- Title: Dubai garage customises Jeeps for daring desert rides
- Date: 27th April 2016
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English and Arabic) JEEPERS OWNER AND FOUNDER, NIZAR MADANI, SAYING: "Yes it's passion. I love cars. I love doing something different from the others. That's why we created our own brand. The difference between us and the others is we just don't buy accessories and put on the vehicle, no, we create our own parts, we create our own design, we did our own brand.
- Embargoed: 12th May 2016 14:48
- Keywords: Dubai UAE Jeeps Jeepers cars dune racing
- Location: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
- City: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
- Country: United Arab Emirates
- Topics: Living/Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0034F561XX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Dubai car repair shop, more popularly known as Jeepers, is taking regular Jeeps and transforming them into custom-made, dune-bashing cars that can manoeuvre the sandy hills of the Dubai deserts.
Founded by businessman and car enthusiast Nizar Madani, Jeepers strips down the cars and then rebuilds them with custom-made parts that allow the owners, also referred to as Jeepers, to take them on daring drives in the desert.
"We get the cars completely standard, and we pimp them, we modify them to be capable of using of course every day and mainly off-roading as well. People like to take advantage of the opportunities in the country, it's all about the desert. So we're giving them this opportunity right into their hands," said Madani.
Once modified, the SUV cars get branded as 'Jeepers Edition' and their owners become members of Dubai's Jeepers club.
Madani founded the auto shop nine years ago.
An engineer himself, he said it took him several years before his team were able to perfect the building of modified exhaust systems, shocks and springs that make his Jeeps desert-friendly.
But perhaps his greatest pride comes from the community of Jeepers he has helped to create.
"Yes it's passion. I love cars. I love doing something different from the others. That's why we created our own brand. The difference between us and the others is we just don't buy accessories and put on the vehicle, no, we create our own parts, we create our own design, we did our own brand. So we created a community within this brand. So when you say Jeepers, Jeepers is a community. It's not about a vehicle that is modified. No, it's me, him, the others, they're all Jeepers, because they own a Jeep, they are a Jeeper, but they wanted something special, different from the others, that when you see each other, you wave, you are a Jeeper," said Madani.
Club members meet on the weekends and go dune bashing, camping, and driving in the desert.
"For me it's just, you release from everything of daily life and you just come out into the desert, to such a nice area and you get to meet great people while doing it, and it just releases you from everything in the world," said Jeeper Daniel Fernandes.
For one father-daughter driving team, the best part of being a Jeeper is seeing the desert's impressive landscape while also challenging their driving skills.
"It's an opportunity to enjoy amazing surroundings, with an amazing bunch of people, and the challenge of driving in the desert, you know from beginners getting through, going to places like Liwa, really challenging surroundings, it's just an awesome experience," said Barry Christie, standing with his daughter Zoe.
Jeepers modify cars to various degrees, from minor modifications to completely stripping a car down and rebuilding it from scratch.
The price for modifications can range from 10,000 UAE Dirham ($2,700 USD) to 150,000 UAE Dirhams, the equivalent of around 41 thousand US dollars.
Madani also offers lessons to less experienced drivers on how to control and manoeuvre Jeeps around the sand dunes. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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