Car Chat General discussion about Lexus, other auto manufacturers and automotive news.

World's Greatest Driving Road!!! [pics]

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 09-04-06, 11:08 PM
  #1  
Seize
Loves Snickerdoodles!
Thread Starter
 
Seize's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 19,736
Received 68 Likes on 53 Posts
Default World's Greatest Driving Road!!! [pics]

Sunday, September 03, 2006

World's Greatest Driving Road

Just have a look What they have created in a desert...
The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the greatest driving road in the world. Stretching for 7.3 miles and climbing nearly 4,000 feet, it boasts 60 corners and a surface so smooth that it would flatter a racetrack. It could easily be described as the eighth wonder of the world, but almost nothing is known about its creation.

The road is cut into the Jebel Hafeet mountain, the highest peak in the United Arab Emirates , the oil-rich Persian Gulf state. The mountain spans the border with Oman and lies about 90 minutes' drive southeast of the thriving city of Dubai . It looks down upon a dusty, desert landscape that belies a nation of astonishing wealth.














*source
http://www.interesting.vaty.net/2006...ving-road.html


Awesome just awesome!!
Seize is offline  
Old 09-04-06, 11:11 PM
  #2  
AJ
Lexus Champion

 
AJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: International
Posts: 3,649
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

im hitting that the minute its done
AJ is offline  
Old 09-04-06, 11:23 PM
  #3  
LexFather
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Holy crap!! You know they built that on purpose, since they have all those exotics....

Talk about heaven on earth, that place has almost everything and if they don't have it, they just build it!
 
Old 09-04-06, 11:25 PM
  #4  
LexFather
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=109278

A bizarre history lesson
The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road must have cost $100 million to build, but its origins remain shrouded in mystery. You can buy an enormous guidebook detailing the hydrogeology of the local spring, or the DNA of the resident butterflies, but info on the road itself is almost impossible to find.

Desperate for more information, we seek out the manager of the Mercure Hotel that opened at the top of the mountain three years ago. Rajesh Kapoor reckons that the road "was completed about a dozen years ago. I think the architect was Swedish because we had a Swedish guest stay who claimed that her husband was responsible for it." But that contradicts a claim made in a natural history guidebook that says the road was built in 1987.

Official sources suggest it was built as a honey pot for tourists who travel from nearby cities to sample the mountain air. But with the exception of the surprisingly mediocre hotel, there's almost nothing here. The road culminates in a huge car park, but the tatty café is unworthy of custom.

Perhaps the real, unspoken reason for the road's existence is to be found a mile from the hotel. There, sitting on top of the mountain, is a huge palace belonging to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the current ruler of the Emirates. His face also adorns a huge banner announcing the entrance to the road and it's under his watch that it was constructed. This incredible feat of engineering is actually no more than a giant driveway. It's enough to make Bill Gates green with envy.
 
Old 09-04-06, 11:26 PM
  #5  
ic144
Driver
 
ic144's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Behold, the power of money.
ic144 is offline  
Old 09-04-06, 11:30 PM
  #6  
hass
Lexus Champion
 
hass's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Not suprised that it's in UAE
hass is offline  
Old 09-05-06, 03:07 AM
  #7  
mmarshall
Lexus Fanatic
 
mmarshall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Posts: 91,066
Received 87 Likes on 86 Posts
Default

Yes, it is a impressive sports car road, but there are some roads in the Alps and the Great Smokies than can rival it....as the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. ( And the Pikes Peak road has no guard rails ).
mmarshall is offline  
Old 09-06-06, 11:36 PM
  #8  
rominl
exclusive matchup

iTrader: (4)
 
rominl's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Lovely OC
Posts: 81,671
Received 190 Likes on 148 Posts
Default

wow, what a nice road setup there, look at the pics! 60 corners in 7 miles, a nice drive for sure!
rominl is offline  
Old 09-07-06, 12:35 AM
  #9  
vraa
CL Folding Team Starter

iTrader: (2)
 
vraa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: TX
Posts: 4,669
Received 352 Likes on 206 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ic144
Behold, the power of money.
Also behold the power of the mind.

The pics would've been awesome without that Mini...
vraa is offline  
Old 09-07-06, 11:22 AM
  #10  
Hartawan
Former Vendor
iTrader: (1)
 
Hartawan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: S.CA
Posts: 4,101
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by ricky.agrawal
Also behold the power of the mind.

The pics would've been awesome without that Mini...

Yeah.. that mini is a meow. Put a Lexus in there... Rawr.
Hartawan is offline  
Old 09-07-06, 01:00 PM
  #11  
ic144
Driver
 
ic144's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ricky.agrawal
Also behold the power of the mind.

The pics would've been awesome without that Mini...
A Porsche or BMW would be better.
ic144 is offline  
Old 09-07-06, 01:20 PM
  #12  
4TehNguyen
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
 
4TehNguyen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 26,052
Received 51 Likes on 46 Posts
Default

should see some of their manmade islands, 6-7 star hotels also
4TehNguyen is offline  
Old 09-07-06, 01:40 PM
  #13  
GFerg
Speaks French in Russian

 
GFerg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: What is G?
Posts: 13,277
Received 64 Likes on 49 Posts
Default

That is simply incredible.
GFerg is offline  
Old 09-07-06, 03:06 PM
  #14  
Mazinger
Rookie
 
Mazinger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Around and about
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Should I go there?
Mazinger is offline  
Old 09-07-06, 04:33 PM
  #15  
KneeShoe00
Lexus Test Driver
 
KneeShoe00's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: CA
Posts: 1,100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

you can have some fun on those roads for sure...
KneeShoe00 is offline  


Quick Reply: World's Greatest Driving Road!!! [pics]



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:28 AM.