The Atlantic-facing country of Portugal dances to its own beat. Even the language is decidedly different phonetically to the rapid-fire Hispanic chatter you'd encounter across its only border, with Spain.
Although currently not in the greatest of economic health, this is no reflection of the past, as the Portuguese Empire was the most enduring of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost 600 years and spread across a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different sovereign states.
Remember that chap Vasco da Gama? He paved the way for the Portuguese colonial empire in Asia. The cultural and architectural influence Portugal has left around the globe is profound, and there are more than 250 million Portuguese speakers today, making it the sixth most spoken first language in the world.
Why am I banging on about Portugal? Because I’ve just set my travel-weary body down in the TAP (Portugal’s national airline) lounge at Lisbon Airport. The lounge is perhaps the dingiest I’ve seen at any airport, but I’ve got three hours to kill here before my next flight to Faro, the capital of the Algarve region at the southern tip of Portugal.
The reason for the excursion to Faro is to sample the all-new Mercedes-AMG C63 S – a compact-sized, four-door bruiser with a twin-turbo V8 engine that’s fit to give many a supercar a black eye. Also on the agenda is my maiden drive of the Mercedes C450 AMG 4MATIC, a less potent but still eye-wateringly rapid saloon. A fitting analogy would be to think of this pair as Batman and Robin – one has the clout to nullify the nastiest of baddies, while the other can still comfortably take care of run-of-the-mill thugs.
The drive programme at the media launch comprises a mix of road and track work – the idea being to showcase the C63 S’s everyday usability, as well as the full scope of its dynamic repertoire. Coincidentally – or maybe not – it’s more or less the same itinerary, and the same venue, that BMW used nine months ago for the launch of its all-new M3 saloon, the Merc’s primary rival.
The opening road loop starts at the sprawling Conrad Algarve hotel and concludes at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, a challenging, undulating racetrack located near the town of Portimão, which was historically a fishing and shipbuilding hub. The 110-kilometre drive leg starts off with some relatively dull freeway cruising, but a couple of spurts on the gas provide a taste of the C63’s massive grunt, with the speedometer needle flashing right with ridiculous ease.
A navigational error on my part sees me detouring via Estádio Algarve – a football stadium that can seat 30,000 raucous fans – but I eventually get back on track, with the route veering off onto some winding country lanes snaking through the Portuguese countryside. It’s here that the C63 S makes its first real imprint on my psyche, dancing and darting from one corner to the next with alarming rapidity.
The new C63 S and slightly lesser C63 are all-new cars based on the latest-gen W205 C-Class that we recently reviewed in The National. They feature the same high-tech, part-aluminium architecture. However, the AMG models up the ante substantially via bespoke front suspension and steering, a locking rear differential, uprated brakes, a dual-clutch sequential gearbox and much more.
These upgrades serve to distance the latest AMG offerings from their ancestors of a decade ago, which were terrifically quick in a straight line, but not the most dexterous when it came to corners. The C63 S is far removed from these, and hence Merc’s tagline: “The car for the professional driver”. Be assured, it’s not just marketing hyperbole.
The C63 and C63 S launch in our market in April, priced from Dh321,746 and Dh350,211 respectively, which puts them pretty much in the same ballpark as the new BMW M3. Like their German compatriot, both AMG models are rear-wheel drive and come standard with a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission.
But where the M3 makes do with a twin-turbo, 3.0L, six-cylinder engine, the Merc C63 and C63 S are propelled by a 4.0L, twin-turbo V8, which supplants the old model’s much-loved but now ageing naturally aspirated, 6.2L power plant. The old big-block engine was potent and charismatic but, rest assured, the new V8 that replaces it is a far superior unit. In the base-model C63, it kicks out 469bhp and 650Nm; in the range-topping C63 S, it unleashes 503bhp and a beefy 700Nm from just 1,750rpm.
