Porsche has turned an old South Bay golf course into a high-performance driving theme park featuring the German brand most exciting rides.
The 53-acre Porsche Experience Center opened this week off South Main Street in Carson. The sprawling property features several driving circuits, a museum, restaurant, driving simulators and about 80 vehicles that represent the range of the Porsche brand, from hard-core sports cars to SUVs.
From above, the property looks something like a race track -- but it's not just about speed. The Handling Circuit is actually designed to mirror the experience of driving on a country road with corners and undulations, making the car go light over crests and bite down on the road in compression zones.
The Kick Plate -- a large plate aligned flush with the road -- uses a hydraulic system to upset the car and induce loss of rear traction. It's then up to the driver to react.
On Ice Hill, water jets spray the low-friction surface to simulate slippery road conditions. There's an Off Road course to test skills in the Porsche Cayenne sport utility vehicle and Acceleration Straight, which allows drivers to get an idea of how the car responds under acceleration.
Visitors can choose from more than 20 driving experiences that include guidance from car coaches. Prices range from $385 for 90 minutes in Porsche's mid-engine Cayman sports car to $950 for 90 minutes in Porsche's 911 Turbo and 911 GT3.
There's also a Master the Manual course ($665 for 90 minutes) that celebrates "the unity of man and machine." The stars of the party are a 911 Carrera S and the new Cayman GT4.
"Above all, this facility is all about the experience. It's a place for visitors to touch and feel the brand in all its facets," Klaus Zellmer, president and chief executive officer of Porsche Cars North America, told NBC4 radio partner KPCC. "The simplest, most credible, authentic way to do this is hand over the set of keys for a wonderful sports car and say trust it, drive it, enjoy it."
News
Top news of the day
Porsche said about 50,000 people per year from around the world are expected to visit the venue south of downtown Los Angeles. Atlanta is home to the only other Porsche Experience in the United States, and California is a major market for the German brand. One in four Porsches sold in the United States is in California.
