From the Roar to the Star: a Charger, a Corvette, and the A35 I never expected to love

The dream began in 2022, when I first came to Dubai as cabin crew. On the roads here, luxury isn't the exception - it's the backdrop. Supercars at traffic lights, V8s you hear before you see. I saw them every day and always thought the same thing: one day I'll have one of these too. In 2023 I stopped thinking about it and did it. My first was a Dodge Charger SRT. I remember not being able to believe it. I was 22 years old with an American muscle car in my name. The first time I floored it and heard that engine roar, I understood that driving can become an emotion.

And the Charger had something you don't read in the spec sheet: presence. At every light I could feel eyes turning to it before the engine even spoke. Kids photographed it. Drivers rolled down their windows to stare. Some just gave a thumbs up. That's when I realised I wasn't just driving a car - I was driving something that left an impression wherever it went. A year full of drives and experiences that never ran out - and somewhere in there, a thought kept growing: I can do more. When the time came to sell it, I felt a piece of me leave with it. But I knew the next chapter would be even bigger.

In 2024 I bought a car I never believed would carry my name on its registration. A Corvette C7. The car I had dreamed of since I was a kid. A 6.2-litre monster that made 650 horsepower after the upgrades. The day I collected it felt like a dream coming true: the low seating position, the V8 soundtrack, the way it hugged a corner. Every time I saw it parked I smiled - I knew I'd done something that once seemed impossible.

Mods, countless drives, events - I couldn't get enough. The moment I still carry with me, though, is from an organised drag event. When the light went green I buried the throttle and the V8 filled the place. The Corvette launched - and for a few seconds everything around me disappeared. There was only the engine, the adrenaline, and the finish line. If you'd asked me then, I'd have told you I was driving my dream car. And yet.

Since I was small I loved Mercedes. AMG specifically. It was my first love, from before I could even drive - and first loves have a way of coming back. In 2025, after a lot of thought, I made the hardest car decision of my life: I let go of my dream car. It wasn't a clean, rational decision you sign and move on from. It was full of pain, memories and doubts. For days afterwards I wondered if I'd done the right thing. I wasn't saying goodbye to a car - I was saying goodbye to a dream I had lived to the fullest. On paper, I was 'downgrading'. From a 6.2-litre monster to a two-litre hot hatch from the dealership: the AMG A35. The pocket rocket.

And here's the strange part. I haven't regretted it for a single day. From the very first drive I understood it wasn't replacing the Corvette - it was opening a new chapter. More modern, more technological, more practical, but full of character. Even now I'm surprised by how much speed and explosiveness a two-litre engine can hide. And the star on the grille is finally mine. The dream, it turns out, was never about displacement.

Looking back, every car left its own mark. The Charger taught me what raw power means. The Corvette gave me the dream I'd lived since childhood. And the A35 proved that, however hard it is to say goodbye to something you love, sometimes change takes you exactly where you were meant to be. Maybe one day my road will cross with a Corvette again. Until then: don't dream it, just drive it.