Dubai: The legendary BMW M1 returns and it will be one of the most stunning debuts of this year's Dubai International Motor Show.
German car manufacturer BMW decided in 2008 to rebuild the M1, which originally was manufactured from 1978 to 1981. It was the only mid-engined BMW to be mass produced and had 273 horsepower in the street version, giving a top speed of 260 km/h.
The new — or "retro" — version features the same mid-engine layout and borrows styling cues from both the original M1 and the Turbo show car. Both cars were designed by Italian car design superstar Giorgio Giugiaro.
Similarities
It is wider, taller and wilder than the original, but sitting alongside the original, some similarities are clear.
They include ­ the slats over the rear window and the front grille, although BMW has played down the M1 Concept's importance, claiming it is a design exercise celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first M1 hitting the roads.
Commenting on the attention-grabbing model Phil Horton, managing director of BMW Middle East said: "The BMW M1 was an utterly uncompromising super sports car which exuded passion. Its forerunner, the BMW Turbo by Paul Bracq, displayed innovative technical solutions that found their expression in emotional design".
The specifications of the car have not been released yet.

Why have there been 3,000 cars abandoned at the Dubai airport

 

You had to know it was going to end. Dubai's storied boom is starting to falter as the worldwide economic woes catch up with the nation's real estate and financial services-fueled good times. Abandoned cars are beginning to pile up at Dubai International Airport as overextended expatriates flee. Dubai throws debtors in the pokey, and if you lose your job, they yank your visa; two good reasons to drive to the airport and leave your maxed out credit cards on the passenger seat with an "I'm sorry" note. 3,000 cars are reportedly stockpiled at the airport so far, and with reports of 1,500 visas a day being cancelled, there may be a lot of dusty, cut rate luxury cars available for closeout prices.
 
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Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down

 

 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai’s fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage.

No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai’s major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.
Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country’s reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000). Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis.
Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai’s Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher.
“At the moment there is a readiness to believe the worst,” said Simon Williams, HSBC bank’s chief economist in Dubai. “And the limits on data make it difficult to counter the rumors.”

Only 11 cars left at Dubai airport in past year

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 Only 11 cars have been abandoned at Dubai airport in over a year, according to the emirate’s chief of police in a stinging attack on the country’s media for misreporting the facts.
Clarification on the number of cars left at Dubai International Airport came following repeated media reports that the figure had hit 3,000, as increasing numbers of expatriates fled the emirate as a result of the economic crisis.

Reports of thousands of cars being left at the airport as the global downturn hit Dubai have been circulating in the UAE media for weeks.

However, it was an article in The Times of London last week, repeating the 3,000 figure, that prompted lieutenant general Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, chief of the Dubai police department, to speak out.

 

Dubai cars-Dreamcars