The new sales center is located in the heart of downtown Beirut. For the record, Beirut is the capital and most populous city in the country of Lebanon, just north of Israel on the eastern Mediterranean coast. The new showroom seems more like a fashion show than a car lot with a special platform with an LED screen, high fidelity sound system, and a fragrance element Porsche put there to “create an experience that appeals to all the visitors’ senses.” Smell-o-vision for the car lot, interesting. Whenever I’m at the dealer all I can smell is tire shine and stale cigarettes from the finance manager’s last smoke break.

Adding to its worldwide network of incredible showrooms, Porsche has announced another Middle East stronghold. Today Porsche announced it would be opening the world’s third Porsche Studio in Beirut. Using the same format as they did in “Porsche on Sylt” and “Porsche Studio Guangzhou” the sports car manufacturer has created a new sales experience for potential customers.

The aptly named “Porsche Studio Beirut” is centrally located in Beirut’s Solidaire shopping district. The 3,200-square-foot showroom will feature the entire range of Porsche vehicles available for a test drive. If that’s enough to entice a purchase, then the real fun part begins. Their choice of car can be fully customized in the on-site Trimming and Configuration Labs along with more goodies from the “Exclusive Manufaktur” department. The high-end studio works closely with the existing Porsche Center in Beirut, making it possible for customers to buy right off the lot.

Speaking on the exciting new opening, Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Porsche, said, “The capital city of Beirut, as the economic and cultural center of the country, is particularly attractive as a location for a Porsche Studio. The new sales concept is an important instrument for further increasing the attractiveness of the brand and reaching new fans and customers, especially in growth markets.”

I can’t wait to check out one of these fancy design studios myself one day ... don’t have any plans on swinging by Beirut any time soon, though.