The Ajlani Drakuma is a 1,200bhp twin-turbo hypercar*

It’s important to set out your stall when competing in the increasingly crowded hypercar space. Build something that’s really fast. Limit its production. Make it look suitably wild.

And thus, a new hopeful enters said hypercar space in the shape of the Ajlani Motors ‘Drakuma’, which fuses the worlds of dragons and demons (but hopefully without the crushing season-finale disappointment) to bring you a twin-turbo, V8-engined 1,200bhp speed machine. At least, it will one day.

Unveiled at the Dubai Motor Show, this is but a design prototype, built over five years to showcase the prize jewel of company founder Bashar Ajlani’s long-held vision to become the next Pagani.

“Horacio Pagani is one of my idols,” he tells TopGear.com, “because he does not compromise when it comes to quality.” He can’t tell us too much about the car because it’s a work in progress. Ah. All we know is: mid-engined, twin-turbo V8, 1,200bhp. He’s looking at “a few options” for the chassis, but tells us the body will be built from carbon fibre.

Where then, will this Drakuma find space? Track-hungry fiend, fire-breathing road-rocket? “People who drive these hypercars aren’t looking at the split-second differences (in performance) unless it’s for bragging rights. We don’t care about that. We want to build a car that looks the part.”

He started off the design not by sketching out a silhouette, but with the doors instead. “I focused on the door and grew from there.” The idea is said door will open out “like a dragon’s wing”. The front features ‘fangs’, there are aero slots on the sides, a pinched waist, wide stance, a low roof and room inside for two.

Naturally, such a thing will be limited to just 99 models, each one customisable. But Ajlani very much sees it as the start of a journey to emulate his idol. “We want to focus on our craft, give every car the full attention it deserves, build them properly to spec.

“The way I’d describe this car is: Lamborghini-inspired design, Pagani-inspired production.”

Photography: Johnathan Ogle