Luxury automakers, particularly those that produce high-end sports cars, are selling more than a product. These companies also compete to offer the best buying experience, often throwing in luxurious swag or other VIP treatments.
Porsche is stepping up its luxury game. The company is now offering new owners of its sports cars the opportunity (for a few hundred dollars) to pick up their new vehicle at the Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles. The Porsche Experience Center offers hands-on driver development along with fine dining. New owners, of say a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, get a 90-minute session on the driver track in a model that matches the car they’re buying, an in-depth orientation with their vehicle, and lunch for two at the center’s restaurant. Customers pay for the track session, which costs between $385 and $875, depending on the Porsche model.
It’s designed to be an exclusive experience. Deliveries are offered once a day and reservations are limited.
The ability to take delivery at the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles mirrors a program that launched in 2016 at Porsche Cars’ North American headquarters in Atlanta. Porsche has completed more than 500 new vehicle deliveries at the Atlanta location.
Expanding the program to Los Angeles could prove to be even more popular than the Atlanta-based experience. Californians buy about one quarter of all Porsche sports cars sold in the United States, according to Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Klaus Zellmer.
There are five Porsche Experience Centers globally, including in Leipzig, Germany; Silverstone, England; and Le Mans, France.