Bangkok’s skyline is set to change with the new 21-storey, 95m-tall Porsche Design Tower Bangkok, which debuted on August 27. It marks the collaboration between Porsche Design, the lifestyle brand of sports car manufacturer Porsche AG and Thai real estate developer Ananda Development.

It is the first Porsche Design Tower in Asia, following the successful launch of Porsche Design Tower Miami (PDTM) in the US a decade earlier. The 132-unit PDTM was completed in 2017 and entirely sold at prices ranging from US$6 million to US$32.5 million.

“The Porsche Design Tower Bangkok is the next big thing for Porsche in Southeast Asia,” says Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of the executive board at Porsche AG. “We want to create an engineering and architectural tour de force that also serves as a lighthouse and a unique hub for our extremely passionate community throughout Asia.”

Read also: Porsche Singapore Studio opens duplex showroom at Guoco Midtown

Located at Sukhumvit 38, the even-numbered side of Sukhumvit Road in the Thonglor area, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok sits within a vibrant neighbourhood with upscale restaurants, cafes, shopping malls and various leisure and entertainment activities.

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‘Exclusive sky villas’

“When we approached Porsche Design to jointly develop a new Porsche Design Tower in Bangkok, we took the bold step of proposing a more intimate residential product compared to the project in Miami,” says Chanond Ruangkritya, president and CEO of Ananda Development at the official unveiling of the Porsche Design Tower Bangkok.

He adds: “We envisioned each unit at Porsche Design Tower Bangkok as an exclusive villa in the sky that also enjoys a vibrant city-living lifestyle that comes with being in a bustling district like Thonglor in Bangkok.”

Instead of a wide range of units, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok will have just 22 apartments — from duplex to quadplex, ranging from 5,649 sq ft to 12,212 sq ft. The apartments will have three or four bedrooms each, priced from US$15 million ($19.54 million, or $3,458 psf) to US$40 million ($52.12 million, or $4,267 psf). They are expected to set a new benchmark in Bangkok’s ultra-luxury residential market.

Scheduled for completion in 2028, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok is estimated to have a gross development value of THB15 billion ($573 million). “With only 22 units, we are confident that this project will be successful, and we expect to hold firm to our prices,” says Ruangkritya.

‘Already a waiting list’

A Porsche enthusiast himself, Ruangkritya owns several Porsche sports cars. He remembers the first time he encountered a Porsche car as a young boy in his father’s garage. “I didn’t understand the significance of a Porsche car at the time,” he says. “But I felt drawn to the shape and design of that car.”

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He enjoys road trips around Thailand and Malaysia with other Porsche car enthusiasts and collectors. “There is a passionate community of Porsche car owners in Thailand, which includes many high-net-worth individuals who would pay a premium for the chance to own a Porsche-branded trophy asset,” he says.

Ruangkritya adds that there is already a waiting list of prospective local and foreign buyers. Some people have already expressed interest in purchasing either of the four-storey penthouses priced at US$40 million each.

While owning a Porsche sports car is not a criterion, Ruangkritya says the developer will review the suitability of each potential buyer.

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok will be launched for sale in several key cities in the coming months, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Abu Dhabi and London.

‘360-degree brand experience’

With 174 parking spaces for just 22 apartments or a ratio of eight cars per apartment, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok naturally caters to car enthusiasts. Each apartment has a “passion space” of 1,076 sq ft to 3,606 sq ft, accessible via private lifts. “The passion space is ideal as a ‘soul garage’ to store and showcase a car collection,” says Porsche’s Meschke.

Passion spaces will be fitted with top-of-the-line exhaust fume extractors, a humidity control system, CO2 and O2 sensors, and acoustic insulation and can support EV charging.

Read also: Thailand’s AWC to invest $40 mil to upgrade Bangkok office building

A unique feature of the building is “The Loop,” a spiral access ramp in the core that allows owners to drive their cars directly to their “passion space.”

The apartments will have fully fitted kitchens and bathrooms — for example, kitchen cabinets from Italian brand Arclinea and appliances from Marrone, Sub-Zero & Wolf and Josper charcoal ovens.

The glass doors opening to each apartment’s balcony are not the typical sliding doors. Instead, they are fully automated and inspired by the “kinetic move” of the Porsche 911 Targa roof mechanism.

Another architectural highlight is the exposed steel pedestal exoskeletal structure. Called the “X-Frame”, it is inspired by the design of Porsche’s Mission R concept car. The tower’s crown will feature the signature lighting design of Porsche sports cars.

“It’s a 360-degree brand experience and a new approach to the Porsche brand,” says Porsche AG’s Meschke. The apartment tower offers amenities such as a 25m swimming pool, a fitness centre, a spa, a social lounge and a business lounge.

