Why Every Car Fan Should Go To The Porsche Experience Center

My instructor and I before heading out onto the track.

I was recently gifted the best birthday present I have ever received. My wife and other family members gifted me seat time in a 991.2 911 Carrera S at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta and it was worth every penny to say the least.

The PEC in Atlanta offers a number of different activities including an offroad course, simulators, ride-alongs, and most importantly, 90 minutes behind the wheel of the vehicle that your wallet decides. I, of course, chose a 911 for my first ever drive in a Porsche and also, my first time on a track. The session begins with your instructor who talks you through the different areas on the track and then gives a brief overview of the car you'll be piloting. This talking portion only lasts a few minutes as your instructor knows you are dying for him to say "put it in drive".

Over the next hour and a half, the instructor walks you through learning how to avoid spinning the car, how to intentionally slide the car around a skid pad, and also some launch control and normal track driving. One thing I especially enjoyed was the kick-plate. The kick-plate is a piece of metal that you drive over at around 20 mph and it slides either left or right as the rear wheels pass over it which results in the car being kicked into a spin and the goal is to prevent a spin. The first time I went over this feature I immediately spun 270 degrees but after some coaching I was able to go faster and avoid the spin with relative ease. This track is not a big fast track but you can't blame Porsche for not having a bunch of amateurs out on a 150 mph straight. The highest speed I hit was around 74 mph on a slightly wet day. Some people I have spoken to assume that I didn't have fun since I "only" went 74 mph but they couldn't be more wrong. I have never experienced a car that even slightly feels as good as a 911, the way it handled corners, the way it handled braking, and the way it accelerates are just mental. So yes, you can have plenty of fun below 100 mph.

The instructors cater the experience to each driver and you can choose what activity you want to do and for how long, they also change the level of traction control based on the driver. If you are a decent driver then they will turn the traction control all the way off and let you really slide but if you're a little shy behind the wheel then they will leave it in normal mode so you feel more comfortable. Even someone who doesn't care about driving would have an absolute blast.

The facility also boasts a fantastic Porsche museum with some very rare production models as well as race cars that you may only see once in a lifetime. There is a large outdoor viewing deck that overlooks the track area so you can watch others drive around the track and listen to the glorious sounds that only Porsche flat 6's can make. The building itself is also a lovely piece of architecture which is a great venue to host business parties and corporate events.

Carrera GT located in the Museum at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta

In short, I loved everything about my visit to the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta and I am am counting down the days until I get to go back and experience it again. I enjoyed the driving, I enjoyed the cars, I enjoyed the museum, I enjoyed the building, I enjoyed just walking around the parking lot and looking at all the Porsches that I rarely see in Memphis. Not only am I counting down the days until my next visit to the Porsche Experience Center, I am counting down the days until I can get a 911 of my own.