Jebel Jais is the tallest mountain in the UAE, measuring 1934m above sea level. The road leading up to it is very popular with supercar owners and today was going to be very special.
We initially organised the drive for aircooled cars only, cars signed up ranging from a selection of beetles and buses to a full range of Porsche’s including Matt’s 356 which he kindly leant to Graham from Dubai Drives for the day.
Interest in the drive soon spread and having already establish a great range of aircooled cars, we opened up the invitation list.
The vibe in Dubai has really grown this year with regard to classics and anything automotive in general and the experience of driving in the UAE.
Airwerk Garage kindly jumped onboard to support the drive along with our friends at Carculture.ae, Flat12 and Dubai.Drives. The support here is more than welcomed and very appreciated.
The drive was to begin at 6am from the Airwerks garage where hot coffee and banana bread would kick us into life. We were very nervous about how the day would go, we really had no idea how many people would actually turn up….
As we arrived the street was already starting to fill up, we can’t explain how this made us smile with amazing cars everywhere. Such a wide variety of people and cars, from a Clio to a Daytona, trucks, GT cars, a bagged Cadillac, BMW’s, a Morgan, Viper ACR, a range of Alfa’s and mini that had driven all the way from Abu Dhabi to take part. Just an amazing sight!
After a caffeine fix and Flat12 getting fuel after running out at the start (sorry to mention this guys) we rounded everyone up to start.
We lead the group in our 930, a total of 50 cars rolled out to Jais and the adventures ahead.
It’s at this point we noticed some holes in our planning. We had a route but this however may not have been communicated as clearly as it perhaps should have been.
The group soon split into two and the chase began. With the power of Whatsapp we could share live locations and it was clear to see Carculture were leading the cheating pack (or the “We are not lost pack”). Now to be clear this wasn’t your usual chase where people are going as fast possible. We had a wide variety of cars in the group, the mini couldn’t actually do over 90kph with the 120 km/h speed limit. This was clearly a tortoise racing a tortoise and one of them was clearly lost!
The 2 groups rejoined at a petrol station just outside of Jais to refuel and swap notes. Oil checks where done on the older cars, tires changed but no one had broken down. The enjoyment of these drives is about staying together and supporting each other, enjoying the scenery while being in the company of fellow car enthusiasts.
We set off again as a group, this time managing to stay together, massive thanks to Ahmed in his G Wagon for directing traffic for us so we could all stay safe and together.
We arrive at the bottom of Jais to take a breath and to organize groups for the final part of the mountain drive.
The drive is fantastic with twists and turns and sharp winding roads with a truly beautiful backdrop. We tailed a few cars up the winding road but watching the Daytona do it was something else.
Whilst in cruise mode a number of cars zipped past us (all clearly under the speed limit of course) and when you are in a 930 that just isn’t acceptable, so we down shifted, spat flames from the exhaust and set off. Now this was our first time up the mountain in the 930 so we were a little cautious on corners conscious not to let the Window Maker claim another victim.
The edge of the mountain is protected by concrete blocks but it is still a long way down. We darted up and just caught the group heading into the carpark at the top. Special mention should go to Graham in the 356. He clearly has been driving his RS PDK for too long and slipped a gear and had to push the 356 into the carpark as apparently he couldn’t start it. Good job we were there to help him with the car but not is pride.
Once everyone had a moment to chat and laugh about the drive we had some small gifts to award:
• Spirit of the Drive – Matt for lending Graham his 356 for the day as Matt was out of town for work.
• People’s Choice Award – This award went to the Arabian Bison’s (Ahmed and Ali) for their spirited and entertaining drive in the Chopard rally, well done guys!
• Winner of the Jais Adventure Drive – This had to go to Naser and his Mini for the epic drive from Abu Dhabi to participate in the event. Turns out the trophy only just fitted in the car for the drive back!
We’d just like to say thank you to a few people that we haven’t already mentioned: Sami, all the air-cooled guys and girls and everyone that came from Abu Dhabi.
Same time next year.