‘Greatest concentration of luxury branded residences’

The apartments at Porsche Design Tower Bangkok will be sold with freehold tenure. In Thailand, foreigners can only own up to 49% of the units in a condo. That means only half of the 22 units at Porsche Design Tower Bangkok are available for sale to international buyers, making it even more coveted.

“People will be curious because Porsche Design Tower Bangkok as it is the first of its kind in Asia,” says Jacqueline Wong, executive director of Hardington Private, a niche consultancy for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices.

According to Ruangkritya of Ananda Development, Bangkok has the greatest concentration of luxury branded residences in Southeast Asia. “It sees strong demand from high net-worth individuals in the region for luxury branded residential projects,” he adds.

Examples in Bangkok include Dusit Residences, Four Seasons Residence Bangkok, The Residences Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz-Carlton Residences Bangkok and St Regis Residences.

“Most people are drawn to such branded luxury residences due to the convenience of the location and the hospitality services they provide, such as concierge service, housekeeping, room service, dog-walking service, nanny service and security,” says Nicholas Keong, head of residential and private office, Knight Frank Singapore. “What makes it appealing to the well-heeled is that you can just lock up and leave. For most international buyers, such apartments are more of a holiday home or a second home, and it’s more for their own use rather than an investment.”

Besides luxury hotels, some fashion brands such as Armani, Bulgari and Versace have their own branded residences too, says Wong of Hardington Private.

Likewise, Porsche Design wants to plant its flag in the top-end residential market. "These are natural brand extensions, and there is a value-add to the kind of services provided," adds Wong. "If you're an avid Porsche fan and have the means, the fact that it's a Porsche Design Tower, it would appeal to you."

Porsche’s Southeast Asian thrust

Southeast Asia is becoming an increasingly important market for Porsche, says Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of the executive board at sports car manufacturer Porsche AG.

In January, Porsche held the global rollout of its all-electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) Porsche Macan in Singapore. February saw the opening of Porsche Studio Singapore at Guoco Midtown, where this year’s worldwide dealer conference was held. Singapore will also see the first regional Porsche Experience Centre open in 2027, next to the Changi Exhibition Centre.

The new Cayenne S E-Hybrid Coupé will be the second model to be assembled in Malaysia and the first to be exported regionally to Thailand. In the Thai capital, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok — the first of its kind in Asia — debuted on Aug 27.

Earlier editions

The first Porsche Design Tower in the world was the Porsche Design Tower Miami (PDTM). Launched a decade earlier, it was completed in 2017. PDTM was a collaboration between Porsche AG and Dezer Development, a real estate company founded in New York that has created a niche for itself in the luxury branded residences market in South Florida.

The 60-storey PDTM on Sunny Isles Beach fronts the sea. It has 132 apartments that come with “sky garages”. Dezer Development has also patented a one-of-a-kind robotic parking system, the Deservator, that allows owners to park their vehicles in sky garages directly next to their units. “As far as we know, PDTM is the world’s only residential building with that kind of car lift to this day,” says Meschke.

All the units at PDTM have been sold at prices ranging from US$6 million to US$32.5 million. “It was not a prerequisite to own a Porsche vehicle to buy an apartment,” he adds. “But we know that many buyers were already members of the Porsche family.”

Meanwhile, the Porsche Design Tower Stuttgart was completed in the summer of 2023. It is a joint construction project between Porsche AG and Porsche Design. The tower was developed with Stuttgart-based investor and property developer Bülow AG.

Porsche Consulting, a business consultancy and subsidiary of Porsche is now headquartered at Porsche Design Tower Stuttgart and is the sole tenant in the office spaces on the lower half of the 23-storey tower. The 168-room Radisson Blu hotel occupies the 10th to 23rd floors.

Origins of Porsche Design

A lifestyle brand and product design studio, Porsche Design is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche AG. It was founded in 1972 as Studio F.A. Porsche by the eponymous Prof. Ferdinand Alexander (FA) Porsche. He is renowned as the creator of the Porsche 911 sports car and the grandson of Porsche AG founder Ferdinand Porsche.

FA Porsche’s vision for Porsche Design was to extend the Porsche design principles and manufacturing processes beyond the automotive industry. Over the years, Porsche Design has diversified into a wide range of products, from timepieces and sunglasses to kitchen knives, furniture, bathroom and kitchen fittings.

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok, for instance, will feature furniture pieces, bathroom and kitchen fittings, and appliances customised by FA Studio.

Singapore may not have a Porsche Design Tower, but Porsche is busy developing and constructing its first regional Porsche Experience Centre in the city-state, says Meschke. “We cannot be everywhere,” he adds. “We develop one project after the other and are very careful when selecting locations and partners.”

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