The twin-turbo V8 also sounds sublime, especially if you specify the optional Performance Exhaust, which has three flaps that open up in Sport+ and Race modes to give the engine full voice. In these modes, the exhaust note is a snarling, thundering melody, enriched by a rich array of pops and crackles on the overrun, and a lovely “braaap” on upshifts.
The AMG saloons aren’t excessively heavy (the C63 weighs 1,640kg; the C63 S tips the scales at 1,655kg), and this is reflected in their agility and ultra-flat cornering capabilities. It’s mighty quick in a straight line, too, with the C63 sprinting to 100kph in 4.1 seconds and the C63 S achieving it in 4 seconds flat. Both cars are speed limited to 250kph, but ticking the box for the optional AMG Driver’s Package will see this climb to a Lamborghini-baiting 290kph.
You might think any car with circa-500bhp would be a complete enviro-vandal, but the C63’s quoted consumption figure of 8.2L per 100km isn’t excessive by any means. Be aware, though, that you’ll easily chug through double this figure if you drive the car in a “spirited” fashion.
The drive route to the circuit is filled with Sunday drivers, blind corners and an assortment of road-surface imperfections – some of the well-camouflaged ones just about get the car airborne – but it’s still dealt with in short order by the muscle-bound C63 S. What’s particularly impressive, apart from the engine’s grunt, is how effectively that mammoth torque is deployed without ever imparting the feeling that you’re about to spear off into the woodwork.
A vital ingredient here is the locking differential (mechanical in the C63; electronically controlled in the C63 S), which dispenses the torque to each of the rear wheels in optimum doses to ensure you slingshot out of corners with minimum electronic-stability-control intervention.
The AMG Ride Control suspension with three-stage, electronically controlled adaptive dampers also does a great job of keeping the car flat through corners, and this doesn’t come at the cost of bone-jarring ride quality. Yes, the C63 S isn’t as cosseting as a Bentley, but one shouldn’t expect that in any case in something this performance-orientated.
The less hardcore C63 rides marginally better than the C63 S, as it comes equipped with 18-inch rims, as opposed to the latter’s 19-inchers, which are wrapped in liquorice-strip rubber. The C63 S also scores dynamic engine mounts that vary in stiffness, depending on how you’re driving. When you’re simply trundling around, they soften up to isolate the cabin from engine vibrations, but harden up when you’re in Lewis Hamilton mode to optimise the car’s tautness and dynamism.
Once I reach the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, the next item on the agenda is a series of hot laps at the circuit, which is a 4.7km roller coaster, replete with blind crests and off-camber corners. It’s undoubtedly the most daunting track I’ve ever driven. Just to make it even more interesting, I’ll be trying to hang on to the tail of Bernd Schneider – the multiple-champion driver in DTM (Germany’s premier touring-car racing category) – as he’ll be pedalling the pace car.
Schneider doesn’t disappoint. Despite his promise of two warm-up laps, he puts the hammer down almost right from the outset, and I find myself working furiously to prevent him from bolting off into the distance. The DTM ace is clearly working his C63 S hard, because it wriggles around under brakes at the end of the main straight, and the tail squirms around noticeably through each of the track’s gnarly corners.
After five tyre-torturing laps, I come away with an even deeper respect for the latest AMG weapon, which devours the track with every bit as much appetite as the brutal Jaguar XKR-S coupé I piloted on my previous visit to the circuit four years ago.
Having experienced the full fury of the steroidal C63 S, I expect to be underwhelmed by the appreciably less bonkers C450 AMG 4MATIC, which I’m now about to drive across a 45km road loop through the Portimão countryside. The C450 is powered by a twin-turbo, 3.0L V6 in lieu of its big brother’s V8, but it’s still no shrinking violet, with 362bhp and 520Nm on tap. It sprints from standstill to 100kph in just 4.9 seconds and tops out at an electronically governed 250kph.
