Back to the future

Of the many spectacles lauded by visitors to Dubai, there is one that is ubiquitous across the city's highway-strewn landscape: the sheer numbers and variety of top-end cars in the emirate, enough to rival any city on earth. So an auto show in a town where there is about one car for every two residents (according to the Dubai Statistics Centre) is expected to be truly special. The 2011 Dubai International Motor Show, now in its 11th year, is primed to be just that.

Hogging the spotlight are worldwide debuts from from high profile exhibitors including Brabus, Chevrolet, De Macross, Jaguar, Land Rover and first-time exhibitor Lifan, who join a number of new exhibitors to this year's motor show, including debut appearances from Dallara, McLaren, Shelby, PininFarina Hyperion, De Macross, Asma, Switzer, MV-1, and Depp-At.

Automakers are prone to commemorate milestones with vintage cars — an exciting prospect considering that 2011 just happens to mark an unusually long list of landmark dates. First and foremost, the car itself as we know it is now 125 years old. Karl Benz built and patented his Motorwagen in 1886, selling 25 or so over the next decade. Strange — bearing in mind that Continental Tyres was founded in 1871, 15 years prior to Benz's creation. If ever there was a company that exemplified adaptation to the times — it has to be a tyre manufacturer that existed before the car.

Continuing with the agenda of forthcoming celebrations, it has been a decade since Mini relaunched itself under the BMW Group, revamping its image from granny-mobile to 21st-century icon. The second coming of the Mini Cooper captured the imagination of a generation — product placement reached new heights as it took centre stage in The Italian Job. Fans will get a glimpse of the new coupé at this year's show — the first ever two-seater, an additional new model and a concept car to boot. Also on show for the first time in the region will be the Vision ConnectedDrive, a two-seat roadster concept study, as well as several vehicles showcasing the BMW Individual programme. These include the BMW 7 Series Steinway & Sons Edition and a BMW 7 Series UAE Edition that celebrates 40 years of the UAE.

Other brands will also display new models. Renault will feature ten cars on its stand, including the new Koleos and the new Duster, which are expected to hit the regional market over the next few months. In all, there will be more than 50 regional premieres at the event, with new models from Aston Martin, Audi, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Kia, Lexus, Peugeot, Renault, Shelby and Volkswagen.

Expect also to see a few comebacks. It's been 30 years since McLaren dazzled the world with its first supercar. The manufacturer will make its Middle East debut this year with its new MP3-12c. Preliminary specs on this beast boast a top speed of 330 km/h and acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds. There's a golden jubilee in the mix, too, as Jaguar turns 50.

Besides the global launch of the XJ Sport, the new E-type is expected to make an appearance, as is the new XKR-S — the fastest car Jaguar has ever produced. The highlight anniversary, however, will be Rolls-Royce. It's been a full century since the Flying Lady first graced the purring bonnets of this quintessential luxury car. A jewel-encrusted lady mascot, studded with 2,300 diamonds will be on show at the event. Said to be worth about Dh900,000, it will likely be the eye-catching showpiece of the weekend. It is fitting that the crowning exhibit is linked to the luxury segment.

End-year results for this market are expected to reflect an incredible 20 per cent year-on-year growth from 2010 according to markt researcher IHS Automotive. Last year, this figure stood at 9.7 per cent, bearing in mind that this is an industry that particularly tends to suffer during recessionary periods. Even so, the forecast for the five-year period to 2015 suggests that the luxury car market will double in the Middle East — making it the centre of the universe for the industry. Another luxury car manufacturer, Bentley, saw 31 per cent growth in sales over the last 12 months, and plans to capitalise the existing momentum at the upcoming event, by putting its new Continental GTC on show.

The UAE is the largest market in the region for several luxury brands. BMW, one of the greatest beneficiaries of local auto-enthusiasm going by the sheer number of its cars on Dubai's roads, has seen strong sales performance in the Middle East between January and September, with 13,777 BMW and Mini models sold, representing an 11 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2010. Sales at Mini have increased a whopping 85 per cent, driven partly by the introduction of the new Countryman.

Then there is the manufacturer namesake of the original automaker — Mercedes-Benz, which has revealed little other than that certain "exciting new models" will debut at the exhibition.

"Visitors to the Infiniti stand can take a look at a very special version of the FX Crossover," says Michel Ayat, CEO of Nissan dealer AW Rostamani Automotive, adding that the new 2012 FX will also be up for display. He says is a strong indication that consumer confidence is back. "The UAE car market is up around 6 per cent year-on-year, but I'm pleased to report that we have actually out-performed the market by over three times."

Meanwhile, the specialist and highly lucrative tuning industry is set to ratchet up the show's glamour quotient. World-renowned tuner and manufacturer Brabus will showcase the Brabus 800 Coupé, the Brabus 800 EV12 convertible, the world's fastest sedan Brabus 800 Rocket and the world's most powerful off-roader the Brabus 800 Widestar. Other top names in this segment at the show are Fab Design, Gemballa Hamann, Invader, Mansory, Okcu and Vorsteiner.

Whether the historical milestones, the new models, the robust market growth or simply the ardent following the industry enjoys in this city, there is little to suggest that the Dubai International Motor Show will not be this year's stand out exhibition.