A 911 Turbo Sonderwunsch and the new Panamera were among the highlights of Dubai’s annual Icons of Porsche festival. Fans of classic cars, arts, and culture were on hand to commemorate 75 years of Porsche sports cars, as well as 60 years of the 911. The gathering at the Dubai Design District was treated to the first public display of the new Panamera, as well as witnessing the unveiling of a special Sonderwunsch car that has been created to pay homage to the first-ever 911 Turbo.
Manfred Bräunl comments
Manfred Bräunl, CEO of Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE, said it wasn’t just a show of cars, art, and culture but a display of “the passion and strength of the region’s Porsche community. Our third edition of this event was our biggest yet,” he said. “We would like to thank every single event attendee for joining our celebration. In particular, I want to thank every Porsche owner who exhibited their car on-site. We truly appreciate their support and commitment in sharing their ‘dream’ sportscar with our festival audience.”
As well as the third-generation Panamera being unveiled to the public, the 718 Spyder RS and Vision 357 Speedster concept made their regional debuts. The all-electric Mission X hypercar concept, a 911 S/T and a host of cars from the Porsche Museum collection were also on display across the eight festival zones, which included 60 Years of 911, an Esports Arena, The Pit Lane, The Boulevard, Mission X, Porsche Museum heritage truck, Art Beach and the new Panamera Cube.
Giant inflatable 911 enters the Guinness World Record books
The skyline around the Dubai Design District had a noticeable addition over the weekend – towering over the event was an inflatable Porsche 911 that was visible from several kilometers away. The bright red sports car, positioned at the heart of the festival, officially achieved a new Guinness World Record for the ‘largest inflatable vehicle.’ Measuring in at a length of almost 20 meters and more than six meters tall and eight meters wide, the gigantic balloon was based on the shape of the first-generation of the 911, which was in production from 1963 to 1973.
First 911 Turbo remastered via Sonderwunsch
Meanwhile, a bespoke 911 Turbo was unveiled at the event as a modern-day interpretation of the first 911 Turbo. This one-off car marked part of the festival’s celebration of 60 years of the iconic 911 as well as showcasing the capabilities of the Porsche Sonderwunsch personalization program. The project was a collaboration between Style Porsche, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur and the Porsche Middle East and Africa regional office with support of the colleagues from Heritage & Museum. It drew inspiration from the “911 Turbo Nr. 1” commissioned for Louise Piëch, daughter of Ferdinand Porsche. It was given to Louise Piëch for her 70th birthday.
Unlike the regular production examples of the 911 Turbo, this car featured a narrow-chassis 911 Carrera body, yet debuted the large Turbo rear wing. It was distinguished by its use of Tartan fabric in the red interior, which was handpicked by Piëch to go with its silver paintwork.
Closing thoughts
“This very special car is not only a showcase of what is possible with our Porsche personalization programs,” explains Bräunl. “It also highlights the brave and pioneering Porsche spirit as we look back to the inspiration for this project – the ‘911 Turbo Nr. 1’.”
“The initial idea for this project began a year ago,” continues Patrick Gallas, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur Manager, Porsche Middle East and Africa. “We wanted to create a modern iteration of a car that was truly unique. Luckily fr us, there is no shortage of Porsche cars that people label as icons. We elected to ‘remaster’ one of the greatest icons of them all – the original 911 Turbo that belonged to Louise Piech.”
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