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Icon Racing Dunhill 2017

7.0 / 10 146 Ratings

A perfume by Dunhill for men, released in 2017. The scent is synthetic-sweet. It is being marketed by Interparfums.
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Main accords

Synthetic

Sweet

Fresh

Spicy

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Cardamom

Bergamot

Grapefruit

Heart Notes

Black pepper

Lavender

Orange blossom

Base Notes

Gaiac wood Musk

Musk

Vetiver

Perfumers

Laurent Le Guernec, IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances)

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.0146 Ratings

Longevity

6.9130 Ratings

Sillage

6.6129 Ratings

Bottle

8.2152 Ratings

Value for money

7.870 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone · last update on 01/03/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The advertising campaign is fronted by German model Tim Schuhmacher, photographed by Gregory Harris.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Bentley for Men Black Edition

Invictus Aqua (2016)

Legend Spirit

Invictus Eau de Toilette

Run Wild

Teahupoo

Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/15/2018

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Basti87
1172 Reviews

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Basti87

Top Review 17

Pleasant Modern Day Fragrance

Dunhill - a beautiful brand with many fragrances that can be snagged at a low price. This new release from 2017 is still relatively expensive, understandably. This flanker of Icon is quite popular among the more recent releases. The 4th release after Icon, Icon Absolute, and Icon Elite.

The Icon bottles are rather unconventional; some will like them. After silver, gold, and black, it's green's turn now.
One thing to note: It doesn't have much in common with the other Icons or even the original. It leans more towards a daytime fragrance like Versace pour Homme Dylan Blue. With this, this Icon follows the trend and appeals more to a younger audience, fitting almost exclusively with a casual look. This should indeed be the target group. Niche enthusiasts and gentlemen in business attire will likely not appreciate it.
It starts off herbaceous-fresh with bergamot and grapefruit. I find the herbaceous-fresh grapefruit note particularly successful and just right for warmer days. Added to this is a sweet lavender note that pleasantly and modernly accompanies this fresh creation. It is subtly spiced with a light pepper note and a lovely sweet-spicy cardamom note. The creation remains very balanced. A great mix of herbaceous-fresh, citrusy, sweet, spicy, and fruity. The synthetic aspect is present here, but I don't find it excessive or annoying. The base is very soft with beautiful guaiac wood, musk, and vetiver. Pleasantly fading away. Overall, a very harmonious creation that will bring some compliments. Not among niche lovers, but certainly in ordinary environments. Especially suitable for everyday wear, as it is pleasantly fresh and lacks any major extraordinary highlights.
Performance is good at around 8 hours, with the sillage being very good in the first hours. Even over time, it remains well perceptible up close.

Test tip for anyone who likes designer fragrances like Invictus Aqua and Dylan Blue. Especially if you're looking for an uncomplicated modern day fragrance.

01/24/2019

7.5Scent 9Longevity 7Sillage

DuftbarM
10 Reviews

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DuftbarM

Helpful Review 8

sporty yet elegant

The brand Dunhill was only known to me recently in the realm of motorsport.

To be honest, I bought the fragrance because of the good offer and not because of its top ratings.
What’s more, I had never perceived the scent before.

BUT, it was a good investment. Not only was the price right, but also its bergamot and grapefruit-heavy scent DNA.
With these two ingredients in the top note, the perfume feels sweet-fresh, making it perfect for after sports and for everyday wear (more of a summer-spring scent).
SO it’s an optimal fragrance when you’re being sporty and it’s clearly reflected in your look.

The only downside is:

- The scent is not a perfume that makes you unique. The perfume lacks a unique DNA where you would say: "Hey, that person is wearing Dunhill Icon Racing."

Otherwise, it’s an amazing scent; you can’t go wrong with it.

For further information, our direct contact is available on Instagram.

12/02/2021

5.5Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

Leimbacher
2876 Reviews

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Leimbacher

Very helpful Review 9

Sir Bastion Wettail and Maximum Stop

With "Icon," Dunhill created a fragrance a few years ago that clearly stands above the crowd of "car scents." Now there's the same thing again in green? No, rather in youthful. And sweet. Freshly mowed grass meets poppy chewing gum. Clearly nothing for austere noses, definitely more than ever aimed at Generation Z. But somehow it's higher quality and less piercing than some bubblegum monstrosity that much bigger names in the perfume game have launched in recent years.

