A racier spring is on tap for Porsche’s growing headquarters near the Atlanta airport.
Porsche Cars North America says its second, 1.3-mile handling circuit—now called the “West Track,” with promises to “wow you at every turn”—will open to the public April 1.
The PCNA campus and Experience Center—one of two in the U.S. and 10 around the world—has been undergoing a $50-million expansion that includes the second technical driver development track. Both courses will operate separately, but the new course can be linked with the existing one, the South Track, for almost three miles of varied driving experiences, Porsche officials have said.
The track expansion joins a bevy of developer investment in Hapeville that city leaders hope will more firmly establish the city as a live-work-play alternative around ITP Atlanta.
Construction progress on Porsche's West Track in August. Brasfield & Gorrie, via Multivista
Corners of the new course, as Porsche has specified, were inspired by the Nürburgring carousel turn, the Laguna Seca corkscrew (with a 30-foot rise), and the Tail of the Dragon road. Other features include a dynamic zone for slaloms, a low friction circle, and a new ice hill.
Prices for one and ½ hour sessions at the West Track start at $600 for time behind the wheel of the base Taycan, Porsche’s first foray into electric vehicles. The priciest experience allows guests to spend that same amount of time driving a 911 Turbo S and a 911 GT3—both exotic models with more than 500 horsepower—for a cool $1,275.
The original track next door offers experiences with Boxster and Cayman models from $450 for 90 minutes.
Positioned at the northeast corner of the Atlanta airport, the 33-acre addition is adjacent to the 27-acre Porsche headquarters that opened in 2015, allowing guests to push the German sports cars to their limits like no place outside of another facility in Los Angeles.
Facility placement just west of Interstate 75 and the under-construction course that will bring Porsche’s Atlanta track to three miles total. Courtesy of Porsche Cars North America
Other new features include the Porsche Classic Factory Restoration facility, a new parking deck, and one component that’s already open, Porsche Service Center South Atlanta.
Porsche signed a deal last year with Georgia’s largest non-utility provider of solar energy, Cherry Street Energy, to build and operate a solar-powered microgrid at One Porsche Drive—an effort that will see solar panels operating on most new and existing buildings to generate much of the headquarters' electrical needs.
Straddling the Hapeville-Atlanta line, the campus expansion is being designed to achieve LEED Gold certification like the original complex, officials have said.
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