This 924 was the first Porsche for the Abu Dhabi Police

These days, it’s hardly surprising to see a Porsche with its blue lights flashing driving through Dubai. After all, the United Arab Emirates police force is known for its unusual fleet. Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches are a common sight on the streets there. What’s less well known, however, is that it all started with a 924. That very car is now back on the road—or at least, it looks like it is again.

The Porsche Center Abu Dhabi and Al Ain has meticulously restored a historic 1979 Porsche 924. At the time, the sports car was the first high-performance vehicle of its kind in the United Arab Emirates’ police fleet.

It fulfilled its most important mission right from the start: it escorted Queen Elizabeth II during her first state visit to the then-newly established country.

The visit took place just seven years after the founding of the United Arab Emirates. The British Queen and her entourage traveled to the Gulf region aboard the royal yacht Britannia. In the Emirates, they were personally welcomed and escorted by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. In the midst of this historic moment, a Porsche 924 was on police duty.

Today, the idea of a 924 serving as an escort for a head of state might seem a bit unusual. In the late 1970s, however, the Porsche was a modern sports car. Introduced in 1976, it marked the beginning of a new model family from Zuffenhausen. Its front-mounted engine and rear-axle transmission ensured balanced weight distribution. The so-called transaxle design would later also characterize the 928, 944, and 968.

For the restoration, the car was taken to the service center at the Porsche Center Abu Dhabi in early 2026. The goal was to restore it to its original condition as faithfully as possible. The work on the police markings was particularly interesting. Instead of using modern vinyl decals, the team reproduced the original lettering by hand, using the original paintwork as a guide. This ensured that the vehicle’s historic character was preserved.

Once the restoration work was completed, the 924 was officially returned to the Abu Dhabi Police at the Al Maqta Museum. The museum is located at a historically significant site that once housed one of the city’s first police stations. The Porsche will be on permanent display there in the future.

First, however, there’s another event coming up. The 924 will make its first public appearance following its restoration at the Icons of Porsche Festival on November 21 and 22, 2026, in Dubai. This timing is quite fitting, as Porsche is celebrating 50 years of transaxle models this year. The 924 was the first model of this design, introduced in 1976.

Photos: Porsche