Afghanistan’s first supercar emerges
Taliban hopes locally-designed, Corolla-powered Mada-9 will help lift country’s standing worldwideAfghanistan is entering the exotic supercar segment with a locally designed, developed and produced speed machine dubbed the Mada-9.
Teased in pre-production form over the past few weeks via YouTube, the Mada-9 was officially unveiled to Taliban officials last week, who called on “all qualified Afghan youths” to “rise to the occasion to play their innovative role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan”.
Unveiling ceremony of a car made by an Afghan engineer M. Raza Mohammadi. All qualified Afghan youths should rise to the occasion to play their innovative role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/gScHaBf7mp
— Suhail Shaheen. ???? ???? ????? (@suhailshaheen1) January 10, 2023
Long, low and wide, the Mada-9 certainly looks the part – so much so you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s come from a brand like Jaguar or Aston Martin.
The engine shoved in behind the cabin of the pre-production model shown here is a naturally-aspirated 1.8-litre four-cylinder, as found in the previous-generation Toyota Corolla.
No official outputs or performance figures have been claimed yet, but it’s clear from the Mada-9’s development and hyper videos that the engineering team has altered the modest but proven powerplant to suit the application with an especially squat exhaust providing a solid soundtrack.
Engineers say they have indeed modified the engine for higher performance but stopped short of nominating specifics.
The car is underpinned by a tubular frame chassis to which lightweight composite body panels are fixed, while the suspension is an F1-style push-rod design front and rear.
Work on the Mada-9 is ongoing and the Corolla engine is expected to eventually be swapped out for something with a bit more aggression and pedigree, with international media also forecasting the emergence of a battery-electric version.
It isn’t clear when the Mada-9 will enter series production, but its creators are enthusiastic about launching the home-grown model in its native market before eventually going international.
“The interest for purchase of the car has been both at national and international levels, but the offers we receive are not standard,” engineer Mohammad Riza Ahmadi told Tolo News.
“We have produced it for competition in the international markets and we hope to receive proper offers.”
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