Photo essay: Souped-up, styled-up Jeeps in the UAE

Demand for car upgrades is on the increase and the Middle East is at the forefront of the trend

• 

  Offroad Zone deals mostly with Jeep Wranglers. All photos: Victor Besa / The National

• 

  A stage one Jeep upgrade takes about five work hours to complete in the Offroad Zone workshop

• 

  A custom badge identifies the work done on a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

• 

  A set of Fox shock absorbers

• 

  Hakob Harutyunyan has been custom building 4x4s for more than 20 years. His father has a similar business back in Armenia

• 

  Customer service personnel at Offroad Zone

• 

  An upgraded suspension after installation

• 

  Sarkis, Hakob Harutyunyan's 16-year old son, also gets involved with the company's work

• 

  A mechanic measures part of a lift kit

• 

  A Jeep's shock absorber and coil-spring set-up before an upgrade

• 

  A Wrangler's front shock absorber and coil-spring set-up prior to an upgrade

• 

  The parts box containing the lift kit used by Offroad Zone

• 

  A mechanic who specialises in suspension removes a Wrangler's regular shock absorbers

• 

  Offroad Zone's mechanics are mostly from Bangladesh and the Philippines

• 

  Regular Jeep tyres next to the 33in custom equivalent fitted by Offroad Zone

• 

  Drilling is required to accommodate the Jeep lift kit

• 

  SUV alloy wheels designed for extreme terrain in the Offroad Zone workshop

• 

  A 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon after Offroad Zone's stage two treatment is fitted with a winch system capable of pulling more than 4,500kg

• 

  A mechanic installs the rear suspension on a Wrangler

• 

  An adjustable damper system is fitted to absorb some of the energy released by the springs in a vehicle's suspension

• 

  LED lights are an option provided by Offroad Zone

• 

  Custom Jeeps at the Offroad Zone showroom

The number of drivers keen to rev up their rides with upgrades and modifications is growing.

Figures from the Maximize Market Research agency suggest the amount spent on vehicle enhancements will increase by nearly 3.5 per cent a year until the turn of the decade.

The Middle East will not be bucking this trend, if the experiences of UAE Jeep specialist Offroad-Zone are anything to go by.

Company manager Hakob Harutyunyan says demand for the company's services has almost doubled in the past three years and he he can foresee no let-up in demand.

Offroad-Zone provides a range of Jeep modifications, geared to providing souped-up performance as well as personalised stylings, inside and out.

Most of the work the company's mechanics carry out is on Wranglers. Customers can choose two stages of upgrade, each of which takes about a day to complete.

Engine tuning in partnership with exhaust and air intake improvements will lead to superior performance, but modifiers keen on getting involved in extreme off-roading often opt for a suspension lift, which raises the vehicle higher off the ground.

The extra clearance allows mechanics to fit larger, chunkier tyres, which give drivers a greater chance of getting through the roughest terrain unscathed.