"Icon Racing" is more Matchbox than Formula 1. Not sugary, more really gum-yellow. Never natural. But also never unpleasantly pungent. The theme of racing, gasoline, or racetrack is, in my opinion, miles away. Even if you had fresh guys like Max Verstappen or Mick Schumacher in mind. More of a steady goer than a lead foot. "Invictus" and co. are not too far off. Powdery. Lavender rather unpleasant. Cardamom saves it. A bit dull, a bit sluggish. An annoying middle lane flanker. Rest stop merchandise.

Bottle: large, solid, robust, and classy
Sillage: a quiet chewing gum in the engine compartment
Longevity: 7 hours, then finish line

Conclusion: "Icon" goes green bubblegum. Usable, but I like the other two heavyweights in silver and gold much more. I haven't had the "Black" under my nose yet.

06/28/2018

5Scent 5Longevity 6Sillage

N471v3
135 Reviews

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N471v3

5

Sweet Something

-------------------------------------- UPDATE & DISCLAIMER --------------------------------------

I have a ritual for testing fragrances: The current subjects usually stay on my living room table, and I re-test them from time to time when it’s “no big deal,” comfortably in the evening, in the morning before showering, while exercising, or so...

Often, the funniest aspects come to light, and you run less risk of wrongly labeling the scent with a single test (daily mood and all that...)

In any case, I don’t want to edit the comment below, as it was my first impression and surely gives many a good idea of the direction it takes. But during the re-testing, I came to a realization.

I was able to detach myself more and more from the mistaken association with Invictus Aqua and became more open to new insights. And on a long evening, more precisely in the middle of the night during a walk, it suddenly struck me: The scent has something slightly addictive, enchanting, that felt familiar. Something you have to let linger longer to really understand, I think.
The DNA of Versace's Eros. I now find that this is what Icon Racing most closely resembles, a mix of 70% Eros and 30% Ferragamo Casual Life. With this new association, I like it better now... strange, but true.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people and communities on the internet claim that this scent reminds them of Invictus Aqua 2016.

For me, it has as much in common with Invictus Aqua as a souped-up Opel Manta has with a Lamborghini ':D

Icon Racing smells more like Uomo Casual Life by Ferragamo to me, just less fruity and sweeter. One could, especially in the sillage of the opening, briefly think of the Invictus line... but so vaguely that I don’t think I would have come to that conclusion on my own. But for me, it smells most like “something.” So nothing specific.

To be more precise: it smells like orange, vanilla, and a bit of spice potpourri. And it also fades on the skin quickly and unspectacularly.
The admittedly really cool bottle, both visually and haptically, I believe fits almost any other scent better. British Racing Green? That would have really matched perfectly with the original Icon, as it reminds me quite a bit of Green Irish Tweed ;) (Does anyone else see it this way?)

Dunhill, you should brainstorm in the sauna about where you come from and where you could go. I believe that very few people who are attracted to this bottle in the store will find the scent appealing.

Updated on 07/02/2018

03/27/2018

7.5Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

MrGaunt
30 Reviews

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MrGaunt

Helpful Review 2

Synthetic-pleasing with a Déjà-vu Experience

"The scent is not for those stuck in the past," writes KorFet.
But for me, it is. For reasons. Sorry in advance if this comment gets a bit jumbled, but it has to be that way in this case.

First: The bottle.
Very nice. Heavy, chic green, high-quality, distinctive design. Right up there at the front.

The scent:
Synthetic, but not unpleasant. The expected shower-gel-like freshness. Briefly quite citrusy, but then it immediately becomes softer. A very pleasing shower gel on a soft musk-wood base where lavender plays a noticeable role. It has a slight sweetness, but I find it very restrained.
Overall, no surprises, no complex explosions, but that seems to be the point. The scent does its job well. As a niche fragrance lover, one is certainly in the wrong place here, but I am not unhappy about the further broadening of horizons in the designer sector.
For me, the scent is clearly underrated at moments 5.7.

The Déjà-vu:
I know the scent. For 20 years. No, I don’t have a time machine.
A fragrance from my late student days or perhaps even my very early working days comes to mind. This confuses me greatly and may also confuse my rating, but my olfactory memory has smelled this scent a long time ago, even if it is currently riding a fashion wave. Of course, I am aware that the nose-memory combination can also play tricks on me.
In the late 90s and slightly into the 2000s, I tried quite a few fragrances. A lot of Boss was involved. I suspect "Elements Aqua," but I can’t remember it. It can't be "Hugo," as that still exists and many would have pointed in that direction. It has a certain kinship with the "Tempore Uomo," which I loved and missed back then, but I remember that one differently.
Whoever identifies the scent is welcome to receive a sample from me (but hands off "O Hira" ;-) ).

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