Lexus facility inaugurated with great fanfare

MUSCAT — Under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, minister of heritage and culture, the brand new Lexus facility was inaugurated with great fanfare.

Akio Toyoda, executive vice-president, accompanied by a senior delegation from Toyota Motor Corporation, flew in specially to grace the historic occasion.

The guest list was equally illustrious — His Highnesses, His Excellencies, ambassadors, senior government officials and leading personalities of the corporate world ... in fact, the entire ‘Who’s Who’ of Oman was present to witness the start of a new era in luxury automobile marketing.

Befitting the grandeur of one of the most futuristic Lexus showroom ever built, a special team of performers and artistes created a one-of-a-kind inauguration event for the dignitaries.

The enchanting beats of traditional Japanese Taiko drums welcomed guests to their seats.

The event soon began in earnest with a giant LED screen bringing alive the Saud Bahwan Group’s remarkable story of success with its milestones in customer care being duly showcased.

This curtain raiser film was immediately followed by the performance of a special artiste. Critically acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, who have called his work ‘genius’, ‘exhilarating virtuoso entertainment’ and ‘flawless purity’. A juggler extraordinaire displaying phenomenal skills — Michael Moschen.

Even before the thunderous applause for Michael Moschen had died down, the stage was brought alive by talented artistes performing solos and group figures on CYR wheels, turning the simplicity of a pure circle into a series of intricate and energetic performances. They were followed by the fire dancers who weaved their fiery magic, creating an out-of-the-world experience against the vivid backdrop of dramatic ‘fire fountains’.

Deeply absorbed in the performance, the guests were completely taken by surprise when a glowing heliosphere ethereally materialised, delicately floating towards the audience. Such was the effect of this performance that thunderous applause blanketed the entire seating area.

A Hollywood stunt artist made a dramatic entry from the roof-top and in tandem with the Taiko drummers and the heliosphere weaved magic on the spellbound audience. The act culminated in the much-awaited ribbon-cutting and official inauguration of the new showroom — drawing a spontaneous and sustained round of applause from the guests.

At that precise moment, the entire showroom lit up dramatically revealing the width and scale of its construction. A choreographed, spectacular pyrotechnics display followed, adding to the entertainment for the evening.

The distinguished audience thereafter experienced, first-hand, the luxurious new Lexus showroom.

Inside the facility, the guests marvelled at the mammoth investments made for the benefit of Lexus customers in Oman. As a guest mentioned, “It is such a different experience that one can easily forget one is inside an automotive showroom.”

Indeed, with its spacious flowing lines, richly luxurious ambience and a breathtaking Japanese garden, the new Lexus showroom is nothing less than a marvel. It will deliver a totally new level of customer delight.

The guests were then treated to a uniquely choreographed dance culminating in the revelation of the 2008 Lexus LX570 luxury 4WD.

The Lexus LX570 is endowed with awesome power and a bevy of futuristic performance features, many of them world and segment firsts, such as the crawl control system, multi-terrain abs, blind corner monitor and pre-crash safety system, amongst others.

Lexus LX570 is by any measure a luxury 4WD connoisseurs’ dream-come-true.

Following the showroom inauguration, the entire gathering of guests proceeded to the Concert Garden, Muscat InterContinental Hotel for the next phase of the celebrations.