Porsche Pavilion
The Porsche Pavilion at this year’s Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix was the ideal place to celebrate all the racing atmosphere.
Situated at Turn 2 of the Albert Park circuit and many months in the making, Porsche’s premier trackside hospitality centre offered guests a luxurious and vibrant space to enjoy the weekend’s racing action.
The all-new Porsche 911 GT3 RS provided an exciting welcome as guests entered the ground-floor entry foyer. The stunning white 386 kW high-performance sportscar is the first example to arrive in Australia and drew crowds of fans to its display window throughout the event.
The design inside the main lounge area, which was 20 percent larger this year, celebrated Porsche’s 75th Anniversary with its Theme of Driven by Dreams, featuring vibrant colours inspired by Porsche’s extensive Paint to Sample colour palette, along with tasteful design touches echoing the craftsmanship of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur.
The luxurious interior included a custom-made bar and seating area, adding to the combined feel of high-end ambience in a celebratory atmosphere.
Artworks by Chris Labrooy showcasing his famous Porsche creations in Palm Springs were also exhibited.
Outside, guests enjoyed an elevated and uninterrupted view of the on-track action, taking in the cut-and-thrust from the exit of Turn 1, into Turn 2 and through the high-speed sweeper beyond.
Up to 190 guests enjoyed the fine hospitality and entertainment of the Porsche Pavilion each day from Thursday to Sunday.
Special guests included Porsche Brand Ambassador and nine-times Formula 1® Grand Prix race winner Mark Webber.
Mark Webber provided guests with expert views before each on-track session for the Formula 1 grid, including pre-race insights on Sunday. And drivers from the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship popped in for interviews, delighting everyone with their experiences in this hotly contested one-make racing series.
“Having our customers, retail partners and fans celebrate together in the Porsche Pavilion was exciting and inspiring,” said Daniel Schmollinger, MD and CEO of Porsche Cars Australia.
Special guests included Porsche Brand Ambassador and nine-times Formula 1® Grand Prix race winner Mark Webber.
Woman with drive luncheon
Porsche kick-started its 2023 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix celebrations with its 11th Woman With Drive luncheon, conducted on Thursday at the exclusive Porsche Pavilion.
More than 100 invited guests from across Australia came together to celebrate Porsche’s Woman With Drive community and their courage, passion and desire to pursue their own dreams, echoing Ferdinand Porsche’s founding sentiments when he created his eponymous sportscar brand 75 years ago.
This year’s Woman With Drive luncheon was headlined by two guest speakers: Lesleigh Jermanus, the Co-Founder and Creative Director at fashion label ALÉMAIS; and Dr Britt Romstad, Director of Experience and Engagement at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).
Television presenter and model Kate Peck led a fascinating conversational panel interview with both guests, who spoke in depth about innovation and being driven to create.
The conversation also discussed the powerful synergies underpinning Porsche’s connection to each guest speakers.
Dr Britt Romstad shared fascinating insights into ACMI’s forthcoming must-see exhibition GODDESS, which celebrates the bold, defiant and rebellious women in film who challenged the movie industry’s status quo and pushed boundaries that have impacted it to this day. Porsche is Lead Exhibition Partner for GODDESS, which opens on 5 April 2023.
Lesleigh Jermanus discussed the establishment of her fashion brand ALÉMAIS, and how her unique and innovative designs reflect her label’s values. Porsche will present the ALÉMAIS marquee opening runway show at this year’s Australian Fashion Week.
Helping to mark Porsche’s 75 years, Thursday’s Woman With Drive luncheon was a vibrant affair, with all guests embracing the celebration of colour dress code.
“The Porsche Woman With Drive luncheon was not only a fun celebration, it was a powerful event.” Daniel Schmollinger, MD and CEO of Porsche Cars Australia
Electrify Me: Porsche EV activation
Greeting crowds as they arrived at the main Fan Zone precinct was Porsche’s unmistakeable Electrify Me activation, situated inside an eye-catching architectural structure.
Electrify Me celebrated Porsche electric performance by giving race-goers the sensations that surround the experience of driving the Taycan, Porsche’s first all-electric sportscar.
Following the theme Nature Created Electricity, Porsche Gave It Soul, this fascinating sensory experience comprised three separate zones.
