Porsche Santa Clarita showcases rare sports cars at first subterranean dealership experience

12/08/2021

The Wunderground museum and full-service restaurant highlight the SoCal destination

Travel about an hour north of the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles and you’ll find another immaculate illustration of Porsche passion on display. Porsche Santa Clarita, which recently celebrated its grand opening, showcases a level of customer experience befitting the German marque.

Here’s this incredible brand that needs no introduction, but following in our typical Galpin way we thought, how do we take this and make it unique. Beau Boeckmann, Galpin Motors President and COO

“Everything we do, we look at how we can make this fun, how can we make this a real destination and truly an experience customers won’t get anywhere else,” said Beau Boeckmann, Galpin Motors President and COO. “We were blessed to be able to take on the Porsche brand. Here’s this incredible brand that needs no introduction, but following in our typical Galpin way we thought, how do we take this and make it unique.”

The team in Santa Clarita went about installing a full-service restaurant, serving a chef-driven American and German menu, and what it has named the Porsche Wunderground, an exhibition space in its basement featuring a revolving number of historic Porsche sports cars for customers to appreciate firsthand. Those Porsche fans actually get their first look of the Wunderground from above, as a glass floor in the showroom previews the rarities below.

“We’ve kind of flipped the retail process upside down,” said Boeckmann. “Normally someone buys a car, and then falls in love and immerses themselves in the brand. What we're doing is we're immersing them in the brand before they even get into the car to test drive. We feel that people who are buying a Porsche, it's not just a car, it really is a community, and we wanted to represent that.”

With the Wunderground, Porsche Santa Clarita is able to highlight not just history, but Porsche motorsport heritage and technological achievements. Cars on display have included a Carrera GT Prototype, 918 Spyder, one of two Cayenne SUVs fitted to take on the Transsyberia Rally, a 935 driven by Paul Newman, Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a 550/1500 RS Spyder owned by Jerry Seinfeld. There’s even a meeting space in the Wunderground where groups, such as local Porsche clubs, can gather. Vehicles on display are chosen by a selection committee and will often come from private collections and organizations.

“It’s a living and breathing space that’s being fed by Porsche enthusiasts around the country,” said Boeckmann.

Since opening its doors in March 2020, just days before having to temporarily suspend sales operation due to Covid-19 restrictions, Porsche Santa Clarita has leaned-in to leverage the proximity of PEC LA. Customers are encouraged to take delivery of their new vehicle at the PEC to be able to experience even more than the already-exciting dealership can.

“We’re very pleased to be able to collaborate with the PEC,” said Boeckmann. “It’s absolutely part of our plan to best serve the customer. Maybe it’s taking delivery, maybe it’s being able to invite them to events we are hosting there. It’s a fantastic complimentary piece to what we can offer, with the track and its own unique experience. The same person who enjoys Porsche Santa Clarita will want to also take part in the PEC. It’s a combination I don’t think any other manufacturer can offer in our area.”

Joe Lawrence, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, PCNA, Beau Boeckmann, President Galpin Motors, Porsche Santa Clarita, 2021, PCNA

Once you make it past the 15 vehicle showroom, the 37,560-square-foot Porsche Santa Clarita opens up to include a Porsche Design boutique and 5,215-square-foot Service Center, which includes six service bays staffed by certified Porsche technicians. The dealership is also well-versed in servicing classic sports cars, as it showed off with its entry into the 2021 Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge, a 1955 356 Speedster finished in a one-off blue-green with tartan interior. The car proved to be very popular, winning the “Fan Favorite” award at the Challenge held at the Porsche Experience Center, Los Angeles.

Porsche Santa Clarita is one of 28 Porsche dealers in California, the state that annually accounts for one-quarter of all new Porsche deliveries in the U.S. It is the first Porsche dealership from Galpin Motors, a family-owned automotive group founded in 1946 and based in the San Fernando Valley. Galpin Motors was the first automotive dealership in the country to introduce a full-service restaurant on premises when it opened the Horseless Carriage Restaurant in 1966.