Embraer and Porsche collaborate on Phenom 300E and Porsche 911 Turbo S ‘Duet’

Embraer and car manufacturer Porsche have worked together on a joint project called ‘Duet’, where 10 buyers can buy a matching Phenom 300E and a Porsche 911 Turbo.

Duet has a list price of $10.92m. With deliveries beginning in 2021. The car and aircraft can be delivered worldwide.

“Duet is an exclusive package developed in a unique design collaboration with Porsche. This rare, refined combination will only be available through this one-time-only pairing,” said Michael Amalfitano, President and CEO, Embraer Executive Jets.

The two companies worked together to create design links between the aircraft and the car.  

“Knowing our customer base well, we have many self-made people who found a way to not only be successful, but learnt to fly an aeroplane and then certify a jet and then buy one,” Jay Beever, Vice President of Embraer Design Operations, told Corporate Jet Investor. “There is a special mind there. They drive for perfection and that’s why this car and plane together are that celebration of those people who have changed business and often their country.”

Porsche will hand-paint all 10 of the 911 Turbo Duet cars. The top of the car is finished with Platinum Silver Metallic which is then divided with a Brilliant Chrome and Speed Blue strip from Jet Grey Metallic paint at the bottom. The car’s wheels are painted in Platinum Silver Metallic, with a laser then exposing a Speed Blue underlay on the rim flange – the first time Porsche has done this. The air intakes of the car are painted in Brilliant Chrome to match the leading-edge nacelles of the aircraft.

When the car doors are open, the Duet logo is projected on the door. The door stills also have ‘No Step’ lettering – matching the aircraft’s wing.

“One of my pet peeves is scuffed plates or doors sills when they get scratched. So, we put ‘No Step’ – you’re not going to scuff this carbon fibre step plate,” says Beever. “It is backlit in red light so it always stays beautiful.”

The seats in the Embraer Phenom 300 Duet have the same stitching as the car.

Inside the cabin, the seats on the Phenom 300E seat match the car. The seats on both have red pull straps, Speed Blue stitch, and matching carbon fibre shrouds.

Embraer and Porsche are targeting owner-pilots and the cockpit has been re-designed (and re-certificated) to match the car. Porsche has also created a new steering wheel design to match the aircraft’s yoke. The car’s clock also has an artificial horizon similar to the aircraft cockpit.

The aircraft registration number appears on both the car’s rear wing and on the key. “When the vehicle hits 72 miles per hour, that rear wing goes up,” said Beever. “Whatever it’s passing knows not to even try because this is a jet owner and there’s a registration number matching an aircraft. So, once the project is known publicly, when this car is seen on the street, people will know it’s in a league of its own. So, [they will  know] that this is a $10m-plus car because it had to come with an aeroplane.”

At speed, the car shows the aircraft registration.

Beever says that the Duet logo is embossed on the seat headrests of the aircraft to represent lift and then debossed on the seat headrests of the car to show downforce. The logo is also on the aircraft’s side-ledge, speaker grills, and mounted near the main door.

The logo is debossed on the seat headrests of the car to show downforce.

“Porsche and Embraer share a host of common values,” said Alexander Fabig, Vice President Individualization and Classic at Porsche. “As part of our cooperation, we used the know-how of both brands to work jointly on a unique pair of vehicles that are equally attractive for the customer group of jet and sports car owners.”

Although other manufacturers have sold aircraft and cars together – Hawker Beechcraft had an agreement with Lotus – this is thought to be the first time they have adapted products together. Each side paid the own development costs.

The car also comes with a Porsche designed Swiss watch and matching luggage.

“Once the products were chosen, the next step was to make them match so that the customers could have a seamless and unique experience from driving to flying,” said Alvadi Serpa-Junior, director product Strategy at Embraer Executive Jets. “It wasn’t hard for us to come to a common understanding of what we had to do. And we very quickly noticed how much our engineering and design teams think alike and shared the same passion for details.”

Amalfitano adds: “In the spirit of delivering the ultimate customer experience, we are fusing two of the most notable brands in the aerospace and automotive industries, bringing together the pinnacle in production sports cars with the market benchmark in light jets, once again proving that we don’t simply follow trends – we create them.”

The car’s wheels are painted in Platinum Silver Metallic, with a laser then exposing a Speed Blue underlay on the rim flange – the first time Porsche has done this.