Porsche Design, a subsidiary of Volkswagen-owned Porsche, announced plans last week to design a luxury residential tower in Bangkok, Thailand, in partnership with the developer Ananda. 

The pair will develop 22 duplex and quadplex ‘Sky Villas’ as part of its third Porsche Design Tower globally, with sizes ranging from 525 to 1,135 square meters. 

Apartments will cost an average of $15 million, but the most expensive spot will go on the market for $40 million.

Porsche Design will create what it calls “passion spaces” in the Bangkok apartment block, which will allow petrolhead drivers to design their own luxury garages. Drivers can access these spaces through a spiral access ramp situated in the center of the building.

The subsidiary of the carmaker took inspiration from mechanisms and features in the 911 Targa and Mission R electric concept cars when designing the residence. It is slated for completion by the end of 2028.

“Porsche Design Tower Bangkok represents a groundbreaking fusion of exquisite design and optimal functionality,” said Stefan Buescher, chairman of the executive board of Porsche Lifestyle Group. 

“Our vision is to create a living space where one’s passion thrives. We aspire for passion in every endeavor, ensuring that our projects transcend living spaces to become expressions of individuality.”

Porsche-themed towers

Porsche has form for veering away from its luxury cars in search of new customers through its subsidiary venture. Porsche Design has already been involved in luxury residences in Stuttgart, Porsche’s headquarters, and Miami.

The carmaker’s reputation for luxurious excellence made it easy to market itself as a real estate designer for the ultra-wealthy. Indeed, it says the buildings represent the key tenets of the Porsche brand: “functional design, technical innovation, and forward-looking technologies.”

In Miami, the group designed custom-purpose elevators in its 60-story tower, which allowed residents to ride their cars up to a parking lot adjacent to their apartments.

The company says its new Design Tower in Bangkok represents a growing shift toward the Asian market, as disposable income rises and the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the region has swelled over the last few decades. 

However, the new tower also marks the starkest divide yet in accommodation prices compared with the average income of residents.

Miami was the obvious first location for Porsche Design to experiment with luxury apartments. The average resident earns around $60,000 in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area, while a host of billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, have relocated there in recent years owing to the weather and Florida’s generous State tax regime. 

But in Bangkok, the average resident earns just 560,783 Thai Bhat per year, according to the Economic Research Institute’s Global Salary calculator, or around $16,400. Data compiled by Statista says that the average monthly household income in 2021 in Bangkok was 39,100 Bhat (about $1,100).

There will undoubtedly be a host of wealthy native and international buyers keen to snap up the pricey accommodation, but the income of the typical resident suggests most will get their best look at the tower from the streets of Bangkok.