Porsche’s Latest Showroom Sits In A Bubble Atop The French Alps

Want to check out the latest Porsches? Maybe place an order for one of your own? There’s about 700 dealers in locations around the world that will be only too glad to help, so there’s bound to be one near you. But this one, as you can see, is a little different.

It’s a single-vehicle show… not room, exactly, but a bubble/dome/thing. Whatever you want to call it, you’ll find it at the top of the French Alps, some 7,500 feet above sea level.

Described as “the world’s highest pop-up store,” the clear geodesic dome houses a new Cayenne for skiers to check out, next to the Rok restaurant at the alpine resort of Méribel. There’s a hostess and product specialist on hand to answer questions and book test drives.

Not down the ski runs, mind you, but along what are surely no less exhilarating mountain roads chosen to highlight the handling characteristics of Porsche’s five-door models: the Macan, Cayenne, and the new Panamera Sport Turismo.

The dome is built to withstand some rather extreme conditions: heavy snowfall, temperatures as low as 25 Celsius degrees below freezing, and winds as high as of 100 miles per hour. Getting it all up there wasn’t easy, either: the organizers had to airlift the structural components by helicopter, and pull the SUV into place with snowmobiles. But hopefully it’ll prove worth it.

The pop-up showroom will be open until mid-April, so if you’re planning a ski vacation this winter in the vicinity, keep your eyes peeled – and hope the Cayenne doesn’t get blown away by the wind in that big bubble as you’re making your way down the hill, as hilarious a sight as that may be to see.