New brand experience world at tradition-rich race track
Sports car manufacturer Porsche has opened the seventh Porsche Experience Center (PEC) in the world at the Hockenheimring as part of the “Sportscar Together Day” festival. The premises at the heart of the race track cover an area of around 170,000 square metres and include a Customer Experience Centre, handling course, driving dynamics areas and an off-road track. Around 70,000 visitors participated during the weekend; 9,000 of them brought their own Porsche car.
“Porsche stands for emotions, passion and genuine experiences,” emphasises Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG. “The Porsche Experience Center Hockenheimring is intended as a point of contact for customers and enthusiasts from all around Europe. This is where they can experience what the “Porsche feeling” represents and meet the Porsche community.”
The new Porsche Experience Center is around 100 kilometres from the brand’s headquarters in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. “The location directly at the Hockenheimring is particularly appealing. Customers and fans can test our cars themselves on challenging on-road and off-road courses or they can enjoy the outstanding, direct view of the race track from our restaurant,” explains Alexander Pollich, CEO at Porsche Deutschland GmbH.
The Porsche Experience Center Hockenheimring offers its visitors challenging driving experiences in highly professional conditions. Customers can experience the most recent Porsche models with the support from experienced instructors: either from the passenger seat, from behind the wheel or as part of individual coaching sessions. A 2.8-kilometre handling course has been created to demonstrate driving modes – this features challenging corners and long straights. There are also various driving dynamics areas, such as a kick plate or roundabouts. Customers can test the off-road capabilities of the Cayenne and Macan SUV models on the off-road course. This covers an area of 5,200 square metres and features a total of 17 modules.
The Customer Experience Centre covers an area of 4,500 square metres. Its architecture is based on the established design of existing Experience Centers. Facilities include a 1,000 square metres event area with event and meeting rooms that are available to hire. The Customer Experience Centre also features a Porsche Selection Shop, a café and restaurant, workshops and 800 square metres of exhibition space for cars. The high-power charging infrastructure reflects the increasing significance and demands of hybrid vehicles as well as the first all-electric Porsche, the Taycan.
Porsche Deutschland GmbH has brought this project to life together with emodrom-group, which is responsible for strategically developing the Hockenheimring. “The opening of the new Porsche Experience Center is a forward-looking step for the Hockenheimring – Porsche as a brand excellently matches our tradition-rich race track and our further plans to create a mobility centre at the heart of Europe,” explains Thomas Reister, CEO of emodrom-group.
70,000 visitors at “Sportscar Together Day” at the Hockenheimring
The event at the Hockenheimring forms part of the “Sportscar Together Day“ Porsche festival that was held for the first time in 2018 on occasion of the sports car manufacturer’s 70th anniversary. Alongside driving events on the PEC tracks, the programme for the opening weekend includes the final round of the Porsche Sports Cup, a world of experiences for children and live acts on stage.
Porsche factory press release
Pictures courtesy Porsche AG
