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Labubu Meets Stuttgart: Porsche’s Playful Art-Car Crossover Steals the Spotlight in Dubai

For decades, Porsche has blended engineering purity with an emotional spark few brands can match. But at this year’s Icons of Porsche event in Dubai, Stuttgart brought something entirely different: a shaggy-furred, long-eared, sharp-toothed, mischievously grinning monster riding shotgun in a 911 Targa.

Yes—Labubu has officially entered the Porsche universe.

A Collaboration That’s Equal Parts Whimsy and Worship

Labubu, the breakout star of artist Kasing Lung’s “The Monsters” series, has achieved global cult status. Think of them as troll-like icons with the same fan intensity that rare sneakers or limited-edition vinyl command.

To celebrate both ten years of “The Monsters” and 60 years of the Porsche 911 Targa, Porsche teamed up with Lung to create not one but two collector-level tributes:

  • A limited-edition King Mon metal sculpture seated in a classic 911 Targa
  • A full-size 911 Targa art car—with a life-size Labubu behind the wheel

It’s the kind of crossover that shouldn’t work on paper, but absolutely does when you see it in person.

The King Mon Collector’s Sculpture: A Future Auction Darling

Standing just under 40 centimeters tall, the “King Mon in Porsche 911 Targa” sculpture made its debut in Dubai. Crafted in high-grade metal and dripping with Porsche-grade precision, it instantly feels like an object destined for display cases and climate-controlled collections.

Only 60 units will be produced worldwide—an intentional nod to 60 years of the Targa, first introduced in 1965 with its signature safety bar and convertible-meets-coupé charm.

Kasing Lung puts it simply:

“Having one of my characters in a car for the first time and reimagining the iconic Porsche Targa was truly inspiring.”

King Mon, in Lung’s lore, represents power, leadership, and protective energy—traits Porsche believes align perfectly with the spirit of the Targa itself.

Porsche’s Take: Art, Emotion, and Brand DNA

An emotional connection is something Porsche doesn’t shy away from. Deniz Keskin, Porsche’s Director of Brand Management and Partnerships, frames the collaboration as a natural fit:

“Kasing Lung understands how to combine emotion and form in a unique way – a quality that also distinguishes our brand.”

This isn’t the first time Porsche and Lung have crossed paths. Earlier in 2025, Porsche Taiwan invited Lung to display his work in the new Porsche NOW showroom in Taipei. The relationship appears to be deepening—and getting bolder.

The Labubu Art Car: A Targa With Teeth (Literally)

If the sculpture is for collectors, the Art Car is pure spectacle.

Imagine:
A Porsche 911 Targa (Type 992) wearing a Labubu-styled exterior inspired by Dubai’s landscape and energy. Now imagine a life-size Labubu figure in the driver’s seat, rocking a Porsche T-shirt like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

It’s playful, surreal, and weirdly perfect—an injection of childlike imagination into one of the world’s most respected sports cars.

The Art Car instantly became one of the most photographed pieces at Icons of Porsche, proving once again that Porsche isn’t afraid to loosen its collar and get weird when the moment calls for it.

Why This Matters (Beyond the Cute Factor)

This collaboration is more than an art-toy crossover. It reflects a bigger trend:

  • Car culture colliding with pop culture
  • Brands embracing design as emotional expression
  • Collectors crossing from automotive to art and back again

Porsche isn’t just selling cars anymore. It’s selling mythology—and inviting new generations to participate.

Final Gear

The King Mon Targa sculpture won’t arrive until 2026, and with only 60 pieces worldwide, it’ll almost certainly vanish into private collections instantly. The Art Car, meanwhile, is a rolling symbol of everything Porsche is becoming: technical, traditional, and surprisingly whimsical.

In a world where performance numbers are increasingly predictable, it’s refreshing to see a 911 Targa sharing the stage with a monster in a T-shirt.

Sometimes, all it takes to make an icon feel new again… is a grin full of little pointy teeth.

Source: Porsche

News

IONNA Hits the California Freeway: A New Wave of EV Charging Arrives

California has long been the proving ground for America’s electric-vehicle ambitions. This week, it became the launchpad for the country’s newest fast-charging heavyweight. IONNA—the joint venture stitching together multiple automakers into a unified, public charging network—just wrapped a week-long kickoff tour across the Golden State, unveiling its first wave of Rechargery stations and announcing a quarter-billion-dollar investment over the next three years.

That’s not pocket change, even in Silicon Valley terms.

A Thousand Bays and Counting

The IONNA caravan stopped in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, and Westminster for ribbon cuttings, representing only a sliver of what’s coming. Over 1,000 charging bays are already contracted in California, and more than 4,000 nationwide. The company says the real shift begins now: moving from construction to actually switching on the hardware, with over 1,100 bays in the U.S. entering the final stages before going live.

Chief Executive Officer Seth Cutler calls the pace “IONNA Speed,” though the term isn’t just about rapid deployment. “It’s how we deliver,” Cutler says, repeating the company’s mantra of driver-first charging—a philosophy increasingly necessary as more EV owners navigate fragmented, inconsistent infrastructure.

Charging That Works—A Novel Concept

Coverage matters, but in the real world, reliability is the currency EV drivers care about. IONNA’s first flagship location—the Westminster Rechargery Beacon—sets the tone for what the brand wants to be: clean, high-capacity stations with a deliberate emphasis on usability. The network is also rolling out a California EV Education Program, tapping ambassadors to partner with dealerships and local EV groups. The goal is to catch the “EV-curious” before analysis paralysis (or charging anxiety) takes hold.

Consider it test-driving the test drive.

After each opening, IONNA staff will host events on site—part tutorial, part meet-up, part customer-conversion exercise. If you’re going to sell drivers on an all-electric future, giving them a place to kick the tires—figuratively speaking—makes sense.

Plug & Charge: No Apps, No Fuss

One of the most tangible improvements IONNA brings is its aggressive rollout of Plug & Charge capability, the holy grail of EV user experience: plug in, the charger recognizes your car, billing happens automatically. No phone-fishing, no card readers frozen in the rain.

Five of IONNA’s eight founding automakers already support Plug & Charge—BMW, GM, Hyundai, Kia, and Mercedes—with Honda, Stellantis, and Toyota on deck by 2026. And in a notable expansion, Rivian and Ford EVs can now use IONNA’s stations with full Plug & Charge integration, slotting Ford’s vehicles comfortably alongside its sprawling BlueOval network.

If IONNA wants to be the EV equivalent of the gas station on the corner, this kind of interoperability is non-negotiable.

The Lifestyle Era of Charging

Because no modern mobility brand is complete without merch, IONNA teased its first official swag drop—retro-styled, region-flavored apparel and accessories—available via a limited release. It’s a soft launch ahead of a full-fledged merchandise store coming later, proof that the company wants drivers to feel not just charged, but represented.

Think “I survived the 405” energy, but make it electric.

The Big Picture

For a network that didn’t exist a year ago, IONNA’s acceleration is impressive. But scale alone won’t determine whether it becomes a national staple or another well-funded experiment. EV drivers want stations that work, every time, with as little friction as possible.

If IONNA can deliver that—reliably, consistently, and without the dead-charger roulette that plagues far too many networks—it won’t just be riding the California wave. It’ll be shaping it.

Source: Honda

News

Maserati Turns a Supercar Into a Modern Art Experiment at Milano AutoClassica

Maserati didn’t just show up to this year’s Milano AutoClassica—they arrived with a statement piece. Running November 21–23 at the Fiera Milano (Rho), the show is once again a magnet for collectors, restorers, and design obsessives. But among the polished concours queens and historically significant icons, one car is drawing a different kind of crowd: the Maserati MC20 Cielo “Opera d’Arte.”

This one-off creation is the latest expression of Maserati Fuoriserie, the brand’s personalization program that continues to blur the line between bespoke engineering and pure artistic freedom. If the standard MC20 Cielo is a study in clean mid-engine elegance, Opera d’Arte is the bold, extroverted cousin who raided the art-supply closet. And Maserati wants you to see the whole thing as a moving gallery exhibit.

Positioned near the ACI Storico stand, the car is the centerpiece of the talk “Art Car: when design meets the automobile,” scheduled for opening day. It’s fitting—this MC20 isn’t merely customized; it’s conceptualized.

MC20 Evolves, and Maserati Pushes Further

The Opera d’Arte arrives at a moment of momentum for Maserati’s halo supercar. After the MC20 Halo Car signaled Maserati’s return to full-blooded performance machines, the brand lifted the curtain this summer on the new MCPURA, unveiled at Goodwood and positioned as the next, more extreme evolution of the platform. The MCPURA comes in both coupé and Cielo forms, and it reworks nearly every dynamic attribute into something sharper, lighter, and more exclusive.

Against that backdrop, the MC20 Cielo Opera d’Arte serves as a reminder that exclusivity isn’t only about horsepower or lap times. Sometimes it’s about imagination.

Abstract Art Meets 621-HP Italian Engineering

The Fuoriserie team treated the car not as bodywork but as canvas. Inspired by early 20th-century Abstract art, Maserati spent more than a year in collaboration across its design, engineering, and customization departments to realize something genuinely unprecedented.

The result is a spyder coated in 15 hand-applied colors, each mixed to trigger a different emotional response. From acid yellows to warm oranges to vivid greens, the palette is aggressive, almost confrontational—far from the usual metallics and racing reds that dominate the supercar scene.

The craftsmanship behind it is equally dramatic: thousands of hours of meticulous brushing, layering, and finishing. Even the wheels carry their own graphic motifs, harmonizing with the body’s visual rhythm instead of disappearing into it.

Artistry Inside, Not Just Out

Open the butterfly doors, and the theme continues. The cabin blends hand-painted lower-dash elements with leather-trimmed upper sections. Alcantara seats feature laser-engraved patterns, while carbon fiber accents add the reminder that beneath the artistic flair is a very real, very fast performance machine.

Other Maserati one-offs have pushed boundaries—like the Bauhaus-inspired MC20 “Less is More…?”—but Opera d’Arte is the most fully realized interpretation yet of the brand’s belief that a supercar can be both sculpture and speed.

A Future for Cars as Art?

Maserati has long been comfortable walking the line between elegance and aggression, but this car suggests something different: a willingness to let creativity take the wheel entirely. In an era when personalization often means nothing more than picking from a curated menu, the MC20 Cielo Opera d’Arte serves as proof that bespoke can still mean bespoke—the kind where a brand hands over its design language and says, “Let’s experiment.”

At Milano AutoClassica, surrounded by decades of automotive history, Maserati’s newest creation stands out not because it rewrites performance specs, but because it reimagines what a supercar can be. A machine. A canvas. And, undeniably, a conversation starter.

Source: Maserati

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