".If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins"
Benjamin Franklin-
Being a boy from Coorg every drive from my childhood had been an off-road drive, blame the thick rains, the terrain, the engineers living on kickbacks or the forgotten promises from the politicians, the roads never stay intact.
The Mahindra: Jeeps, Armada, Bolero, Maruti Gypsy, Tata: Estate, Sierra, Force Gurkha, were all more a necessity than a luxury as they were used to drive through the coffee plantations and transport people where the public transport did not reach.
Just the fact that there was an "Off-Road Museum" enticed me to go there and oh boy! it was a hell of a museum of off-roaders!
As a member of the ruling Royal Family of the UAE, Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan holds the Guinness World Record (2020) for having the largest collection of 4X4 vehicles - 718 unique cars! Although not all 718 cars were on display, there were at least 350 to 400 unique vehicles on display, enough for me to spend a whole day there. His other museums have the rest!
This is the same Sheikh whose name was briefly visible from outer space.
By now you should've known that if this man wants to show off something, it has to be ‘out of this world’. Here, this museum.
This museum is called the "Off-Road History Museum" and not 4 wheel drive museum because Shiek Hamad believes that only cars with a solid front axle make the 4X4 an off-roader.
The museum, which opened doors for the public in January 2020, greets you with an enormous Jeep, a wind vane with a 4X4 vehicle in place of the rooster and a replica of, his main component for a vehicle to be called an off-roader, a solid front axle as an arch that welcomes you inside the museum.
For any cars to make it to his museum, Sheik Hamad has 3 basic criteria, the car has to be:
- Inexpensive (for him.) Jokes apart, he is not a fan of luxury cars, in fact, there are no luxury cars in any of his museums. The car has to meet the purpose it has been built for, so, no luxury features means inexpensive.
- Unique
- Functional
The Museum has 4 sections:
- Modified section
- General evolution section
- Army section
- History section
In the modified and general evolution sections you will find some of the world's craziest 4X4 modifications, some of which I could capture are as below:
The Army section is where you run nuts! The ultimate purpose of an off-roader is to serve the army and here you find almost all the off-roaders, that had the privilege, right from the inception. Some of them that I could capture are as below:
The biggest section of the museum is the History section where he shows off his huge collection of off-road vehicles from Jeeps, Land Rovers, Dodges to the Chinese knock offs. Some dating from 1909. Here is a clip of some of his treasure I could capture:
In addition to the giant Jeep at the entrance, he is also building a giant functional Hummer which is being 'constructed' at his palace's backyard. We could see the roof of the Hummer from the highway as his palace is a few kilometres off the museum. Couldn't click pictures due to security issues. Once done he will be driving it to the museum! I just hope to see that giant Hummer rollin'!
The rest of his cars are in his other museum in Abu Dhabi, which I will be visiting once the pandemic ends. Hopefully soon.
He is also called the "Rainbow Sheikh" for owning a collection of 7 Mercedes S Class sedans in 7 different colours, which is in his Abu Dhabi museum. That museum also has Shiekh's famous rare Mini Cooper collection and the world's biggest functional car. Can't wait to be there!
Call it passion or sheer craziness, I'm just glad that something drove him to make this happen.
Comments
Post a Comment