Rolls-Royce have revealed seven new cars as a tribute to Sheikh Zayed, the late UAE President. The seven cars, which reflects the amount of Emirates within the UAE, have been commissioned by Abu Dhabi Motors with the idea that the collection will demonstrate varying attributes that represent the country. Created in England, the luxury cars took a year to make and will have car buyers in the UAE eagerly awaiting the ‘Wisdom Collection’ which is set to include a couple of Phantom Coupés and Wraiths, a Ghost, a Phantom VII and a Dawn.

The Phantom VII, which takes its inspiration from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, will have the biggest and most complex embroidery ever seen in a Rolls-Royce car. The highly luxurious design took over 800 hours to create and features just under 400,000 stitches.

The collection also has two Phantom Coupés; the first one, which is simply called The Phantom Coupé, has been inspired by Qasr Al-Hosn Fort, while the other coupé, named the Phantom Drophead, has its design based on the Desert Rose. Qasr Al-Hosn Fort has a rich history and is one of the oldest stone buildings that you can find in Abu-Dhabi. Rolls-Royce has taken the time to recognise the history in their Phantom Coupé design, with pastel shades and highly intricate architectural details which reflect the geometric nature of the fort. Meanwhile, the other Coupé has a much more delicate design, aimed at accurately and tastefully representing the tranquillity that the Desert Rose has.

The Wraiths in the collection will also represent unique aspects of the UAE, the Falconry Wraith aims to get across the essence of falconry the UAE has with strength, power and authority all making its way into the car’s design. The other Wraith was commissioned to pay homage to the Sheikh Zayed Bridge, evident in the car’s flowing form and Royal Blue exterior. The Dawn in the collection has been designed by Rolls-Royce as a way of reflecting the UAE’s pearling tradition, with Rolls-Royce Motors saying that both the interior and exterior of the car mimic the marriage between pearls and the sea.

Finally we come to The Ghost, a car crafted by Rolls-Royce to represent the ancient trade routes in the UAE. The car exquisitely manages to combine a sandstone and white design with a motif in gold to give The Ghost a richly historical feel within a modern setting.

In face of the rising interest in modified cars, the UAE’s Minister of State, Dr Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, announced at the beginning of June the government’s intention to introduce rules to ensure that customised cars are safe for drivers and passengers.

This came just after the hottest transport news in UAE: that actor Tyrese Gibson, star of the “Fast and Furious” series of films, had opened the first overseas branch of his Voltron business in Sharjah. The Texas-based company produces custom versions of Jeep Wranglers and has signed an agreement with Sharjah Asset Management, the Government of Sharjah’s investment body, to open in Sharjah and offer vehicles in almost 300 showrooms.

The popularity of customisation for car buyers was highlighted by claims that 17 of Gibson’s Volton models were sold in the first three days after the announcement was made. Huge investment has been attracted to the modified car market with new race circuits in the UAE and car shows and meetings are increasing in number every year.

This rapid growth has raised concerns and Dr Fahad, who is also chairman of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Meteorology, said that the authority has been working together with the relevant federal and local strategic bodies to devise a set of standards that will ensure modified vehicles do not compromise safety.

Once the new system is in place, car workshops and service centres will only be allowed to make modifications to cars if they conform to particular technical specifications. The new rules will not apply to caravans, trailers, tractors or motorcycles, although separate plans are in the pipeline to restrict the size of delivery motorcycles’ storage boxes after a spate of accidents and traffic violations.

Has the craze for car customising caught your interest? Are you looking for a new car you can personalise to your own design and are thinking of selling your car in UAE easily, for the best price?

Whether your current car has been modified or not, the prime place to sell it is Simply Car Buyers.

After five months it was almost looking like Chevrolet weren’t going to announce much in the way of special editions for 2017, this week however Chevrolet have broken their silence and announced an all-new special edition for their line up of sports cars. Although the edition will boast a number of eye catching specs, the name is relatively straightforward, it’s simply called the Corvette Carbon 65. Fans of Chevrolet can expect to find an exterior that has its own custom finish along with a raft of weight saving materials, all designed to make driving the Carbon 65 as fun as possible.

There’s no mistaking the Corvette Carbon 65, particularly when you compare it to the other cars in Chevrolet’s 2017 lineup. The carbon fibre body panels that come as standard include the roof panels and rear spoiler, along with the hood insert and centre wheel caps. The Carbon 65 also has a custom designed door, with fender graphics. The sleek look is completed by an exterior which is entirely coated in Ceramic Matrix Grey, although it looks more white than grey.

