Taliban-made Mada 9 supercar debuts at Geneva Motor Show, renamed as Simurgh

Remember Mada 9, the supercar built in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan? Unveiled through social media platforms in January this year, the supercar has now made its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show in Qatar and donned a new name: Simurgh. Built by Kabul-based manufacturing company Entop and Afghanistan Technical Vocational Institute (ATVI), the Simurgh is Afghanistan's first-ever indigenous supercar.

The supercar has grabbed a lot of eyeballs at the Geneva Motor Show, which is one of the most prestigious automotive events in the world for decades. Wearing an all-black paint theme, the sleek-looking Simurgh supercar claims to have been designed by 30 Afghan engineers and built in the Taliban-controlled country.

Powering the mid-engine supercar is a four-cylinder engine sourced from a 2000 Toyota Corolla. However, the manufacturer has not revealed the technical specifications of this supercar. The engine comes rear-mounted and cradled between the tube chassis and crowded by lightweight composite materials. However, the manufacturer has stated that the Toyota-sourced engine has been modified for the supercar.

Design-wise, it gets sleek LED headlamps flanking the front grille that looks compact. The car has a sharp front splitter, large black alloy wheels, flared fenders, a sculpted side profile with wide air intake, sleek LED taillights, and a bold-looking rear diffuser. It also carries a swooping roofline. The car also gets pushrod suspension.

Entop claimed that the Simurgh, which was previously known as Mada 9, is one step ahead of other prototype supercars. The Afghan company has also revealed its plan that it aims to install an all-electric powertrain in the Simurgh supercar in the future. While the car is still in the prototype stage, to make it into a real model, the manufacturer needs strong financial backing, as it has revealed. The manufacturer has not revealed when it plans to start making the car.