Porsche opens latest Experience Centre in Los Angeles
Porsche’s international network of Experience Centres was expanded this week with the official opening of the new facility in Los Angeles, which will also act as the new home for Porsche Motorsport North America.
The second such site on US soil (after the Atlanta Experience Centre opened in May 2015), the LA Experience Centre brings Porsche’s spending across the two projects to a total of $160 million, with nearly 40 per cent of that dedicated to the new West Coast facility.
Based on a 20-hectare site and located in Carson, 13 miles south of central Los Angeles, the new Porsche Experience Centre features a 4.04-mile test and development track, the longest circuit within the PEC network.
Visitors are able to book 90-minute driving programmes consisting of eight modules (including two circuit layouts, an off-road course as well as a low-friction surface and skid pan).
The site also includes exhibition space for a periodically changing collection of Porsche racing cars, while customers can be fed in the new gourmet restaurant during their driving experience.
“Over 100,000 guests worldwide [visited a PEC] in 2016,” explained Detlev von Platen, Head of Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG (and former head of Porsche Cars North America). “[This] is an impressive testament to the concept and demonstrates the fascination the brand holds for people.”
Following on from PECs in Silverstone, Leipzig, Le Mans and Atlanta (as well as the facility currently under construction in Shanghai) the LA site will tap into a loyal customer base on the US west coast.
Nearly a quarter of all cars sold by Porsche Cars North America in 2015 were delivered to customers in California, with Porsche expecting 50,000 guests to visit the new Experience Centre in the first 12 months.
As the new home of Porsche Motorsport North America, the Los Angeles facility will provide customer support (including engine and gearbox rebuilds) for Weissach’s numerous US customer teams, while a glass fronted workshop will also allow guests to glimpse racing icons old and new being maintained.
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