The Future Of Motoring

The Dubai International Motor Show was a place where concepts were showcased, production models unveiled and ideas for the future of the car manufacturing industry – and the role of women in it – were discussed

- Varun Godinho

The 15th edition of the biennial Dubai International Motor Show returned to the Dubai World Trade Centre arena last month. There were over 150 major exhibitors from 70 countries and more than 550 vehicles on display. Clearly though, there were a few offerings that stood out from the rest.

Take for example Japanese electric-hypercar maker, Aspark, that chose the Dubai International Motor Show as the staging ground to launch its Owl electric hypercar. Aspark used a robot to unveil the car which is limited to only 50 units and costs over $3m. The Japanese carmaker claims that the 1,984hp Owl can warp from 0-60kph in under 1.7 seconds and has a top speed of 400kph (it could go even faster, but has reportedly been limited). Its four electric motors are coupled with a 64-kWh lithium-ion battery pack which charges completely in 80 minutes and is capable of delivering a range of 450km, eliminating any fears of range anxiety among potential customers.

One of the other big unveilings at the show was the Middle East debut of the new tough-as-nails Land Rover Defender that can climb surfaces at a 45-degree incline and can stay submerged in a metre of water for over an hour. Built on an all-new D7X platform, Land Rover claims that the combination of aluminium with high-strength steel makes this platform three times stronger than anything that its peers in the extreme offroader class of SUVs have to offer.

Over at the BMW pavilion, the highlight was a special one-off edition brought over from Munich called the BMW Individual M850i Night Sky. It featured meteorite materials in its controllers, a paint job on its hood that resembled the night sky, an illuminated constellation on the centre console and also 3D-printed components.