It only takes a few kilometres to glean the C450 is almost as entertaining as its more potent stablemate, putting on a surprising turn of speed, and arguably even greater agility, although it weighs only slightly less at 1,615kg. The exhaust note is pleasingly raspy and crackly, too, despite lacking the deep baritone sonic signature of the C63 S.
Refinement levels are pretty good, although there’s more wind noise from around the A-pillar than one might have expected at speeds of 140kph and above. Cabin comfort is beyond reproach, with well-sculpted sports seats and a well-thought-out melange of leather, Alcantara, aluminium and carbon-fibre surfaces. The dash layout is also first-class, presenting you with all the info you need in an easy-to-digest format.
At day’s end, it’s clear AMG has done its homework with all three new offerings – C450 AMG 4MATIC, C63 and C63 S. Each is devastatingly rapid, aesthetically pleasing and eminently usable on a day-to-day basis.
Life is about to get very difficult for BMW’s M3 saloon.
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Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
J Street Polling Results
97% of Jewish-Americans are concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism
76% of US Jewish voters believe Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party are responsible for a rise in anti-Semitism
74% of American Jews agreed that “Trump and the Maga movement are a threat to Jews in America"
The five pillars of Islam
SPEC SHEET: SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP5
Display: Main – 6.7" FHD+ Dynamic Amoled 2X, 2640 x 1080, 22:9, 425ppi, HDR10+, up to 120Hz; cover – 3/4" Super Amoled, 720 x 748, 306ppi
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 4nm, octa-core; Adreno 740 GPU
Memory: 8GB
Capacity: 256/512GB
Platform: Android 13, One UI 5.1.1
Main camera: Dual 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 12MP wide (f/1.8), OIS
Video: 4K@30/60fps, full-HD@60/240fps, HD@960fps
Front camera: 10MP (f/2.2)
Battery: 3700mAh, 25W fast charging, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless
Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Samsung Pay)
I/O: USB-C
Cards: Nano-SIM + eSIM; no microSD slot
Colours: Cream, graphite, lavender, mint; Samsung.com exclusives – blue, grey, green, yellow
In the box: Flip 4, USB-C-to-USB-C cable
Price: Dh3,899 / Dh4,349
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The specs
Engine: 77kWh 2 motors
Power: 178bhp
Torque: 410Nm
Range: 402km
Price: Dh,150,000 (estimate)
On sale: TBC
Frida
Director: Carla Gutierrez
Starring: Frida Kahlo
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Date started: May 2022
Founder: Husam Aboul Hosn
Based: DIFC
Sector: FinTech — Innovation Hub
Employees: eight
Stage: pre-seed
Investors: pre-seed funding raised from family and friends earlier this year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Company: Wafeq
Started: January 2019
Founder: Nadim Alameddine
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: software as a service
Funds raised: $3 million
Investors: Raed Ventures and Wamda, among others
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Company profile
Name: Yodawy
Based: Egypt
Founders: Karim Khashaba, Sherief El-Feky and Yasser AbdelGawad
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $24.5 million
Investors: Algebra Ventures, Global Ventures, MEVP and Delivery Hero Ventures, among others
Number of employees: 500
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: DarDoc
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founders: Samer Masri, Keswin Suresh
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $800,000
Investors: Flat6Labs, angel investors + Incubated by Hub71, Abu Dhabi's Department of Health
Number of employees: 10
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
Law 41.9.4 of men’s T20I playing conditions
The fielding side shall be ready to start each over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed.
An electronic clock will be displayed at the ground that counts down seconds from 60 to zero.
The clock is not required or, if already started, can be cancelled if:
• A new batter comes to the wicket between overs.
• An official drinks interval has been called.
• The umpires have approved the on field treatment of an injury to a batter or fielder.
• The time lost is for any circumstances beyond the control of the fielding side.
• The third umpire starts the clock either when the ball has become dead at the end of the previous over, or a review has been completed.
• The team gets two warnings if they are not ready to start overs after the clock reaches zero.
• On the third and any subsequent occasion in an innings, the bowler’s end umpire awards five runs.