Porsche Breaks Ground at Future Hockenheimring Experience Center Site

Porsche has broken ground and laid down the first foundation stone at its upcoming Experience Center at the Hockenheimring race track in Germany, the company announced Monday. 

It'll feature a 1.7-mile road course with water zones, skid pads, and three roundabouts as well as a 56,000 square-foot off-road section that'll have 16 different "modules" simulating loose surface hills, valleys, rocks, ditches, fallen trees, and inclines of up to 70 percent. In between stints behind the wheel, patrons can hang out in the three-story tower that features "warm up" driving simulator pods, a restaurant, a coffee shop, conference rooms, a gift shop, and a supposedly killer view of the track. There will also be a section dedicated to "boxes" used for new car delivery.

Set to open in Q4 2019, Porsche's latest playground will cover more than 39 acres of land within Hockenheimring's 2.8-mile Grand Prix circuit. Located just 60 miles away from Porsche's Zuffenhausen headquarters, it'll be the luxury automaker's seventh Experience Center with the other six located in Leipzig, Silverstone, Atlanta, Le Mans, Los Angeles, and Shanghai. 

"Porsche is inextricably linked to sports cars. Our new Hockenheimring Experience Center will demonstrate this bond perfectly," said Porsche Germany CEO Alexander Pollich. "Located just 100 or so kilometers from the brand's headquarters in the Zuffenhausen area of Stuttgart, the center will give customers and fans the chance to feel the thrill of driving our sports cars on challenging on-road and off-road tracks."