Now that Europe and South-East Asia are coming to the SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) in imitation of the United States, the rich of the earth have to come up with something special for their fleet. Something you should not say twice to the wealthy Sheikh Hamdan al-Nahyan from the emirate Abu Dhabi. His unique, ten-wheeled ‘Dhabiyan’ is the largest SUV in the world.
The Sheik combined the base of an American Oshkosh armored car with parts of a Jeep Wrangler. Under the bonnet is a powerful 15.2-liter six-cylinder Caterpillar diesel engine (600 hp). The record SUV weighs more than 24 tons, measures a total of 10.8 meters, has a width of 2.5 meters and finally has a height of 3.2 meters.
How much the unique vehicle has cost is a well-kept secret. On social media, the ‘Dhabiyan’ has opponents besides fans. These criticize the high consumption of the diesel cleaner, something that is not really seen as a problem in oil-rich Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh al-Nahyan, who is known as an avid car collector and regularly watches his collection on Instagram, unveiled his toy at a car event in the emirate of Sharjah early this year.
