While the Zarooq Sand Racer may look like something out of a Hot Wheels set, its real life performance, off-road capability and overall comfort make it an extremely desirable car. At least it does for those living in certain regions of the world.

For practicality’s sake, you’re not going to be driving this thing if you live in Beverly Hills (even though it is road-legal), but if you enjoy duking it out with nearby sand dunes and racing other people in that specific environment, this might just be the ideal car for you.

The UAE-based company held a press conference where details about the car’s performance were revealed, as were details about its production readiness and comfort levels.

The Sand Racer will be unveiled to automotive journalists and potential clients in January 2016, if all goes well during the final assembly process.

“Chassis is now finished, the engine and wiring are in place and working, the body molds are being sculpted, and we are just waiting for a few parts to arrive to finalize the assembly, in December,” said Motorsport director Mohammed Al Qadi.

Ops director Bruno Laffite added that they wanted the car to be “road legal, with AC, because we want it to be as practical as possible, even if it is a racing car. The support and insights from the industry we get thanks to our partnership with Motorsport professionals like Campos Racing is of great value today for the car and tomorrow for our championship.”

Aside from the carbon fiber interior and exterior, the Sand Racer features an infotainment system, comfort seats, spare wheel, car cover, LED lights, as well as things like cupholders, a glove box and so on. It’s genuinely a car that you can drive home after kicking some major behind in the desert.

On the road, the Sand Racer is prepared for either 400 HP or 500 HP, and comes with dynamic off-road suspension, high capacity reservoir, performance gearbox, off-road wheels and tires, performance brakes and exhaust system and a special FIA pack.

The gearbox is a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters, while the 240 mm ventilated brakes have an adjustable front-rear bias.

Measuring in at 4,200 mm (13.7 ft) in length and 2,084 mm (6.8 ft) in width, the approximately 1 tonne (2,204 lbs) vehicle has a 60-40 Rear-Front weight distribution and comes with rear-wheel drive. Surprising, right? The only confirmed top speed as of right now is 200 km/h (124 mph) though this number might change in the future.

In terms of looks, well, you can pretty much decide for yourselves how much you love it or if you think there’s no point to it. Some might argue that the rear design (taillights & spoiler) have a little Ferrari F12 in them, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Zarooq is also building an off-road circuit in Dubai dedicated specifically to sand racing, providing owners with a safe and dynamic environment for these types of competitions.

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