First ever “Icons of Porsche” festival attracts thousands of visitors

With over 7,000 attendees from the region gathered at The Slab in Dubai Design District and more than 1,000 Porsche cars onsite across the weekend, the first ever “Icons of Porsche” festival made history as one of the biggest public events held by an automotive manufacturer in the Middle East region. 

Thousands of enthusiasts, Porsche owners and families flocked to the two-day event on November 19 and 20 for the first Porsche event in the Middle East celebrating classic cars, art and culture, designed to bring communities together. 

With many classic and iconic cars on display, the event was the largest gathering of legendary vehicles from the Porsche Museum outside of Germany this year. In addition, the event saw the visionary design studies from the Porsche Unseen series on display for the first time at a public event outside of Germany.

The celebration featured several local and international contemporary art from the likes of Chris Labrooy, live entertainment, musical performances, food vendors such as the Porsche infused DRVN Coffee and presentations on stage by Grant Larson, Director Special Projects & Style at Porsche AG, Achim Stejskal, Director Porsche Museum, and several well-known car collectors.

Hundreds of classic car owners from across the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Oman made the journey to Dubai to visit the event and display their own beloved icons at the festival, while Porsche owners participated in Porsche parades featuring some rare and customized cars.

Dr. Manfred Bräunl, Chief Executive Officer of Porsche Middle East and Africa, was impressed with the response from the public: “We know that the region is home to a variety of rare and unique classic Porsches, and we wanted to bring them together with the local community in an event focused on car culture in a family-friendly environment. Our dreams were big and so were our plans but the outcome has astonished us all.

“The passion was felt right from the beginning when we announced the Icons of Porsche. It was incredible to see more than 7,000 car collectors, brand fans, enthusiast clubs, Porsche owners, families and friends come together for a big celebration of motoring culture, and we plan to make this an annual event moving forward,” he added.

Grant Larson, Director Special Projects & Style at Porsche AG, commented: “This is my first visit to the Middle East and I have been overwhelmed by the interest and enthusiasm in our brand and products in this region. I think the guests truly appreciated that this was not another motor show or product display, but simply a space for them to have a good time, connect with each other and learn more about the brand’s heritage first-hand. This event was great to fuel the passion for Porsche, cars in general and showcasing to the public that car culture can be interesting and fun.”

Some of the cars on display included Le Mans-winning racing icons such as the 911 GT1 or the 917 KH which celebrated the brand’s history of success in motorsports. Performing musicians included Danny Neville, Shebani, Jamy Deville and Abri, while displays included artworks from Chris Labrooy, B.A.V.Z. and Jeffrey Docherty.