The Porsche Experience

A Day at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta

Style, Design and Speed

There are driving experiences, and then there are experiences that completely reset your definition of what a car can do. My recent day at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta was firmly in the second category. For anyone who loves cars, driving, and the feeling of pushing a machine to its limits, this place is nothing short of spectacular.

Block out a day, pony up the $1000.00 and get ready to sweat in your seat at 100+MPH

Approaching a hair-pin at 80mph

From the moment I arrived, it was obvious that this was much more than a showroom or museum. The Porsche Experience Center is a purpose-built playground for drivers, featuring two dedicated driver-development tracks, simulator rooms, café, accessory shop and a dealer car-build studio. The tracks contain a series of specialized modules designed to teach real-world and high-performance driving skills, while in the company of a seasoned Porsche Driving Specialist.

The Track Layout

The highlight for me was getting behind the wheel of Porsche GT3’s and experiencing what these incredible machines are capable of at speeds exceeding 100 MPH. The combination of phenomenal acceleration, braking, grip, and precision was exhilarating.

But what made the day especially memorable was that the focus wasn't simply on going fast but learning how to drive better. The capabilities of the cars you see on the road every day are beyond your expectations. Thinking it’s cool to round a city street corner at 40 doesn’t compare to approaching a hairpin at 80, breaking at the last second and rolling through the turn to the straight, where you then literally plant the pedal to the floor, accelerating at a wicked pace to 100+.

The variety of driving exercises was fantastic. Launch control demonstrated just how violently and efficiently a Porsche can put power to the pavement from 0-100. This is followed immediately by the anti-lock braking exercise (an eye-opener) showing how hard you can brake while maintaining control and allowing the car's technology to work for you.

Then came the handling exercises, where proper braking points, steering inputs, cornering lines, and throttle control became critical. Learning to ‘look ahead’ to a turn mentally allows your body to adapt before you reach higher G force and makes the approaching turn smoother and more fun.

Learning to control the car in a drift

And then there was the drifting.

The low-friction surfaces are slick and have continuous water flowing through them and  are designed specifically to teach drivers about oversteer and vehicle balance. Getting a GT3 sideways at 30 mph and learning to control it with precise steering and throttle inputs was an absolute blast. Driving up a 25-degree hill covered in a waterfall and punching it will immediately send the rear end out from under you. Then, learning to correct the line while maintaining your speed feels like a triumph. You will want to do it repeatedly. I did.

A vast selection to choose from

The car selection is another major attraction. Porsche offers a range of current performance models, including the legendary 911 GT3, GT3 RS, Macan Turbo and every other 911 configuration you can buy, giving drivers the opportunity to experience the characteristics of some of the company's most capable sports cars.

The GT3 is an extraordinary combination of race-bred performance and road-car sophistication. The current GT3 experience at the Atlanta facility is built around a 502-horsepower car capable of a claimed 193 MPH track speed.  Personally, I was very pleased to hit speeds of 115 and thrilled to leave the other 70+ MPH to the pros.

Dipping into the carosel

Perhaps the best part of the entire experience, however, was the coaching. Every drive is accompanied by a Porsche Drive Coach who works with you one-on-one. Instead of simply telling you to drive faster, the coaches explain why the car behaves the way it does and how your braking, steering, and throttle inputs affect it. When you do something right, they praise you, when you over steer or break to soon, they have you go around and ‘do it again’. That turns the experience from an expensive thrill ride into a genuine driving lesson.

The Porsche Experience Center Atlanta delivers something very few automotive destinations can: the opportunity to drive some of the world's greatest sports cars at serious speeds while learning skills that make you a better driver. It is fast, exciting, challenging, and incredibly well organized.

For any car enthusiast, or anyone who simply loves driving, I'd highly recommend putting this on the bucket list. It isn't just a day at the track. It's a day of learning, adrenaline, precision, and pure Porsche fun.