Supercar documentary uncovers hidden treasures of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A fascinating documentary has been released which covers an epic road trip that captures scenery and culture of Saudi Arabia never before seen on film.
The incredible four day, 2000 kilometer journey through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was completed in a convoy of McLaren 12C and 12C Spider supercars, with the famous Saudi Arabian racing driver Faisal Bin Laden hosting the trip.
The documentary “Saudi Epic” is live on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwXBbfL2wI
The trip travelled through the country’s main cities and also some more remote towns to discover the hidden treasures of the kingdom.
Commenting on the trip, Faisal Bin Laden said “It was a truly epic journey and this trip was about so much more than driving McLaren supercars, we wanted to capture on film and show the world just some of the amazing scenery and interesting stories Saudi Arabia has to offer”.
The four-day journey which started in Riyadh then saw Faisal travel to Buraidah, Medina, Jeddah and Taif, which included driving the breathtaking Al Hada road.
The journey started at the top of the Al Faisaliah Tower in Riyadh, designed by Foster + Partners and gives a 360 degree view across the city skyline. It is most famous for the 24 meter diameter, 655 panel glass globe near the summit.
After a short stop at the Reem International Circuit they travelled to Buraidah, exploring an antiques shop full of everything from historical documents to old Coca Cola bottles. They examined local coins, inscribed pottery and some of Saudi Arabia’s oldest citizenship documents.
Next stop was a date shop where they sampled some of the 45 to 50 types of dates on offer. Buraidah is well-known for its cultivation of dates and recently hosted the world’s largest date festival. The Sukkari date is the best-selling variety.
Buraidah, a centre of Saudi Arabia’s agricultural production, is also home to several street markets. The team stopped off at a watermelon market where business paused temporarily as traders inspected the cars.
Other highlights saw them visit a huge collection of 1950s American cars amassed over the years by a local car enthusiast, and no trip to Saudi Arabia would be complete without visiting a camel farm, where the team witnessed the colour variations of local camels, including the coveted black camel.
For the last part of the journey Faisal was joined by a number of other McLaren 12C and 12C Spider owners to drive the Al Hada Road which was built in the 1960’s and is one the greatest driving roads in the world.
The winding highway connects the holy city of Mecca to the central and eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia. The road is closed for renovations and had to be opened especially for them.
Faisal added “We turned a lot of heads on the trip, when we stopped at one petrol station people seemed to appear from nowhere to take pictures and video. I am a huge McLaren fan so it was great for me to drive my 12C on such an epic journey. Especially to areas of Saudi Arabia more accustomed to seeing SUV’s and Pick-Up trucks given the nature of the terrain and industries in those regions, the 12C was a new sight for many of them.”
Faisal continued: “To be able to make such a trip in McLaren 12C and 12C Spider supercars demonstrates the incredible versatility these sports cars are capable of. The trip provided a great insight into the culture of Saudi Arabia and it was really exciting to produce such an exciting film that contrasts the pinnacle of modern sports car innovation that is the against just a few of the historical and cultural settings throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. If the film is a success maybe we will come back to explore further.”
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