When it comes to the interior, weight has been saved pretty much everywhere you look and the steering wheel trim is no exception, which is made from carbon fibre. It’s also not short on luxury, with the Carbon 65 boasting a premium sound system courtesy of BOSE. There’s also navigation and Bluetooth pairing and cooled front seats, making it a perfect choice for the UAE.

Although there are plenty of aspects that would make the Carbon 65 ideal for the UAE, unfortunately not many of them will be seen outside of US shores. General Motors have announced that only 650 will be made and a huge 500 of those are heading to the States. It means only 150 Carbon 65s will end up being exported, so you’re going to have to be quick if you want to secure yourself one.

The Carbon 65 package will be available for an additional AED 55,095, for those who are already purchasing Corvette’s with Z06 along with the Grand Sport packages.

The residents of Dubai are no strangers to unusual cars. Wealthy sheikhs will always find new ways to make their exotic toys stand out from the pack – whether that’s an enormous, six-wheeled Mercedes G-Wagon, a gold-plated Lamborghini Aventador or an ultra-rare, jet black Bugatti.

But soon there could be some even more arrestingly eye-catching machines on the roads of the UAE: flying Uber taxis. That’s right, the revolutionary San Francisco-based tech start-up has nominated the emirate as one of only two places in the world – the other being Dallas, Texas – where it plans to turn its futuristic vision of airborne cars into a reality.

The benefits of flying taxis, according to Uber, are clear – reducing congestion and pollution on Dubai’s busy streets, vastly decreasing journey times across and between cities, and making better use of space that would usually be used to park conventional, non-airborne vehicles.

It’s no surprise Uber chose Dubai over, say, Shanghai or London. The Arab city is known for embracing the opportunity to adopt the newest transportation technology, with plans in the pipeline for one of the world’s first Hyperloop tracks and even jetpacks for firefighters.

The plan is more realistic than it may first appear. Uber attracts vast amounts of funding from outside investors and has so far dominated almost every market it has entered. The firm remains a software company as opposed to a taxi service or a vehicle manufacturer. The expectation is that Uber will partner with various other aircraft and infrastructure manufacturers who will build the aircraft themselves, the docking ports, the charging stations and so on. Uber will simply develop the technology to dispatch the flying cars to and from their destinations, likely cashing in on sizeable profits along the way.

There are, of course, logistical and regulatory hurdles to overcome, with the skies over Dubai already overcrowded, but Uber plans first to work with the USA’s Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to devise legislation enabling the flying cars to operate in Texas. The Dubai authorities could then follow suit and emulate the legislation.

Uber’s plans are ambitious, and right now, they’re still up in the air. But that might change very soon.

Tyrese Gibson will always be associated with cars, due to his role in the hit film series, The Fast and The Furious. And now his love of cars has manifested itself in the UAE.

Gibson is setting up a new venture in the UAE, setting up a branch of his jeep assembly company in partnership with Sharjah Asset Management, which is the investment body of the local government. The actor’s interest in the UAE has been peaked during several trips here, including for the premiere of the eighth Fast and Furious movie.

In a recent post on social media network Instagram, the Hollywood superstar enthused: “My #OffRoadKillers just touched down in the #UAE #V8Supercharged engine – Showroom already built!!!!”

Gibson is evidently determined to succeed with the venture and has reported the sale of 17 vehicles since opening earlier in the month. A deal has been struck to feature the jeeps in no less than 300 showrooms, and the actor reported on his Instagram account that the regional pulling power of the UAE as an aspirational destination will contribute to the venture’s future success.

The extra safety afforded by the 4×4 cars is another reason Gibson is convinced of the company’s ability to establish itself in such a competitive market. That’s because Gibson believes the cars have the ability to reduce traffic accidents and their subsequent risk of injuries. He explained: “In addition to safety measures, we focus on top performance and innovative design techniques in our customised, modified and upgraded cars.”

The actor is reported to have stayed in Al Habtoor City on honeymoon with his wife, adding to his affection for the area.

Gibson certainly made an impression at the Fast and Furious premiere, when he greeted a large group of fans dressed in a traditional keffiyeh and white kondora made for the occasion. He handed out autographed posters to fans at the Rodhe Cinema Lounge. He whetted fans’ appetite for the ‘Fate of the Furious’ move by asking a Gulf News reporter: “How can you outdo the last one? How can you make it bigger and better?”