Barbican Turbo 2009, the region’s largest custom car and bike festival, will open tomorrow (Thursday) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, featuring top 100 custom cars in the country.

The three-day event is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and features a host of motoring related and urban-themed activities. It will have many of the vehicles on display showcasing hundreds of thousands of Dirhams of after-market improvements.

Adham Badr, brand manager for Barbican, headline sponsor of the exhibition, revealed that over 100 of the best customised vehicles in the country will be on show at the auto-fest.

“Last year’s Barbican Turbo was a fantastic success, attracting 20,000 people,” he said. “The custom car scene reflects the ultimate in self expression and Barbican Turbo 2009 will have everything for the enthusiastic car modifier – it is the biggest event of its kind in the region,” he added.

Attractions at the three-day event include regular displays of high speed ‘drifting’ by the Need for Speed’ European Drift Championship outfit. The team’s two drivers, Mark ’Sideways Buff’ Luney and Paul ‘Coupe’ Conlan will be exhilarating the crowds with up to five shows a day of full-throttle sideways power-sliding.

Other demonstrations of performance are also expected to be a major draw, with visitors having the chance to test the output of their own vehicles in the Dyno Shoot-Out contest; a competition that measures an engine’s brake horse power.

Personalised bodywork will feature prominently, with prizes and trophies being given out for the best cars and bikes on display. One lucky owner will see their dedication to vehicle modification pay off when they pick up an all expenses-paid holiday to Switzerland as winner of the Top 100 Amateur Car of the Festival.

No auto-fest would be complete without music and Barbican Turbo 2009 also features the second UAE National Sound-Off competition, where competitors can win prizes for having the loudest vehicle stereo and the best installation.

An audio stage adds to the occasion and to complete the urban feel, a street art contest will take place close to the track.

Demonstrations of Parkour freeform running are on show and professional flarers from the UK will be wowing the crowds with their bottle juggling skills, mixing up non-alcoholic beverages as they go.-TradeArabia News Service