Inside Icons of Porsche Dubai: classic legends, EV debuts, racing stars
In Dubai’s Design District, Icons of Porsche has kicked off—the brand’s biggest gathering in the region, where, under the scorching sun, rare classic Porsches, racing prototypes and the latest electric models come together. SPEEDME.RU reporters braved the heat to cover every highlight of this singular showcase.
What is Icons of Porsche
The festival is organized by the regional office Porsche Middle East and Africa in Dubai together with local dealers Al Nabooda Automobiles (Dubai) and Ali & Sons (Abu Dhabi). From 2025, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism officially joined them, underscoring the event’s status as a fixture on the city calendar.
Icons of Porsche was conceived as a celebration of classic cars, art and culture—and it shows on the grounds. Around the perimeter rise art installations, music stages and partner zones from Porsche Design, Michelin, TAG Heuer, Hugo Boss and LEGO, with dozens of food and coffee stands from top city spots in between, including the in-house DRVN by Porsche.
The festival’s story: from an idea to a mega-show
The idea came from Manfred Bräunl, head of Porsche Middle East and Africa, who, after moving from China, was struck by how many collectors of classic Porsches the region had, yet their cars were almost never seen on the street. The remedy was straightforward: give these cars a stage and bring them together so fans could study the icons up close.
The first Icons of Porsche took place soon after the pandemic and immediately showed its potential. Within a few years, the festival expanded to a colossal footprint of more than 58,000 square meters and grew into a full week of activity: beyond the main days, private meetups, drives and city events for Porsche owners appeared.
Each year brings its own theme and “magnets.” In 2023, the centerpiece was a gigantic inflatable 911 that entered the Guinness World Records as the largest inflatable car in the world—nearly twenty meters long and more than six meters tall.
By 2024, Icons of Porsche had cemented itself on enthusiasts’ calendars as the place where collectors, the Porsche Museum, racers and brand devotees from around the world cross paths. And for the fifth-anniversary edition on November 22–23, 2025, organizers promise an even bigger program.
What’s on display
A walk through the festival feels like a tour of Porsche history. By the arch with a huge Carrera GT sign, an entire alley of hypercars lines up: yellow anniversary specials, rare silver and black examples—each now worth about as much as a small office complex.
Not far away sits the rally legend 959 Paris-Dakar, wearing battle scars and a thick layer of sand across its body. The stand next door explains how this very car—with a twin-turbo flat-six making around 400 hp—won the African marathon and showcased Porsche’s off-road potential back in the mid-1980s.
Another strand of the display is devoted to the 911. On the green lawn, dozens of coupes and cabriolets from every generation—from early air-cooled cars to today’s 992s—stand in formation. A separate area marks 60 years of the Targa: under a “60 Targa” logo sits a golden classic 911 with the signature targa treatment and rare versions from subsequent generations.
Fans of the brand’s early history linger by a bright red 356 Speedster that evokes Porsche’s postwar roots and its first steps on the American market. A little further along stands Lechner Racing’s prototype in Jim Beam livery, with modern 911 GT3 Cup cars nearby, tracing the path from classic racing to today’s championships.
How Icons of Porsche differs from a traditional auto show
Unlike a classic motor show, Icons of Porsche is not a closed-hall parade of premieres but a lively open-air festival. Even so, this year proved special: for the first time, the electric Cayenne, the Macan and several other special models were shown to the public in person. You can also bump into Porsche AG leadership, including Chairman of the Executive Board Oliver Blume and Supervisory Board Chairman Wolfgang Porsche, as well as factory drivers and ambassadors Mark Webber, Pascal Wehrlein, Jörg Bergmeister and Timo Bernhard.
Family focus is evident: right next to racing machinery are zones with kids’ activities, art objects and music. Partners build interactive stands where visitors can assemble a mini Porsche from LEGO, try on TAG Heuer watches or browse RM Sotheby’s auction lots.
The food scene hasn’t been forgotten either. In 2024, the cult DRVN by Porsche café unveiled the “Cayenne Pepper Pizza”—a signature spicy pie you can try only at Icons of Porsche, which has already become a small local legend of the festival.
Why the festival matters to the region and the brand
For the Middle East, Icons of Porsche serves several roles. On one hand, it’s a platform where owners from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries show their collections, often consisting of unique special editions and cars with minimal mileage. On the other, it’s a key tool for the brand, allowing Porsche to emphasize culture and history—not just status and speed.
The festival is run by the regional Porsche Middle East and Africa office, which oversees markets in the Middle East, Africa and India. For this team, Icons of Porsche is a calling card, proving the region has not only demand for new sports cars but also a sustained culture of collecting and a careful attitude toward heritage.
Looking ahead
Today, Icons of Porsche is no longer just a display of beautiful machines but a full-scale city festival that fits naturally into Dubai’s landscape. For brand devotees, it’s a reason to fly to the UAE in late November, see ultra-rare Carrera GTs and rally-bred 959s, walk along the long line of 911s and feel how the Porsche legend lives not only on the track but also in the hearts of thousands of enthusiasts.
If the priority in the early years was coaxing classic Porsches out of garages, the challenge now is different: how to make each Icons of Porsche even brighter than the last. Judging by the scale of the current festival, they’re succeeding.