Barnard supercar on sale in Dubai
Sexy South African speed freak or tearaway Tiger?
By Shahzad Sheikh
Top Line Motors in Dubai is uniquely offering this extraordinarily rare road-doing race car – yes you can road register it insists Top Line boss Nader Zuhour, though it’s unlikely you’ll be driving down to Carrefour in it if you did.
Lift up that massive engine cover over the back of this extreme machine from South Africa, produced by a Chris Barnard, and you’ll find a Porsche V8 tuned up to 617bhp. This is claimed to give this LeMan’s lookalike supercar 0-100kph performance in under 4 seconds and a flat-out top speed well north of 350kph.
Built on a high-tech lightweight steel monocoque chassis the car is inspired by the Porsche 962 endurance racer. It’s a full manual with no ABS, traction control or even electric windows, and the amazing cockpit is modelled after aircraft. This car is built to order with prices around a lofty AED 1.5m.
Whilst we were there, Jean-Loup’s stunning 1967 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 from Classic Recreations, along with a couple of Porsches (a GT2 and GT3 RS) and carbon-effect Ford GT alongside a Mitsubishi Evo were also on offer.
Another car on sale is the almost equally rare (for the UAE), Tiger B6. A tiny little Caterham 7 style sportscar, the racy little number is fitted with a screaming Suzuki GSXR 1000 engine and the whole thing weights just 465kg. With a 0-100kph time of around 4.5seconds, it’s bound to be a bundle of fun. Nader says he’ll let it go for AED 110,000.
