Driven by the Qatari passion

Whether the Entop Simurgh sees production reality remains to be seen despite the unabashed optimism of Ahmadi. What the Simurgh captured was the newfound love affair for the automobile in the Middle East and Asia. With the Geneva International Motor Show Qatar closing with an impressive attendance of 180,000 visitors over 10 days, the show was indeed a success, driven by the passion that the Qataris seem to have for automobiles.

In an earlier article previewing this motor show, from March 6-19, 2023, titled ‘The Geneva Motor Show in Qatar – How Come’, we had questioned not just the title of the show but also the idea of a motor show in a part of the world where they did not make any cars, even if they did buy in not insignificant numbers. In that article, we had written: “The all-new motor show in Doha has been conceived to be the Geneva motor show of Asia, the one neutral venue where all exhibitors will be treated more equally than those in the other Asian shows.”

And if we go by the participation and the range of marques and models at the show, the reality seems to be true to the concept – exhibitors seem to have been treated more equally than elsewhere and every one of the 30 marques participating had somewhat similar floor space.

With 29 regional launches and 12 world premieres (the Entop Simurgh being one of them), the inaugural GIMS Qatar also drew over 1,000 journalists from more than 50 countries, though most were from the region. 

Inaugurated by Qatar Tourism, as the motor show was part of the automobile festival week with the Formula 1 race taking place at Doha on Sunday, 8 October, the Deputy Chairman of Qatar Tourism, H E Saad Bin Ali Al Kharji was quoted as saying: “We are delighted to have led efforts to bring to Qatar one of the most elite exhibitions in the automotive industry and demonstrate Qatar’s ability to host large-scale events. Our state-of-the-art conference facilities, liberal travel policies and expanded hospitality offering make Qatar an ideal choice for businesses considering an international destination for their events.”

Set at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) and spread over 10,000 sq m over one large open hall, the exhibition was complemented by the Future Design Forum held at the National Museum of Qatar, the Track Days at the newly renovated Lusail International Circuit, off-roading experiences at the Sealine Adventure Hub as well as a Parade of Excellence at the Urban Playground created in the family-friendly Lusail Boulevard.

The layout of stands at the DECC hall itself was most interesting, with the western part of the hall dominated by automotive marques from the West, such as the German brands Mercedes-Benz, the Volkswagen Group with Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini (as well as VW), and BMW, with Mini sharing a stand.

The other Europeans included a stand with Jaguar Land Rover showcasing SUVs from both these Tata Motors-owned marques, plus another one by British sports car specialist, McLaren, as well as a surprise stand by the recently resurrected French marque of yore, Delage.

The Geneva Motor Show is famous for encouraging small-scale specialist manufacturers – including the likes of Lamborghini during its early years – to exhibit and receive a leg-up, and Doha seems to be taking on that role for Asia.

“I believe that the Middle East is where the market is for expensive, limited production cars like our new Delage D12,” explained Laurent Tapie, the French entrepreneur who had acquired the Delage marque in 2019 and launched the D12 hypercar later that year. “Exhibiting here makes much better sense for us than in Europe.”

That seems to be the reason too why two other relatively recent wannabe supercar… err… auto makers, Silk-FAW and Lazareth were also at the Doha show. The latter, Lazareth, is another French outfit, founded by Ludovic Lazareth, who has designed the LMV 496 Moto Volante (or ‘flying motorcycle’ in Italian). The Lazareth features an electric powertrain, and by simply pressing a button, wheels can be folded out to a horizontal setting.

Once the wheels are off the ground, four jet engines keep the ‘bike’ afloat, as well as propel it forward like a flying machine. With the four jets developing over 1300bhp, the machine is one crazy device. Just five will be made. What’s the price? One was afraid to ask… but we hear that it’s a reasonable half-a-million euro (around Rs4.4 crore).

EVs and more

The Silk-FAW is a slightly more sensible vehicle, just another EV supercar. A joint venture between Italian start-up Silk, and long-time Chinese auto giant FAW (First Auto Works), the car had started as the Hongqi S9; then there was talk of making the car both in Italy and China, and now it looks like it may be made only in China…

What was most noteworthy, though, was the Chinese presence at GIMS Qatar, with essentially two of their biggest players taking rather large stands. Geely was represented via their Lynk & Co brand of EVs – given that they have been making significant inroads into the European market, they must be looking to capitalise on their success with the concept of leasing a car, and not ownership.

Chery exhibited a range of marques and models which are targeted at the Middle-East kind of markets, such as the Jaecoo and the Omoda SUVs. The Jaecoo is a big and upright seven-seater EV SUV, whereas the Omoda SUV is a sportier five-seater with semi-fastback styling. Chery’s flagship EV brand, Exeed, had a separate stand where they showcased… more SUVs. And they were even bigger!

An annual event?

Talking about EVs, the much talked about American start-up Lucid was at Doha too with the model Air, the car which has been winning plaudits as arguably one of the finest EVs anywhere. But it was the Japanese that were out in force too – led by the likes of Toyota, Nissan, and its flagship brand Infiniti. Kia was there too, but not Hyundai. Most interestingly, Vinfast, the Vietnamese start-up, had an important presence as well.

Several of the more important brands weren’t represented directly, but via their importer-distributors, namely, the Alfardan Group, led by H E Omar Hussain Alfardan, who also explained that given the success of the show this year, they “may well consider making the show an annual event, instead of the biennial that we had announced”.

Omar Hussain Alfardan also lent three of his exceptional historic vehicles – two Rolls-Royces and a BMW 328 Roadster from 1938 – for a special exhibition titled ‘World’s Greatest Motorcars’. Ten other cars – mostly Rolls-Royces, a couple of Bentleys, and a French racing Ballot, the car which had won the very first Italian Grand Prix – were on exhibit too. Several of the cars had an Indian provenance, as most of the cars (seven of them) were from the billionaire Yohan Poonawalla collection.

The yet-to-be-established National Auto Museum of Qatar too had four very important historic vehicles on display – two at the entrance and two more within the exhibition hall, including a rare Ferrari, a 250 GT LWB, and a one-off Mercer-Cobra. “We would like to leave some ‘traces’ as we build up our collection and ready our auto museum, with which we hope to capture the cultural heritage of the automobile, when it opens in 2027,” explained the museum’s Director, Dr Alkindi Aljawabra.

Another initiative and collaboration between the National Auto Museum and the VCUarts Qatar (Virginia Commonwealth University) is to work on a master class by the renowned design legend Marcello Gandini, who has “accepted to work with a university and the masterclass would become his latest ‘prototype’, a ‘vehicle’ that carries his design philosophy across generations,” explained VCUarts Qatar’s Associate Professor Simone Carena. Given that some of Gandini’s masterpieces debuted in past Geneva Motor Shows (Lamborghini Miura, Espada, Countach, etc), it would be symbolic if Qatar carries the torch forward.

Sandro Mesquita, the CEO of the Geneva International Motor Show, seems to have reiterated the same idea when he was quoted as saying: “Our Geneva Salon has for many years allowed the great and good of the automotive industry to connect, share ideas and inspire the future of the sector. It has also been the place to show what we call ‘automotive excellence.’” He added: “This first edition of GIMS Qatar is a true testament to that.”