From 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, a meeting with one of Dubai's most influential CEOs and with Cartier's latest masculine fragrance, Roadster, hanging in the air — it doesn't get better than this for a female journalist.
It may have sounded like just another aftershave launch, but any press conference that starts with a Ferrari 360 pulling up outside your office is always going to impress.
In keeping with the car-themed style of the new fragrance, the almost-worrying journey (although the speed limits were obviously observed) to the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club was enough to get pulses racing.
But once things slowed to a more normal pace, they began to get a little confusing.
The motor-inspired bottle for Roadster sat against a backdrop of posters featuring tyre-tread patterns, wheels and powerful engines. These images jarred somewhat with the setting: a serene polo field on which horses cantered gracefully as the sun set.
Enter Mohammad Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chief Executive Officer of the Al Habtoor Group, dressed from head to toe in his polo gear. In all honesty I struggled to see the connection. Car-horse, horse-car? Why had a polo player been chosen to represent such a high-octane scent?
But a minute or two with Habtoor and it didn't take long to be mesmerised by his passion for speed — whether in a car or on a horse.
"Polo is a fast-paced, adrenalin-fuelled game — a game that takes guts, determination and passion, things that I believe ring true with this latest fragrance from Cartier.
"It's why I was selected as one of the people to represent it, and I'm proud and honoured.
"The fragrance is everything I try to be: strong, creative and oozing ambition for every aspect of life."
Created by Mathilde Laurent, Cartier's top nose, the fragrance consists of notes of fern, citrus, wood and mint, followed by bergamot, patchouli, cashmere, wood and vanilla. Its bottle was designed with a nod to the company's celebrated Roadster watch.
"It's strong but fresh and gentle, with lots of character. All the things needed to be a great polo player."
"The fragrance is perfect for men who live life in the fast lane and have a strong character," he said as horses ploughed up the field behind him.
In addition to being a very successful businessman, Al Habtoor has won the annual beach polo tournament three times running. I asked him how he got into the sport.
"It was December 1999 and I received an invitation to attend an exhibition match that Barclays had sponsored at the Desert Palm Polo Club. My brother, Rashid K. Al Habtoor, was playing and I thought I'd go along and support him."
As fate would have it, Mohammad Khalaf Al Habtoor was sitting next to Ali Albwardy, the sponsor of the annual Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge, who encouraged him to have a go at polo.
"The very next day, I took lessons with Robert Thames, manager at the club, and was given a mallet almost immediately. I have been playing ever since and have never looked back."
With the Habtoor team picking up trophies and awards left, right and centre and business flourishing, it's no surprise that Al Habtoor was picked as the local face of Roadster.
So while the brand ambassador makes perfect sense, I can't help but think the launch would have been better hosted 5km down the road in among the rev-perfect acoustics of the Dubai Autodrome.
