, and Slider Station as Gold Sponsors on all the vehicles, lots and lots of stickers all over the cars, and some of them look really good.

Now some of these machines are going to be on display at 360 Mall on the 15th & 16th of January, this weekend by the ramp and main reception area. Then there is the raffle tickets for the GulfRun Vespas, I really want the black one because it looks really good and all proceeds go to Hayat Cancer Foundation. I’ve heard of a few of the sponsors who will be at the Car Show in 360 handing out special items to people at the show, I’m honestly curious. I know one hting is that I will be trying out a lot of restaurants at 360 this weekend thats for sure, maybe throw a movie into the mix.