Taliban baffles with strange reveal of Afghanistan’s first ‘supercar’

The Taliban has unveiled a car that is said to be Afghanistan’s first “indigenously developed” supercar in a bizarre video reveal.

On Sunday, the Taliban’s official spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid shared a video on Twitter of the car doing donuts in the snow, and described it as an honour for the country.

The vehicle, named Mada 9, was built by a company called Entop over a period of five years with a team of 30 engineers and designers from the Afghanistan Technical Vocational Institute.

However, car enthusiasts were left a little perplexed when it was revealed the sleek-looking roadster was powered by a standard Toyota Corolla 2000 model engine.

Afghanistan's first 'supercar', the Mada 9. Photo / Supplied via Entop

One state official, Ghulam Haidar Shahamat, claimed the engine was powerful enough to allow the driver to increase the speed beyond what is capable for a turn-of-the-century hatchback.

Engineers said the main purpose was to install an electric engine in the vehicle to further optimise performance.

Mohammad Riza Ahmadi, the designer of the Mada 9, said he hoped the car would be a beacon for the struggling country.

“This car will be an ambassador and will drive across Afghanistan and convey the value of knowledge to the people,” he said.

The car’s specifications and top speed have not yet been revealed.

Another promotional video for the Mada 9 car starts off by showing a desert covered in bullets and transitions to a dishevelled man. The man is seen walking over a pathway made by bullets before approaching a covered vehicle, eventually revealing the roadster.

MADA-9
Made in Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/zPheos3aby

— sara sarfaraz (@rs4811884) January 10, 2023

Afghanistan has experienced a significant economic downturn since the Taliban took over the country by force in August of 2021.

Reports state that the country’s economy has shrunk by 20 to 30 per cent in just one year under the Taliban’s control. Furthermore, over a million Afghans fled the country between October 2021 and January 2022, as reported by The New York Times.

In January 2022, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned about the dire state of the country, stating: “Six months after the takeover by the Taliban, Afghanistan is hanging by a thread. For Afghans, daily life has become a frozen hell.”

The designer of Mada 9, Ahmadi, has stated that the car has received offers but it is not for sale. Instead, the Mada 9 will be displayed across Afghanistan and possibly internationally.