The annual festival of gadgets, gizmos and lifestyle must-haves, Big Boy’s Toys, returns to Dubai this weekend. To promote the event, the organisers teamed up with luxury car rental specialist Park Lane Car Rental for a supercar rally from the show’s Skydive Dubai base to the Burj Khalifa, and we were invited along to drive the route.
It’s not every day you find yourself at the wheel of a car that costs more than most people’s houses (the Lamborghini Aventador we drove, for example, starts at around US$400,000. That’s the basic model, obviously), so it seemed rude to refuse. It was a great way to spend an afternoon, but perhaps the biggest lesson of the day was not so much one about cars, but rather about how I’m glad I’m not an event organiser.
In an irony that could surely only happen in Dubai, the event's start was delayed by over an hour as the 20 or so supercars were stuck in traffic. As the automotive beasts slowly began to trickle into the Skydive Dubai car park, it suddenly looked like the parade might not happen at all. One of the invited guests decided to take a Ferrari 458 for a spin while we waited for the others, and his apparent belief that he was auditioning for Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift (on private land, I hasten to add) arose the ire of the waiting police escort who threatened to call the whole thing off. Luckily, after much apologising and an uncomfortable few minutes for the organisers, things were back on, subject to a stern police lecture to the remaining drivers about exactly how this was going to play out.
Finally, we were on our way, but my Lamborghini Aventador was having serious overheating problems, as a result of which the air con wasn’t working. With the in-car thermometer showing 52 degrees, I had to admit defeat and was moved to a Porsche 911 Turbo S (list price, with options, a mere $200,000. The shame.) Still, having recently taken my Volkswagen in to the dealers for a recurring overheating issue, it’s nice to see it’s not only us motoring mortals that have to put up with such inconveniences. Conversely, my car doesn’t look like The Batmobile, so the Lambo still wins.
It still wasn’t going to be plain sailing, and an overenthusiastic motorcyclist proved to be the next hurdle, rear ending our Audi RX8 on Sheikh Zayeed Road as he tried to get in for a closer look. The motorcyclist was uninjured, luckily, though the RX8’s bumper may need a touch up.
It was all getting a bit Wacky Races, and thanks to the car swap I was now sharing a car with Park Lane's marketing manager Anass Dakakh. I really felt for him as he tried to martial the parade back together following the mishap, but he needn't have worried too much. It was a great event, and a rare opportunity to get behind the wheel of a genuine supercar. As the cars finally pulled up for the final photo op in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa, emblazoned with the logos of both Big Boys' Toys and Park Lane Car Rentals, tourists and labourers alike flocked towards them with cameraphones aloft. The stunt had clearly been a success, and the cooing onlookers knew nothing of the slightly challenging journey that had brought us here.
The good news for readers is that you can have a go too at Park Lanes’ Big Boys’ Toys Test Drive Pit, and we’re sure with a dedicated on site test area things will be much smoother. Prices start at Dh300 for a basic sports car such as a Porsche Carrera, and climb to Dh800 for the more illustrious models we drove. If you want to mix relaxation with your exhilaration, you could even opt for the Bentley Continental V8 S, which, we discovered, gives you a pretty impressive back massage as you drive.
• Big Boys’ Toys is at Skydive Dubai, Dubai Marina, from October 3-5. The show is open from 3pm-10pm Thursday, and 1pm-10pm Friday and Saturday. General admission tickets cost Dh100.
cnewbould@thenational.ae
