There's no let-up – no time of year when car companies aren't releasing new products, announcing new model lines or launching rehashed designs in all-out charm offensives to keep sales figures high and the assumed desire for new and shiny stuff sated.
If you thought that the year’s biggies had already been unveiled, think again. Yes, the annual Geneva motor show in spring is always the industry’s most important and glamorous one, but all companies don’t show their hands there. Some wait until later in the year before whipping the satin covers from their new wares, and during the Frankfurt Motor Show this month, as well as here at the Dubai International Motor Show in November, some significant unveilings will take place. In alphabetical order, then, here’s a small selection of what to expect, along with a few tasty treats that should be putting in an appearance in UAE showrooms over the coming months.
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Alfa caused serious ripples earlier this year when it unveiled its exciting new BMW 3 Series rival. With dramatic styling (although some might call it derivative) and some serious performance figures being shown by the M3-baiting, 510hp Quadrifoglio flagship model, this is the car that its maker is hoping will put an end to decades in the motoring-sales-figure doldrums.
Rear-wheel drive will appeal to driving enthusiasts, and if the quality perception is high enough and the interior design strong enough, there’s no reason for the Giulia to not succeed in bringing Alfa Romeo to the forefront of owners’ minds for all the right reasons.
Ariel Nomad
Negotiations are continuing to bring the sought-after Nomad to the UAE in an official capacity, and we hear they're nearing completion. And if you're thinking that you've never heard of Ariel, you might recall its ferocious Atom – basically a tubular chassis with wheels and an engine, that distorted Jeremy Clarkson's face to great effect on an old episode of Top Gear.
The Nomad is essentially an Atom for off-roading, which is why it will be big news here. Imagine the most extreme performance car that’s capable of bashing any and every dune, that can also deliver the goods on your way back home, while looking like nothing else out there – that’s the Nomad in a nutshell, and we cannot wait for it to land here. It’s absolutely unique.
Bentley Bentayga
We could tell you what it looks like under all that camouflage, but we’d have to kill you straight after, such is the level of secrecy surrounding possibly the most important and controversial car ever to carry the winged B. But you’ll find out soon enough when the wraps come off at Frankfurt and it steals the show. One thing’s for sure, the gathered crowds won’t be gasping in horror like they were when the concept was shown three years ago.
What we do know is that Range Rover’s recent launch of its extremely expensive SVR was a massive bonus for Bentley, because it basically tested the waters and proved there’s a market for a truly luxurious full-size SUV. So we can expect the Bentayga’s sticker price to be as huge as the car itself, which is significantly larger than a Porsche Cayenne. We can also expect stunning levels of luxury craftsmanship, a raft of bespoke personalisation options and towering capabilities on the dunes, thanks to its development programme here. We can also expect to see them everywhere in the UAE – if ever a car was born to be here, this Bentley is it.
BMW 7 Series
Consistently the region’s biggest-selling luxury car, the new version of the biggest Bimmer of all will be seen on our roads before the year is out. Longer and taller than its predecessor, the 7 Series will feature a radically restyled interior and more delicacy to its nose and rear. And unlike any generation before it, BMW is intending to launch either an M7 or M-Sport version to keep its customers away from Mercedes-AMG showrooms.
Comprehensively re-engineered, the 7 Series has shed up to 130 kilograms over its predecessor, thanks to a new construction process that uses varying forms of carbon fibre in load-bearing areas of its body. It also gets a heavily revised chassis, combining four-wheel steering with four-wheel drive, a remote parking system that allows you to step out of the car before it parks itself and a series of new iDrive functions, including touch and gesture controls that allow the driver to deliver commands with a wave of the hand.
Infiniti Q30
Infiniti’s new Q30 is a small, premium hatchback that has the Mercedes-Benz A-Class firmly in its sights and even shares some of its power trains and chassis. It has been seen in concept form for a while now, but at Frankfurt we’ll get a proper look at it. Its body will feature curves aplenty, but will they be in the right places? It’s notable, however, that the luxury element to its section of the market hasn’t been properly exploited yet so, just maybe, the Q30 will appeal to buyers in the UAE who want to economise when it comes to their consumption but not necessarily the finer things in life.
