If the 911 is Porsche’s automotive icon, the Icons of Porsche is the brand’s iconic and flagship festival in the Middle East. Since its debut in 2021, the Icons of Porsche festival has already racked up a footfall of over 50,000 fans to celebrate not just the glorious past, dynamic present and exciting future of Porsche but also regional arts, culture and cuisine within the event. And now, the largest car festival of the Middle East returns for the fourth edition at ‘The Slab’ in the Dubai Design District on 23-24 November 2024. The two-day celebration will feature the best of Porsche sports cars, artwork installations, renowned artists and celebrity appearances at ‘The Slab’. Dr. Manfred Bräunl, Chief Executive Officer of Porsche Middle East and Africa, commented, “I cannot wait to announce some of the beautiful cars we have in store that will not only come from local collectors but also from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. Last year’s event overwhelmed us, with over 27,000 visitors and media coming from all over the world to celebrate with us.”

A Porsche with a hybrid powertrain isn’t something new. We’ve had e-hybrid versions of the Panamera and the Cayenne. And who can forget the 918! But Porsche has never done a road-legal 911 hybrid. Well, that’s about to change. Come May 28, 2024, the Stuttgart-based carmaker will take the wraps off the first Porsche 911 hybrid. The “e-hybrid” tag will likely be used in the nameplate.

The Germans confirm an exhaustive development and testing programme for the said model has ended. It was put through extreme climatic conditions, from the freezing cold to scorching heat, and the final stages were conducted in Dubai. The engineers clocked up over 5 million kilometres during the different development phases.

So, before D-day, do we have a number or two to get excited about? The first figure is 7:16.934. That’s what the Porsche 911 hybrid recorded as the lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife during its testing phase. The test prototype had standard road tyres and an aero kit with a fixed rear wing. The second number is 8.7 seconds. That’s how much faster it is than the corresponding version of the predecessor model.

Bentley Emirates, part of Al Habtoor Motors, has been the leading market for Bentley Motors in terms of sales in the Middle East, India and Africa region for over a decade and has been repeatedly announced as the ‘Number 1 Dealer in the Region and World’ by Bentley Motors. 2023 was no different as Bentley Emirates won four prestigious awards at the Bentley Regional Dealer Conference for the MEIA region 2023. Out of the four awards, the standout accomplishment came with Bentley Abu Dhabi winning the ‘Sales Dealer of the Year 2023’ reflecting exceptional customer service. ‘Bentley Dubai’ got distinguished as the ‘Pre-owned Retailer of the Year 2023’ demonstrating its dedication to provide quality pre-owned vehicles to customers. On the marketing front, Bentley Emirates stood out as the 2023 Retailer of the Year for Marketing with Ipek Kibar, Marketing Manager for Bentley Emirates also winning Marketing Manager of the Year, 2023. Additionally, Hassan Khansa, Sales Manager at Bentley Abu Dhabi, achieved remarkable success by winning the Sales Manager challenge for multiple periods within the year. Ahmed Al Habtoor, Chief Executive Officer of Al Habtoor Motors, commented on the occasion: “As we celebrate these remarkable achievements, we extend our deepest gratitude to the dedicated Bentley team whose passion, expertise, and tireless dedication have been instrumental in realizing our shared vision of excellence. In fact, these recognitions reflect the visionary approach embraced by Al Habtoor Motors and meticulously applied within the Prestige Division. With our unwavering commitment to exceeding expectations, we forge ahead, confident in our ability to set new benchmarks and deliver unparalleled luxury experiences to Bentley enthusiasts across the region and beyond.”