2 weeks ago
With established prestige brands such as Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati among its neighbours on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, it feels as though Genesis has come a long way since it was founded back in 2015.
Sheikh Zayed Road is like London’s Park Lane on steroids. It’s a long, straight section of road which at either side is peppered with showrooms from nearly every brand imaginable. BMW, Mercedes – and a full variety of Chinese-made firms – all have a presence here and it acts as a focal point for Dubai’s motoring scene.
It’s why Genesis’ Dubai showroom is seen as ‘the jewel in the crown’ of the brand’s presence out here in the United Arab Emirates, where supercars are ten-and-penny and G-Wagons are as common as Qashqais back here in the UK.
Suliman Al-Zaben is the director of Genesis in the UAE and says that selling cars here is ‘a completely different game’.
He says that the 900 square-metre showroom represents that they ‘believe in the brand’ and that to succeed, they will sell cars ‘in a different way’.
It’s why the showroom plays host to a number of cars that you won’t yet see here in the UK.
First, there’s the GV80 Twilight Edition, which is a bespoke version of the brand’s largest SUV.
It’s one of just 20 examples and it’s as mad close up as it is in the pictures; the gold has a brushed finish and while it might initially look like someone’s had a difficult time with the emulsion, the level of detail it brings is remarkable. Inside, there’s quilted leather and plenty of wood and aluminium used throughout. Each car gets a special plaque, too.
But then there’s the ultra-special ‘one of one’, which comes through the Genesis programme of the same name. Designed to rival the likes of Aston Martin’s ‘Q’ department or Mulliner at Bentley, it allows customers to choose from a near-endless range of finishers, paints and trims to create a car that is completely unique.
We’ve got a close look at a G90 Long Wheelbase – a car we don’t currently get in the UK – and one which already belongs to a customer in Dubai.
We’re told that the car’s keeper – an owner of ‘exotic’ car showrooms in Dubai – already has a number of high-value cars but had heard friends and colleagues talking about Genesis, so decided a game of one-ups was right. At around £300,000, it’s one of the most expensive Genesis models ever made and from its pinstriped bonnet to its eye-catching blue interior, there’s a lot going on to suggest that this isn’t just your usual executive saloon.
That said, it can’t have much use since the owner took it on – there are plenty of as-delivered stickers dotted throughout the car and the exterior shows barely any signs of use. But in Dubai, it’s not strange for owners simply to own a car in order to have it – rather than a need to drive it.
Is there a chance that one-of-one cars could come to the UK? It seems like with the desire for bespoke creations growing – and the increasing number of high-end outfitters taking ‘normal’ cars and making them into something a little different – there could be a place for it.
Genesis only came to the UK in 2019, but with head bosses in Korea pushing for a greater number of bespoke cars, there’s a chance that we could see more ‘one of one’ vehicles heading this way too.
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The post £300k one-of-ones and brushed gold paint: Car Dealer explores Genesis’ luxury Dubai showroom appeared first on Car Dealer Magazine.
