- Porsche has built a new track at its Experience Center in Atlanta, which will open to the public on April 1.
- The track features bends meant to emulate the famous Laguna Seca Corkscrew, the Bus Stop at Daytona and Karussell at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
- We tested the track at a recent media event, along with other features including a wet skidpad and an autocross course.
Seven thousand five hundred miles. That’s how far you’d have to drive the corkscrew at Laguna Seca, go through the bus stop chicane at Daytona and slingshot down the Karussell at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, so far. On April 1, a new track at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta featuring recreations of the three iconic corners will open to the public, part of a multimillion-dollar expansion at Porsche’s North American headquarters.
Since its launch in 2015, the Experience Center has welcomed almost 400,000 visitors, according to Porsche. The facility had previously featured a handling circuit, a restaurant, a gift shop and a small museum space displaying classic Porsches, but now it’s adding a new course designed by Hermann Tilke, who has been the mastermind behind several layouts of Formula 1 tracks such as the Bahrain International Circuit. The 1.3-mile west track will be used for 90-minute individual lessons with Porsche’s sports cars and can be combined with the original circuit or run on its own, which is how we experienced it during an event media before the official opening.
We drove the course in a variety of Porsches, including a 911 GT3 and a Taycan, and also experienced it from the passenger seat of the 1073bhp 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance prototype, which we rode for the first time at the Experience Center in Porsche in Franciacorta, Italy last year. While the new Atlanta circuit doesn’t have as long a straight section as Italy, where we saw the ePerformance reach around 150 mph, it feels more dynamic due to its hilly topography.
The track experience
Coming out of the pits, it climbs up a series of fast ess before dropping back down for a hard 90-degree right. Then climb 30 feet to the corkscrew-like Laguna Seca, which features a stomach-churning 25-foot drop through the chicane. A twisty section in the back half of the track emulates the famous Tail of the Dragon road in the Great Smoky Mountains, before reaching the bumpy, banked carousel (Porsche opts to use the English spelling), which does its best to baffle the chassis.
Within the confines of the west track are three other configurations that will support other driving classes. A skid, which Porsche calls a low-friction circle, with wet, polished concrete covers 196 feet in diameter and allows drivers to explore the limits of grip and learn to manage understeer and oversteer. We spent the time on the skates with an extended drift in a 718 Cayman GT4 with a goofy grin on our face.
Climbing the ice hill
There is also the Ice Hill, which mimics an icy climb that can be found during the winter months in the northern United States. Tackling its 8 percent grade and polished, irrigated surface teaches drivers how to apply throttle, brakes and steering smoothly in tricky conditions. We tested it in a variety of cars: a rear-wheel-drive Cayman required a delicate right foot to climb the hill, while an all-wheel-drive Macan allowed us to execute drifts while maintaining control with ease.
Finally, an autocross course with cones on a wide paved area allows for a variety of lessons, from practice launches and heavy braking to precise steering in tight corners. We tested the launch control in a glorious-sounding 911 GT3 and the silent but melting Taycan Turbo S.
When combined with all available track surfaces, including the original circuit, the new handling course is part of a 2.9-mile road course. The track will be open to Porsche owners and the public alike, and the Experience Center is just a few miles from Atlanta International Airport.
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Associate News Editor
Caleb Miller started blogging about cars at age 13 and realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and driver team He loves quirky and obscure cars, aiming to own something outlandish like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
