An Heirloom on Wheels: David/Nicolas Turn a 90s Porsche 964 Targa into “Shaha”.

When a father who collects Porsches wants to give his architect daughter something meaningful, you don’t just hand over keys. Assaad Raphael, founder of Porsche Centre Lebanon, had a better idea: acquire a 1990 Porsche 964 Targa, and build her something entirely her own. The recipient, Shaha Raphael, is a practising architect with a finely tuned eye for materials and craft—though cars, up until this point, weren’t exactly her world.

Enter David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem of Beirut-founded studio David/Nicolas. What began as a conversation over dinner evolved into an eight-year collaboration between the designers, the Porsche Centre Lebanon restoration team, and Italian master craftsmen based in Treviso—a process where mechanical restoration, material research, and design development unfolded simultaneously rather than sequentially.

The result is “Shaha”—a car that wears its identity quietly. The exterior is finished in a deep, sophisticated green that allows the 911 silhouette to do the talking, conveying a kind of understated confidence that feels more considered than conspicuous. Inside, Italian artisans worked with Connolly leather, brass, wood, and stainless steel to create an interior that reads less like a cockpit and more like a very beautifully resolved room.

Porsche Centre Lebanon handled the mechanical restoration to exacting standards, ensuring the car performs as compellingly as it looks.

For David/Nicolas, it’s a project that sits comfortably alongside their broader body of work: thoughtful, material-led, guided by context and the people at the centre of each brief. “Shaha” is something rarer than a show car. It’s a deeply personal object made with extraordinary care, built to last, and designed to be driven.

David/Nicolas Open a Window Into Another World with Equestrian Library and Saddle Workshop in Abu Dhabi.

For Abu Dhabi Royal Equestrian Arts, David/Nicolas-designed spaces speak directly to their cultural context without resorting to decoration.

[Images & video courtesy of David/Nicolas.]