Phil McGovern's first car was a Volkswagen Beetle and, after owning a few Bugs in his time, he moved onto jointly investing in Porsches with his father, Alan. Courtesy of Phil McGovern
Phil McGovern's first car was a Volkswagen Beetle and, after owning a few Bugs in his time, he moved onto jointly investing in Porsches with his father, Alan. Courtesy of Phil McGovern
Phil McGovern's first car was a Volkswagen Beetle and, after owning a few Bugs in his time, he moved onto jointly investing in Porsches with his father, Alan. Courtesy of Phil McGovern
Phil McGovern's first car was a Volkswagen Beetle and, after owning a few Bugs in his time, he moved onto jointly investing in Porsches with his father, Alan. Courtesy of Phil McGovern

My Car: Porsche 993RS is an air-cooled hottie


  • English
  • Arabic

What you're looking at here is one of the all-time great 911s, which makes it one of the very best cars in history. As anyone who's into Porsche's venerable sports car will tell you, given half the chance, the models built from 1998 on just aren't the same because the 911's engine, until that point, was cooled by nothing other than the air it sucked in. Radiators on 911s, according to the real enthusiasts, signalled the beginning of the end.

Two letters: RS. They might not mean much to you but when they're part of a Porsche's nomenclature, they signify something special. RS models are hard-core, stripped-out and highly focused road racers, so the fact that the 993 generation was the last of the air-cooled 911s, coupled with Phil McGovern's immaculate Speed Yellow example being an RS should tell you all you need to know. For millions of Porsche enthusiasts around the world, the 993RS is the pinnacle of Porsche's engineering and styling prowess. McGovern, who is originally from Warwick, UK, but lives in Dubai with his wife Emma and their two young sons, is a partner in Awesome Group, which has three arms: publishing, photography/videography and corporate communications. Set up just 18 months ago, it's doing rather well, but it's fair to say that performance cars play a huge role in both his home and work life. For many of us, being able to turn a hobby into a business is the ultimate dream, especially if it means being able to buy and run cars like the 993RS.

My Car: First-hand accounts of life behind the wheel

Whether they're off-roaders or family transports, vehicles in the Emirates inspire plenty of passion in their owners.

"My obsession began when my dad bought me a VW Beetle for my 17th birthday," he says. "I owned a succession of Bugs and then went on to the vans." It was inevitable, perhaps, that an interest in air-cooled 911s would follow, and this came to fruition properly when he and his father decided to choose one as a joint investment that could be enjoyed rather than simply tucked away in the back of a garage. They bought a 964RS (one of the most sought-after Porsches of all) from a respected dealer in the UK and, 18 months later, they went shopping for a 993RS.

"We decided it had to be a Clubsport model [which is even more track-focused than the regular RS] but it had to have air conditioning, for obvious reasons, which was a tough call because Clubsports had the A/C deleted [along with other luxuries such as electric windows and the stereo]. We wanted a Riviera Blue one, but eventually settled on this Speed Yellow because it was available and was totally original."

It really is a gorgeous thing to behold, even with the comical rear spoiler, and it certainly causes heads to turn wherever it goes. "Those who know their Porsches know what it is," smiles McGovern. "And I'm constantly nagged to sell it but I can't imagine we'll let it go until I've retired." He's only 32, so there's a while yet before he hands over the keys to a new owner.

McGovern and his father, Alan, who also lives and works in Dubai, between them also own a 1968 Porsche 912, which is nearing the end of an extensive restoration project, and a VW Golf GTI race car. "We share them but I usually end up looking after the 993 while he prefers the 964RS's harder edge. He likes the way the diff clunks."

As far as McGovern knows, this is the only 993RS in the UAE, but that doesn't stop him using it whenever possible. "It had 48,000km on it when we bought it and now it's showing 72,000," he says. "They were built to be driven hard and last year I used it for nine months as the daily driver." As for Mrs McGovern, he says, "Emma worked for Porsche in the UK. Umm, let's just say she accepts my addiction."

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

UAE Falcons

Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.

 

Essentials
The flights

Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing. 

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RESULT

Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')

Zidane's managerial achievements

La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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

Major honours

ARSENAL

  • FA Cup - 2005

BARCELONA

  • La Liga - 2013
  • Copa del Rey - 2012
  • Fifa Club World Cup - 2011

CHELSEA

  • Premier League - 2015, 2017
  • FA Cup - 2018
  • League Cup - 2015

SPAIN

  • World Cup - 2010
  • European Championship - 2008, 2012