Bangkok. Land of a thousand street-food smells, eleven million impatient drivers, and traffic so bad you could start a podcast between traffic-light changes. Yet here, in the very epicenter of the chaos, lives a man who could probably buy the traffic if he wanted to. His name is Chanond Ruangkritya: real estate magnate, Porsche hoarder, marathon runner, and—possibly—Thailand’s calmest human.
At 51, he’s the kind of chap who can run 30 kilometers before breakfast, conduct a board meeting mid-Kendrick Lamar track, and still look like he’s stepped out of a Porsche lifestyle brochure. Which, in fairness, he kind of has—because his latest project is the Porsche Design Tower Bangkok, a 95-meter glass and steel temple to horsepower and high living. It’s like Monaco moved to Thonglor and discovered air conditioning.
Zen and the Art of Carrera Maintenance
You expect a man with 13 Porsches to be a little… highly strung. The sort who barks at assistants and gets twitchy if his espresso arrives 14 seconds late. Not Chanond. Ask him when he last lost his temper and he has to think about it. Really think. His wife apparently wonders how he doesn’t explode when their kids are doing laps around the penthouse. He just smiles. He’s a devout Buddhist, meditates daily, eats to fight inflammation, and, somehow, still goes clubbing. He’s the sort of man who could find inner peace in a Bangkok rush hour.
The Tower with “The Loop”
Forget dreary underground parking. Chanond’s Porsche Design Tower will have a spiral ramp straight into your home, known simply as The Loop. Think of it as a Scalextric track for millionaires. Drive your 911 up, park it next to the sofa, open the champagne. Want to turn it into a Pilates studio instead? Sura. The garage space is soundproof, so you can either deadlift or dead-rev without disturbing the neighbors.
And the penthouses? Not flats—oh no. “Stacked villas,” each with a façade inspired by the kinetic roof of a 911 Targa. At the top, The Crown: a glowing Porsche light signature that will turn Bangkok’s skyline into a giant brake light after dark. Prices start at $15 million. Which, for perspective, is about the same as buying all of Chanond’s Porsches twice.
Garage Goals
Speaking of which, his private garage is the sort of place that makes grown motoring journalists weak at the knees. Three vertical levels, all matte black, housing everything from a Cayman GT4 to a Carrera GT. Two generations of GT3 RS (996 and 997), a 993 Carrera RS, and one “Pink Pig” tribute Cayman complete with German butcher’s cut labels. There’s a lounge, a kitchen, Gran Turismo rigs, and karaoke mics. He claims he doesn’t visit enough, but when he does, it’s basically The Fast and the Meditative.
Driving for the Sake of It
Chanond doesn’t just own Porsches. He drives them. Hard. Preferably for 12 hours straight with no music and only stopping for fuel or a sandwich. He’s not overly fond of the “Das Treffen” Porsche meets in Thailand—too many stops, not enough driving. His perfect Sunday? Hammering a GT3 RS until his back aches, somewhere outside the city where the roads remember what a curve is.
The Big Picture
Here’s the thing: Chanond knows none of this last. The cars, the tower, even the skyline he helped build—temporary. But he’s fine with that. “It’s the moment that counts,” he says. Which is why he’s up before dawn, why he meditates, why he listens to Drake at work, and why—traffic permitting—he’ll drive a 911 until the tires beg for mercy.
In a city that never sits still, Chanond has built himself the ultimate playground: part racetrack, part skyline, part sanctuary. And in true Top Gear fashion, we can confirm—yes, the lift in his tower will fit a Porsche. Which, let’s face it, is all you really need to know.
Source: Dani Heyne via Porsche magazine Christophorus 415
Photo: Philipp Rupprecht