King Abdullah greenlights Gazal 1 to become first Saudi-made car

Zach Bowman — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:28:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, SUV, Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz, Middle East, Design/Style, Luxury, Off-Road

The KSU Gazal 1 - Click above for high-res image gallery

The very first car designed and built in Saudi Arabia is officially a reality. King Abdullah unveiled the production Gazal 1 at a special ceremony yesterday and congratulated everyone who participated in the vehicle's development on a job well done. As you may recall, the Gazal 1 was a special project created by the students at King Saud University. Though built off the bones of a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the KSU kids penned the exterior and reworked the interior to accommodate Saudi Arabia's notoriously brutal climate and demanding terrain.

When we saw the original Gazal 1 design study at this year's Geneva Motor Show, we thought the vehicle looked pretty good, especially considering how little experience the SUV's designers had in bringing a full-scale vehicle to life. From what we can tell, it looks like the production version has stuck fairly close to the big green model we saw back in March. That means the Toyota FJ Cruiser-style roof has made its way into reality along with the very International grille.

It works for us, especially considering the go-anywhere Mercedes-Benz components bolted underneath. No one's said what's under the hood of the Gazal 1, but we're guessing the same 382-horsepower 5.5-liter V8 from the standard G550 is a good bet.

Gallery: Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1

[Source: Arab News]

King Abdullah greenlights Gazal 1 to become first Saudi-made car originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1 is one whopper of a student project

Jonny Lieberman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, SUV, Geneva Motor Show, Middle East, Design/Style, Off-Road

We went to the wrong school -- Click above for a high-res image gallery

Imagine this: you're sitting there in your engineering class and the professor walks in and says, "You're getting a little project this semester. I'd like you to design an SUV. But not just any SUV, one that takes into account the environment and population of the Arabian Gulf. 20% of your grade is riding on it."

That's right, King Saud University (KSU) students in Saudi Arabia were asked to create a new SUV called the Gazal-1. If you're wondering, Gazal means "gazelle" in Arabic. Why you would name a hulking, International Truck-looking off-roader after a lithe, speedy and athletic mammal is anyone's guess. Still, you must admit, for a bunch of college kids, they did a fine job.

The big green truck here at the Geneva Motor Show is actually just a model, a styling exercise if you will. However, the Gazal-1 is more than just an engineering project. A business plan has been part of the Gazal-1 since the get-go. Are we saying that the KSU kids' truck will one day make it to production? Mostly likely no. However, KSU's reason for such an ambitious project is to "Promote the culture of automotive industry, to train young engineers who can participate in research and development." Those are some educational goals we can get behind.

Now comes the fun part. The KSU students didn't start with a totally blank slate. In fact, they were given an existing SUV to start with. They were then told to keep the original vehicle's wheelbase, track, mechanical bits and interior hard points. Obviously, the entire body was redesigned. So redesigned in fact that when asked what SUV underpins the Gazal-1, five out of five members of the Autoblog Geneva crew got it wrong. Make the jump to see if you're smarter than us. Warning: Don't make the jump until you've guessed what truck!

Gallery: Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1

Continue reading Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1 is one whopper of a student project

Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1 is one whopper of a student project originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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