When it comes to motoring preferences, some things are just in the blood. Being born in Italy is pretty much a default birthright in terms of a love of glamorous sports cars, which probably goes a long way towards explaining Natalia Itani's longstanding amore for all things fast and four-wheeled.
Raised in Beirut, the half-Italian, half-Lebanese businesswoman, who is currently based in Dubai, and her husband have owned a veritable garage of expensive metal that reads like a checklist of essential contemporary cars: a Ferrari 488 Spider, a McLaren 570S Spider, an Audi R8, a Lamborghini Aventador SV, a Porsche GT3 RS and – her favourite – a purple Lamborghini Huracan.
That last eye-catching model shows off her personal colour of choice – purple, she says, symobolises "royalty", and her 224,000 followers on Instagram will have also seen the shade adorning some of her other cars, although the Huracan the most regularly featured. The non-standard tones are a clue to one of her two commercial concerns: luxury car-wrapping company Gulffoil, whose website landing page does indeed feature a purple Huracan; the other is high-end hire business Parklane Car Rental, which offers an array of supercars and everything from Range Rovers to Rolls-Royces.
“Foiling a car”, she says, lends it “a personal touch and a personal preference, but I’m more into modifying the engine and making it look unique with a specific body kit”.
“Ever since i was a teenager, I always had an eye for sports cars,” Itani, now 33, recalls. When she bought her first car, in 2006, it was suitably swift: a BMW M3.
It has also been 12 years since Gulffoil and Parklane began life, and Itani, who moved to Dubai that year to take a job in an investment company after graduating with a master's from the Lebanese American University, admits that her hectic lifestyle isn't all glamour. There have been some bumps in the road to navigate en route.
“We have been running them ourselves – [it's] basically a lot of effort, but mostly importantly [to] owning a business is being a great risk taker,” she says of Gulffoil and Parklane. “It’s not always profit, sometimes it’s also losses, and we have to bear the consequences.”
She juggles those twin enterprises with family commitments and, most visibly, her burgeoning social-media profile.
“I try to post daily, but I’m more focused on making money,” she explains. “I don’t think social media could work as a profession for me, [it's] more like fun. I have a family and I am a mother of two. Basically, [I'm] trying to balance everything.
Despite that casual description of her social-media status, however, she has become something of a celebrity, both in the Emirates and farther afield, thanks to her Instagram page.
“I always get recognised in malls and even when I travel,” she says. “I love my fans and I always give them time, and love to speak to them and know about them, too.”
Her love for Lambos, meanwhile, has lead her to become part of the Italian marque's recently established worldwide Female Advisory Board, alongside contemporaries such as Emirati car enthusiast Maha Mubarak Al Shamsi.
“I am beyond proud and honored being part of FAB, selected among many ladies,” she says. “I can’t wait to show you what FAB has in store.”
She is also an active member of Dubai's high-profile Supercars Majlis club, which holds regular meets across the UAE featuring dozens of multimillion-dirham motors that are almost always Instagram gold.
“I try to attend all their events,” she says. “They are fun and, most importantly, organised. With about 250 members overall and at least 80 members showing up with their super- and hypercars at every event, it can be quite hectic, but it’s always under control, being escorted by the police.
Such organised events give Itani the chance to show off her driving skills, which is an opportunity that she clearly relishes.
“Passion doesn’t have a gender,” she says of operating in a male-dominated sector. “The most challenges I get is when I’m mostly the only girl on the track [at events] and I find it funny, but it’s also challenging myself.”
Like almost every petrolhead, Itani has already planned her next petrol-powered purchases – a Lamborghini Huracan Performante, a McLaren 720S and the latest Mercedes-AMG G 63 are on her wishlist. It seems like her and her husband's aforementioned garage will require the construction of another wing rather soon – and it seems logical that at least one of those new buys will be resplendent in purple.
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Read more:
The Dubai supercar club taking it to the Ninth Degree
The Arabian Gazelles: Meet the UAE's first women-only luxury and supercar club
Three female motoring bloggers you need to know about
Latest from The National's Motoring section
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
EXPATS
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
The%20specs
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams