28 May 2021 www.bahrainthismonth.com TWICE THE TRIUMPH The new Kia Sorento has received two globally renowned awards: the Red Dot Award and the iF Award for its product design. Since the Kia Soul was the first vehicle from a Korean brand to receive the Red Dot in 2009, a total of 26 Kia models have been awarded the coveted ‘red dot’. And in the iF Award, which the brand received for the first time in 2010, the number of award-winning Kia vehicles has risen to a total of 21 with the new Sorento. Shortly after its premiere last year, the new Sorento was honored for its outstanding design in the ‘All-Wheel Drive Car of the Year 2020’ poll by Auto Bild Allrad. A short time later, it received the most important German automotive award, the ‘Golden Steering Wheel 2020’ in the ‘Large SUVs’ class. In March this year, it was voted ‘Women’s World Car of the Year 2021’ in the ‘Large SUV’ category. A POSITIVE TREND Buyer confidence is returning to the premium luxury car market with Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE reporting its best first quarter result in five years. From January to March, 2,064 new cars were delivered to Porsche customers in the GCC, the Levant, Africa and India.Despite continuously challenging COVID-related measures, India performed exceptionally well, chalking up its best Q1 result in seven years, thus making Porsche one of the fastest growing luxury car brands in the country in 2021. Porsche Middle East and Africa’s successful implementation of its new retail strategy helped steer importer profitability through clearly defined qualitative and quantitative targets in the first quarter of 2021 and beyond. Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were the top three markets for the Middle East, with Abu Dhabi returning the strongest growth of 73 per cent over Q1 last year. Across Africa, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco were the best performers. Morocco more than doubled its new car sales between January and March when compared to the same period in 2020. THE CUTTING-EDGE CONCEPT CAR MG Motor has shared more details about its cutting-edge Cyberster concept car, which premiered at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show this April. Developed by the team at the MG Advanced Design Centre in London, the Cyberster is a two-door, two-seater sports car recalling the brand’s heritage and featuring styling cues from the classic MGB Roadster.The Cyberster introduces supercar-level performance from a fully-electric MG. Its intelligent all-electric architecture delivers an Electric Vehicle range of 800km (500 miles) and a 0-100km/h time (0-62mph) in less than three seconds. It will also feature 5G interconnectivity. Additionally, a collaboration between MG and Bilibili e-sports has resulted in the co-creation of the industry’s first super e-sports cockpit for the Cyberster.The Cyberster features classic round MG headlights, coupled with a slim grille design, along with interactive ‘Magic Eye’ headlights that open when switched on. Its powerful sports car profile has a distinct two-stage shoulder line, with a flattened ‘kamm tail’ rear. Ahead of the show, MG confirmed its intention to manufacture the Cyberster as a production car.
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