In the mind of Pascal Hayek, Porsche Heritage Service Centre Service Manager, his love affair with the Porsche brand extends far beyond the realms of a typical 9-5 job. It stems from a deeply rooted place of passion and dedication towards Porsche and Behbehani Motors Company. The American University of Beirut Mechanical Engineer graduate boasts a seasoned 34-years of professional experience in his highly specialized field. Not only does he work with Porsche, he lives and breathes the brand’s prestigious ethos when it comes to customizing and modifying Porsche models. In this interview, the married proud father of two speaks to bazaar about an unseen side in the world of Porsche—the dedicated Porsche Heritage Service Centre.

Pascal, you grew up around Porsches at your father’s Service Centre. Can you tell us more about your first Porsche experience?

Yes, this is correct. My father owns a Car Service Centre in Lebanon. It was established even before I was born. He started his Porsche service business in 1970. However, my first experience with Porsche goes back to 10-year-old me, when my father owned his first 911. I felt the strong performance, and the amazing rush of the sports car experience as soon as I sat in the passenger’s seat for 20 minutes of fast driving mode. It was that very moment that my passion for the 911 struck me and never left my side.

You’re a huge motorsports fan. Can you tell us more about this passion?

I grew up in a family of car specialists and enthusiasts so one can imagine why I developed a strong passion for cars. The only reason I chose to study Mechanical Engineering was the interest I had for race cars in particular. I am a fan of motorsports and I started my professional career by modifying cars for rallying and I had even participated in a couple of rallies myself. I still keep up with my passion by following Porsche’s motorsports activities. Porsche dominated the track with multiple titles and a range of impeccable racing cars to win every turn. Just recently, Porsche won the Le Man race with the Porsche 919 Hybrid.

What led you towards working at the Porsche Heritage Service Centre?

Besides my passion for the brand, I joined the Porsche team in Kuwait back in 2005 as a Technical & Training Manager. I was later appointed as the Service Manager to the Porsche Heritage Service Centre in 2006, which was newly inaugurated at the time. We started our journey here with four working bays only and a group consisting of seven staff members. Through the continuous diligence and commitment to responding to all our customers’ requests, we evolved the centre to reach 18 working bays supervised by a dedicated group of 40 staff members. The Porsche Centre in Kuwait continuously seeks expansion and there is currently a new Service Centre under construction designed to bring the best-in-class services to our customers. We will hopefully be operating in the new facility starting next year, as it will incorporate our working bays to ensure maintaining the existence of the Porsche Heritage Service Centre which its dynamic presence marks Kuwait as a Porsche Classic Partner.

What makes the Porsche Heritage Service Centre a must-visit location?

Porsche Centre Kuwait was the first among Porsche dealers in the Gulf region and the Middle East to establish what is called as Porsche Heritage Service Centre. The aim of this facility is to offer Porsche owners, whose vehicles are four years old or above, the required maintenance and service to ensure they continue with the authentic Porsche experience across the years. Our team is highly trained and certified and our technicians run each and every service check utilising Porsche genuine parts and tools and according to the Porsche standards and criteria, which are difficult to achieve in outside garages. The centre’s customers can also avail numerous financial benefits when servicing their vehicles here.

You must come by some amazing classic Porsche models; do you have a favorite?

We sure do come across a number of Porsche Classic vehicles, and there are quite a lot of them that you can find in Kuwait. My all-time favorite classic Porsche is the 911 2.7 RS of the model year, 1973.

What is the most requested modification that you receive at the Porsche Heritage Service Centre? What was the most extravagant modification request?

Porsche customers in Kuwait understand and appreciate all the details under a Porsche hood, and they are quite specific with their requests. The most common requests we receive and execute include modifying the exhaust systems, suspension and certain brake upgrades. The most extravagant modification request we executed was a nose lift on a Carrera GT.

What are the essential modifications for the perfect customized Porsche?

We usually receive modifications requests to increase the horsepower output, which can simply be achieved by remapping the engine’s software, and this is the most essential modification request we receive by our customers who seek to maintain Porsche intelligent performance they are accustomed to.

Can you share with us a memory about one of the interesting customers you came across?

We surely have the loyal of customers who can never get enough of their vehicle’s modification, they will want to reach the ultimate modifications stage and seek different requests along the way. We receive a number of requests from customers who travel to Bahrain or Qatar for racing, and before they leave they ensure to pass by our service centre to perform all the necessary checks to embark on their thrilling experience.

How do customers usually react after receiving their customized Porsche model?

The Porsche Heritage Service Centre customers are savvy about the modification requests or service required to the vehicle, and they usually visit us specifically because they are certain we will be able to perform the necessary task. Once they receive their serviced or modified vehicle, they will always come back for additional requests.

What makes for a flawless Porsche service experience, and how does the Porsche Heritage Service Centre achieve that?

Our approach and main objective here at the service centre is to ensure the complete satisfaction of our customers the minute they sit behind the steering wheel of their serviced Porsche vehicle. Through our extensive expertise in the field, we have established a seamless process to ensure our qualified staff uses highly specialised technology and Porsche genuine parts only to present our customers with the maximum safety and reliability possible. We continuously cross the edge of innovation to bring to our customers the most of their complete Porsche experience.

The Porsche Heritage Service Centre is located in Shuwaikh’s Industrial Area, Block 1, Street 8, Bldg 5108. Please call 1870 870 for more information or visit www.porschekuwait.com for more information. For the latest updates on social media, follow Porsche Centre Kuwait on Instagram @PorscheCentreKuwait and Facebook: PorscheCentreKuwait. Photography by Yousef Al Nasser @YousefCam on Instagram.