1979 Porsche 924 Rejoins UAE's Police Fleet
These days we're used to the United Arab Emirates' police forces showing off the latest and greatest sportscar and supercar additions to their fleet. Just this year, Dubai Police welcomed a modified Lamborghini Temerario and Ferrari 812 Superfast with tweaks from Mansory. And for the emirate of Abu Dhabi, we've seen them champion cars like a Lykan Hypersport and Nissan GT-R in the past. These headline-grabbing supercars are more often than not an element of public outreach campaigns and PR stunts.
But the first sports car, a Porsche 924, to join the UAE's federal police fleet was an active service vehicle, used to escort Queen Elizabeth II on her first royal visit to the UAE in 1979. Over the years, the 924 has remained in the UAE Federal Police Fleet, and has been seen in various colors. But for its recent extensive restoration, it was decided that the original livery from nearly 50 years ago was only fitting.
A car almost as old as the UAE itself
Long before the UAE added Porsche 911s, and even the all-electric Taycan to its fleet, the Porsche 924 was chosen as the escort car of choice when Queen Elizabeth II, and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the Gulf region. It was the Queen's first visit to the UAE after it was declared an independent country just seven years earlier.
"The Porsche 924 represents an important chapter in the history of Abu Dhabi Police and the development of our vehicle fleet," said Lieutenant Colonel Ali Al Hammadi, Head of Police Legacy Department at Abu Dhabi Police. "Restoring the car provides an opportunity to maintain a tangible connection to this period and share its story with future generations."
The restoration has been carried out by the Porsche Centre Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. In addition to making the car look virtually new, the team behind the restoration opted to recreate the original hand-painted police signage, rather than going the modern route of using decals.
The 924 was returned to the Abu Dhabi Police at a ceremony held at the Al Maqta Museum, and will be on public display at the Icons of Porsche festival in Dubai, which will be held on November 21 and 22.