Opens in 2021, meanwhile second German Experience Centre is go
Porsche has announced plans for Italy’s first Experience Centre. Due to be opened in 2021, the new Centre is located roughly 40 miles east of Milan and will be the largest official Porsche Experience Centre yet. Meanwhile, Porsche has opened a second Experience Centre in Germany.
Work on renovation of the Italian circuit, known as Autodromo di Franciacorta, and construction of a customer centre at the 559,000 square metre site started at the end of 2019. “The Experience Centres embody what Porsche is all about: first-hand experience that gets under your skin,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG.
“Franciacorta will be a further contact point for customers and fans from all over Europe who want to experience the Porsche feeling for themselves.”
Porsche says Franciacorta is an ideal location for a Porsche Experience Centre. The existing racetrack can be used as a starting point for the full range of Porsche Experience Centres circuits, plus a customer centre. The region is also logistically attractive due to its location in the centre of northern Italy, close to Switzerland and Lake Garda, but also with good connections to major cities such as Milan, Brescia, Bergamo and Verona. With its wine and food culture, Porsche says Franciacorta is also a popular tourist destination, especially in summer.
As it happens, Porsche opened its second German Porsche Experience Centre at Hockenheimring in October. That facility lies at the centre of the track and covers an area of around 170,000 square metres. The main attraction, as per most Centres, is the 2.8-kilometre handling course with a mix of challenging corners and long straights. There are also various driving dynamics areas, such as a kick plate and low friction surfaces. Customers can also test the off-road capabilities of the Cayenne and Macan SUV models on the off-road course. Around 70,000 visitors participated during the new Centre’s opening weekend. 9000 of them brought their own Porsche car.
The new Porsche Experience Centre at the Hockenheimring is around 60 miles 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 other current Centres are located in Silverstone, Atlanta, Le Mans, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
Porsche’s ‘Italian Job,’ will be the biggest Porsche Experience Centre yet, and is being built on the renovated Autodromo di Franciacorta.
