Say Hello To The Zarooq Motors Sand Racer, The "Off-Road Lamborghini Of Arabia"

Dubai (UAE), June 28th 2017:
Does anyone remember the Zarooq Motors Sand Racer? It was unveiled in December 2015, and it’s a road-legal racecar designed in the United Arab Emirates. After 1.5 years of intense testing, the car now goes into production, starting off with a limited edition called Sand Racer 500 GT.

The original idea was to create an extreme supercar which could handle the city streets of Dubai as well as the Arabic deserts. However, when the car was unveiled in late 2015, the potential customers weren’t yet satisfied with the result - requesting an even more agressive design and more power.

The Dubai-based startup Zarooq Motors was open for constructive criticism and improved the car. They kept the original idea of an rear-wheel-drive layout, but now the car comes with a different front design, two square exhaust pipes and an enormous diffusor. The space frame chassis was also modified, based on results from off-road and racetrack tests as well as computer-simulated accidents.
However, the most significant changes happened under the hood. Originally, a 3.5 liter V6 was supposed to power the car, but now it has been swapped for a 6.2 liter V8 producing 525 hp and 660 Nm / 490 ft-lb of torque. As the car only weighs 1.2 tonnes, this should make for a spectacular performance. Zarooq Motors hasn’t revealed any 0-60 times yet, however they claimed that the top speed is 220 kmh / 137 mph. The V8 is paired with a sequential five-speed transmission from Weddle Industries. The maximum ground clearance has been raised to 45 cm, and there are two individual programs for either track or off-road uses. The massive diffusor can be detached, otherwise it might get it the way when the car leaves paved roads. A roll cage has been installed as well, and it was designed by Spanish Formula 3 team Campos Racing.

Speaking of the Spanish roll cage, the car is actually really multicultural: The carbon fiber body is produced in Belgium, and the interior is from Mansory, a world-famous German tuning company. They equip the car with carbon fiber seats and steering wheel wrapped in hand-stitched leather.

Zarooq Motors has an original perspective on supercars: “All Supercars look fantastic, feature luxurious racing-inspired interiors and are exclusive high performance machines, but their common denominator is that they are suited to racetracks and certainly not designed for speed bumps. Zarooq Motors makes supercars that are unique since you can take them on a week-end track day or for a luxurious commute in the city but also on any off-road terrain, even the toughest dunes of the Arabian Desert where they were born” says Mohammed Al Qadi, Zarooq Motors’ executive.

Sales of the first limited-edition series of 35 supercars have started aimed at an exclusive clientele with a price tag starting at $450.000 in the UAE. Zarooq Motors also offers bespoke options and concierge services.

What do you think of this supercar? Comment below!
Tobi aka The Stig’s German Cousin

All information according to AutoNEWS and Zarooq’s website
Quote used in the title by car magazine Art of Gears