Jaguar F-Pace
The ludicrously named F-Pace – a “performance crossover” – is quite unlike any Jaguar before it, and we can expect to see it at both the Frankfurt and Dubai shows. After all, it was in Dubai two years ago that the concept car was first shown. In the short time since that one-off mule was limping around a Meydan car park, development has moved at an astonishing, err, pace.
It’ll take the fight to Porsche’s rather excellent Macan, but don’t expect Land Rover levels of off-road ability, because both brands need to maintain a respectful distance from one another. Heavily disguised F-Paces have been spotted around the UAE (Jaguar Land Rover has a full-time research facility here), but we still haven’t seen one in its final form. Expect it to look lithe and sporting, with F-Type styling cues dotted around, and for the power trains to offer plenty of performance and refinement.
Maserati Levante
Before China’s economy began its recent free fall, it was the market that dominated the thoughts of car company execs, which is why the likes of Bentley and even Rolls-Royce have been busy developing enormous SUVs. The upper echelons of Chinese society don’t like to drive themselves, and the roads are poor enough to warrant enormous vehicles in which to be chauffeured around. It’s no coincidence that when Lamborghini unveiled its own SUV concept, it did so at the Beijing motor show.
So Maserati’s upcoming Levante “super-SUV” (whatever that means) has its maker’s hopes for success pinned on its potentially ungainly shoulders (the Kubang concept wasn’t exactly pretty). It will feature a face inspired by the Quattroporte and Ghibli saloons, while its engines have been confirmed as a pair of twin-turbo V6s and a top-spec V8 petrol.
It won’t be in the same price region as the big Bentley, and it’s likely to be compromised in its off-road capabilities, making it more of a crossover than full SUV, but considering how successful Maserati has been in the Emirates, don’t be surprised if this is a big hit over here. We’ll find out what it looks like this month.
McLaren 570S
We’ve already seen the first model in McLaren’s Sports Series earlier this year at the New York motor show, and truth be told, we’re excited about it. The 570S is more accessible than the 650S, it looks much nicer and doesn’t give much away to its big brother in the performance stakes, either. We’ll start seeing it on our roads before the year is out, with media drives taking place in October.
This is an important model for McLaren and supercar fans everywhere. McLaren, in no time at all, has rocked the establishment, and the fact that the 570S and the rest of the Sports Series are gunning for the likes of the Porsche 911, Audi R8 and Mercedes-Benz AMG GT means there’s never been more choice in the sector. But the trump card for McLaren is that the 570S marries the best styling cues from the 650S and the P1 hypercar, making it more desirable than practically anything else on the road right now.
Mercedes-Maybach S600 Pullman
Mercedes-Benz brought back the Maybach name in the first part of this year as a halo brand, with the gargantuan S600 – a car that deeply impressed us with its unabashed luxury, interior space and value for money. But for ultimate Maybach bragging rights you’ll be wanting the Pullman, which is named after the Merc that ferried around statesmen and rock stars in the 1960s and 70s. Deliveries will commence in early 2016, and pricing for the unarmoured versions will be set at about Dh2 million – a figure unlikely to put off UAE buyers, for whom luxury on wheels begins and ends with the name Maybach.
Interior appointments are, to put it mildly, palatial, offering private jet-style accommodation and luxury. It’s 6.5 metres long, so you won’t see any pounding the track at Yas Marina, but for official state events and red-carpet premieres, there won’t be anything that comes close.
Porsche 911 facelift
You’ll need to be a Porsche obsessive to spot any visual differences between the current 911 and the model that will be seen at Frankfurt and Dubai this year, because its physical makeover will be so subtle. But lift its rear engine cover and you will discover the biggest change to the 911’s engine since Porsche made it water-cooled in the 1990s – because, from this new model on, every 911 will be turbocharged.
The rest of Porsche’s range will be offered with smaller engines (four cylinders in the case of the Boxster and Cayman), again with forced induction, to reduce Porsche’s overall emissions quota. How this will affect the sound these cars make is yet to be heard, but according to the company, there will be no performance deficit whatsoever. Which is what we’ve come to expect these days.
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