Like many motor enthusiasts, Marwan Jassim Al Sarkal’s love of cars started when he was a young boy.
“I used to collect miniature models in kindergarten in Tokyo. They were either 1:18 or 1:24 in scale, and I would create entire cities on the carpet,” Al Sarkal tells The National.
While this is where many a car collector’s dream starts and ends, for Al Sarkal it was just the beginning of a lifelong passion.
From reading about the latest cars in magazines to launching Carz, a Top Gear-style TV show in 2002, motoring has been a constant for Al Sarkal. A first for the Arab world, Carz was one of Dubai TV’s top shows and ran for four years.
“We made more than 52 episodes and put cars head-to-head like Jeremy Clarkson and Tiff Needell used to,” says Al Sarkal. “We compared cars like Nissan Sunny to Toyota Corolla, as well as Ferrari Enzo to Porsche Carrera GT. My colleague and I were presenters, and my sister was the director.”
After the show ended in 2006, Al Sarkal continued to test-drive vehicles in the UAE and around the world. He’s been behind the wheel of almost every desirable vehicle to date, but only one brand has captured his heart: Porsche.
The shape, design, size, performance, usability, durability – I was like: ‘What on earth is this?'
Marwan Jassim Al Sarkal,
car collector and Porsche enthusiast
While most of his Emirati peers now know him as “Marwan with the Porsche collection”, Al Sarkal says the German manufacturer didn’t feature highly on his list of loves at first.
“I never liked Porsche as a brand,” he confesses. “During Carz, I met a guy and said I wanted to try the Porsche 911 Targa. He told me I could, but on one condition, which was to drive it for three days and then do the shoot.”
The instructions were an obvious ploy to encourage Al Sarkal to explore the intricacies of the vehicle before making his judgment on Porsche, and it worked. “After three days, I fell in love with that car,” he says. “The shape, design, size, performance, usability, durability – I was like: ‘What on earth is this?’”
Since that day, Al Sarkal has gone on to curate an impressive Porsche collection.
It features a selection of Taycans, Carrera GTs and even a high-performance Ruf, which isn’t strictly a Porsche, but uses the brand’s parts to create a barely street-legal lookalike.
These are not “garage queens”, says Al Sarkal. Unlike collectors who like to keep their prized collectibles holed up and sparkling, he enjoys driving them and regularly meets up with the UAE’s Porsche Classic and Carrera GT owners groups.
These unofficial gatherings are another reason why Al Sarkal loves Porsche. “This is where it feels like more than car ownership,” he says. “You feel part of a family, and it’s the people that make it – not just the brand alone.”
The meetings bring all types of Porsches (and Porsche lovers) together in one place. It’s less about showing off, and more of a laid-back event where like-minded people connect and discuss their passion over coffee or lunch.
Al Sarkal says picking a favourite from his vast collection of vehicles is tricky, but the two closest to his heart are the Porsche GT, “even though the best sound comes from my Carrera GT”, and the RCT Evo he had custom-built from family-owned German manufacturer Ruf.
The electric blue, full carbon-fibre monster is equipped with 425bhp and makes light work of chewing up the asphalt.
Speaking of which, Al Sarkal is a regular on the UAE racetracks at the weekends.
“I enjoy taking the cars to the limits and using them on the track,” he says. “I’ve driven on tracks in Japan, Italy, Silverstone in the UK and the Nurburgring in Germany,” he adds.
As vehicle manufacturers speed towards an electric future, how does Al Sarkal see Porsche’s place in the revolution?
“Porsche has done a great job with the Taycan; it’s very fast, but the range is bad right now.
“They’re missing the technology Tesla has. They had a chance to take it and improve it, but it focused on the dynamics and how it feels to drive, which is great but misses the point," says Al Sarkal.
One thing is for certain: whatever the carmaker decides to do next in the EV space, there will be at least one such model booked for “Marwan with the Porsche collection”.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Kill%20
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
more from Janine di Giovanni
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
RACECARD
6pm Emaar Dubai Sprint – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Turf) 1,200m
6.35pm Graduate Stakes – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm Al Khail Trophy – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 2,810m
7.45pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
8.20pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 2,000m
8.55pm Downtown Dubai Cup – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 1,400m
9.30pm Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,600m
10.05pm Dubai Sprint – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
Results
6pm: Dubai Trophy – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Silent Speech, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby
(trainer)
6.35pm: Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m
Winner: Island Falcon, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Dirt)
1,400m
Winner: Rawy, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.45pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Desert Fire, Hector Crouch, Saeed bin Suroor
8.20pm: Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Naval Crown, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.55pm: Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Al Tariq, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watsons
9.30pm: Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Dubai Icon, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
More from our neighbourhood series:
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 171 points
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP) 151
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP) 136
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing) 107
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 83
6. Sergio Perez (Force India) 50
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 45
8. Esteban Ocon (Force India) 39
9. Carlos Sainz (Torro Rosso) 29
10. Felipe Massa (Williams) 22
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
