We drive the SUVwith a serious

attitude problem

a radical restyle

! SCUDERIA SPIDER ! FORD MUSTANG ! AUDI TT RS ! FERRARI vs BENTLEY

BLAST OFFCracking 400kph without the roof in the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport

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An ITP Consumer Publication

Big executive gets

Sensational new rival for Lambo’s Gallardo

FERRARI F458

BMW X6M

JAG XJ

FRANKLY, IT MISSES THE POINT. A 360kph Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport can’t conceivably be considered a logical purchase. At that speed your eardrums would be pummelled by an onslaught of sound, your follicles will try to rip from your scalp and your body will tense up like a coiled

clockwork mechanism as you battle the bu! eting. Meanwhile, your vision is blurred and your eyeballs

are itchy because your tears have been blasted away. For a similar adrenaline rush from exposed,

tumultuous momentum jump on a rollercoaster. It’s a lot cheaper and arguably safer.

There are only two reasons to opt for open-tops and they depend on the type of individual you aspire to be. The fi rst is the incredibly vain kind, those who deem their own visage of such brilliance that they graciously allow others to behold it – or they just want to make sure everyone knows it’s them in the hot car.

The others are amiable extroverts who are curious to see, smell, sense and feel very aspect of the journey of life as they make passage through it. An enclosed cabin for them acts less as a guarantor of comfort, security and serenity, but more an enforcer of isolation and detachment from the world ‘out there’.

To follow their example and benefi t from the potential fulfi lment of going topless you need to do two things. To start with, slow down so as to immerse yourself in the aura of whence you pass through. Secondly, go somewhere soaked in ambience and atmosphere – the kind of place that will sink into your soul and leave your hairs standing on end.

The fi rst didn’t take long to address. Filed under the title of ‘world’s slowest convertible’ is the Defender

Encounter with destiny

Photography Thanos Lazopoulos

RANKLY IT MISSES THE POINT

Land Rover’s Defender is still the ultimate explorer vehicle. Shahzad Sheikh takes the soft top to a deserted ghost town

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ADVENTURE LAND ROVER DEFENDER

A new six-speed manual gearbox was slotted in with a lower fi rst for rock-crawling (naturally, you also get low ratios and di! erential lock) and a higher sixth for a less fussy and thriftier cruise.

External changes are noticeable only to anoraks, but inside there was a new full width fascia

with instrumentation from the LR3, some carried-over switchgear and borrowed panels from a Ford Transit. The air-con’s improved, but that’s something of a moot point when driving this particular Defender, as it was fully roofl ess and didn’t come with its bimini canvas. And this in July!

All of this extensive refurbishment makes the cabin a more palatable place for the modern motorist with controls, stalks and buttons that are easily recognised and intuitively operated. Ergonomics are just about acceptable

38 AUGUST 2009 CAR MIDDLE EAST.COM

ADVENTURE LAND ROVER DEFENDER

REFRESHEDThe ‘07 model year saw a completely new fascia with bits borrowed from the LR3 and the Ford Transit Van. It’s still crude and cramped though. Functional is the word

90 Soft Top, as seen on these pages and available from your local Land Rover dealer.

It’s essentially derived from the original Series I of 1948 having undergone many evolutions. In its last regenerative incubation the venerable Defender received a comprehensive overhaul aimed at securing its lifespan through to a time that legislation makes it obsolete – that would be 2010.

Land Rover’s own diesel was ditched in favour of a Ford 2.4-litre unit which was reworked to cope with wet and dusty conditions and maintain lubrication whatever the incline o! -road driving could present it with. The power peak was reduced so that the maximum available 121bhp is delivered at a low 3500rpm, whilst torque is pumped to a beefy 265lb ft and spread across just 1500-2000rpm.

and the seat itself is comfy. Seating position on the other hand is relative to you – those with long-legs, like me, will fi nd it cramped.

It remains crude and basic, though certainly a big step up. Functional and workmanlike would be apt words to employ at this point.

The gearbox is defi nitely an improvement, less clunky – you don’t select the dog-leg reverse quite as often when intending to make a pitch for fi rst. A rattle greets you on start up but it’s a contemporary clatter and the performance benefi ts from turbocharging. The o" cial 0-100kph fi gure is 15.8secs, but I could only manage a best of 18.1. By comparison the Veyron will reach 240kph from standstill in less than half that.

Straining every last millimetre of give from the accelerator only achieves a barely sustainable 133kph. A cruising speed of around 90kph is more acceptable due to the self-acquired stance of elbow on the window sill – typical of Landy lovers, but practical due to the intimacy of the door panel.

On-road handling is grippy and... not worth talking about really. Come on, this thing rides on squishy coil suspension optimised for painful-looking axle articulation so beloved of hard-core o! -roady types. Plus it can transport over half a ton of cargo. Can the Bugatti do that?

Nonetheless the ride is actually quite good, though somewhat lolloping. It’s probably the saving grace in the unusually time consuming journey east from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah. Which brings us back to the second requirement of fruitful open-air motoring – atmosphere.

We’ve come to a ghost town. The derelict settlement of Jazirat Al Hamra used to be on an island until dredging and receding waters a" xed it to the ever-changing UAE coastline. Once occupied by the Zaabi tribe who were mostly fi shermen and pearl divers, allegedly they also partook in a spot of pirating. Legend has it the

inhabitants fell out with the Sheikh of RAK decades ago but found sanctuary with the ruler of Abu Dhabi. Others claim they simply chose to give up a harsh life on what is the eldest town on the Gulf for contempory living in the UAE capital.

The village is a mixture of late twentieth century structures and coral stone houses dating back over a 100 years. Eerily quiet even in the middle of the day, despite surrounding construction and industrial enterprises, driving through the deserted pathways is creepy yet fascinating.

Whilst the photographer snapped static shots of the Defender, a nearby door creaks and swings on its own despite the stillness. I take a peak inside the barren structure, but resist the temptation to enter. Some of the gra! ti claims that djinn live here

But Land Rovers made their reputation in exploration and this tough, dependable workhorse of the wild proves a perfect vehicle for picking our way through the narrow alleyways, passing the crumbling buildings and through the overgrowth. There’s nowhere it won’t go – at one point, we even drive into the courtyard of a house.

Traditional wind towers intersperse with rectangular holes where air-con units once lived, and smashed tiles and tubelight brackets lay littered not far from a rare conical minaret at one of the mosques. These remnants of a mixed heritage paints a picture of an ancient culture adopting and ultimately being consumed by modernity.

The Defender felt at home here in more ways than one, partly because it takes this stu" in its stride, but mainly because its own destiny is refl ected in the fate of this village.

The automotive stalwart is inevitably doomed – it already feels outdated, despite the freshening. But it remains the most hard-core soft top you can buy and still the ultimate explorer.

GO ANYWHEREThe conical minaret with this mosque is a rare fi nd. This derelict former fi shing village is the eldest found on the Persian Gulf. The Defender took it all in its stride

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