Taliban hails Afghanistan's first ‘supercar’

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have hailed the unveiling of the country's first ‘supercar’.

A sleek, black sports car took to the snowy streets of the capital after a five-year building project by engineers at a Kabul technical and vocational training institute.

Video clips showed former insurgents gathered around the vehicle as it purred through potholed streets more often graced by pick-up trucks full of armed men.

The prototype vehicle, called the Mada-9, is reported to be the creation of a company called ENTOP.

Releasing pictures of the vehicle on social media, Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban's official spokesman, said its construction was an honour for the whole country.

The car's specifications have not yet been made public, but the team behind the car said that beneath the stylish Bugatti-inspired bodywork, the vehicle was in fact powered by an engine from the humble Toyota Corolla.

The team behind the vehicle have said they want to prove that the country can be known for more than war and repression.

‘It will one day maybe go international’

Mohammad Riza Ahmadi, the car's designer, said he wanted his creation to be an ambassador for Afghanistan, and tour the country “to convey the value of knowledge to the people”.

“It will start its journey in Afghanistan and will one day maybe go international,” he told the local Tolo News channel.

Clips also showed Taliban leaders visiting Mr Ahmadi's workshop and assuring him of their support.

Building the car took five years, with more than a dozen workers involved, he said.

He hopes to exhibit the vehicle at this year's Doha expo in Qatar and eventually be able to fit it with an electric engine.

The prototype reportedly has a tubular frame chassis and F1-inspired pushrod suspension to keep weight down.

The launch comes as the Taliban's regime becomes increasingly isolated because of its repression of women and refusal to allow girls to go to secondary school.

Already facing a lack of formal recognition and with sanctions hampering the country's banking sector, Afghanistan now faces a withdrawal by humanitarian agencies after women were forbidden from working in aid programmes.

Some organisations have suspended operations in the wake of the order, which has thrown the humanitarian sector into disarray.

Last month the Taliban also closed universities to women in its latest restriction on female participation in public life since the former insurgents took power in August 2021.

Meanwhile the Taliban's takeover has deepened the country's economic catastrophe. International aid to the Afghan state was halted, tipping the country into economic meltdown and pushing millions more into hunger and poverty.