As visitors walked into Electrify Me they were met with the calming effects of the Nature Zone, a collection of forest ferns and other lush greenery accompanied by woodland fragrances to reset guests from the exciting racing atmosphere outside.
Visitors then turned a corner into the Electric Tunnel and were greeted by a showcase of electricity in its raw form, captured in the form of illuminated plasma balls mounted to the main wall, each containing lightning bolts. The bright LED lines following the floor in this darkened tunnel brought visitors into the third Electrify Me Zone, the 4D Cinema Room.
Inside this darkened space, visitors were immersed in a powerful video depicting nature and its creation of electricity, and how Porsche’s harnessing of this energy has imbued it with soul in the form of the all-electric Taycan sportscar.
A Taycan, positioned just forward of the screen, became part of the fascinating video showcase, its sensuous exterior surfaces giving participants a 3D-like experience.
As guests departed the 4D Cinema Room they enjoyed the blue-and-white LED photo space to capture the last moments of their six-minute journey.
Porsche Brand Ambassador and former World Endurance Champion Mark Webber joined Porsche Cars Australia’s MD and CEO Daniel Schmollinger for the unveiling of Electrify Me on Wednesday, and were the first two visitors to enjoy the experience before it opened to race fans on Thursday.
By the close of racing on Sunday more than 9,000 guests passed through Electrify Me, Porsche’s one-of-a-kind sensory experience.
Taycan Arcade
Visitors waiting to enter Electrify Me were excused for spending too time on their smartphones thanks to the QR codes surrounding them, which allowed them to access Porsche’s newly released Taycan Arcade online game.
Taycan Arcade is a fun interactive online game inspired by ‘Pong’, the original table tennis-themed video game released by Atari in 1972. Players can access the game by visiting taycanarcade.com.au and play it just like the original game of ‘Pong’; but instead of controlling their paddle to hit the ball, they push their Taycan up and down the side of the screen.
Visitors who experienced Taycan Arcade also discovered a 60-second video featuring two Porsche Taycan electric sportscars playing a life-size version of the famous Pong video game, with a high-tech 3D drone used in place of the fast-moving bouncing ball.
Atari, the famous US interactive entertainment company that created Pong, has worked with Porsche in celebration of the game's 50th anniversary, honouring Atari as a technology pioneer.
Visit taycanarcade.com.au to play Taycan Arcade.
Porsche in Motion
The popular Porsche in Motion experiential road show drew a huge number of visitors throughout this year’s Formula one event.
Also, located in the busy Fan Zone precinct, next to Porsche’s Electrify Me activation centre and the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup paddock, this mobile showcase gave everyone the opportunity to get up close to Porsche’s display of sports cars, and to catch some fascinating insights into their technologies and performance, especially those behind the Taycan range, Porsche’s first all-electric sports car model series.
Along with fascinating information about the Taycan, visitors discovered details about Porsche’s EV history, recharging, and Mark Webber’s recent adventures with the Taycan Cross Turismo in Tasmania.
The Porsche sportscar display included the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet, the Taycan GTS, and the recently released 718 Cayman GT4 RS, among others.
Visitors to the Porsche in Motion exhibition were also able to discover more details about two of the company’s popular programs: Porsche Track Experience and Porsche Drive Rental.
Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia
Race fans and Porsche lovers delighted in the open paddock layout of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia racing garages, situated near the Porsche in Motion display and Electrify Me experience.
Visitors were able to get up-close the field of 375 kW 911 GT3 Cup racing cars and see their crews in action as they prepared the grid for the weekend’s three-race format, which was the first round of this year’s eight-round Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship season.
30 entries comprised the event's round one action, which comprised practice and qualifying (Thursday) as well as three door-to-door races from Thursday to Saturday.
Round one was an action-packed affair, thrilling motorsport fans with exceptional high-speed racing enjoyment.
Qualifying was interrupted due to last-corner accident, and Thursday’s race one was red-flagged following a crash between Indiran Padayachee and Danny Stuttered at the back of the Albert Park circuit.
Max Vidau claimed his maiden win on Friday, overcoming the wet conditions and pushing hard to establish a vital gap to the rest of the field.
Jackson Walls claimed the final race win on Saturday and ended the round as the Championship leader heading into Round Two at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway on June 16 – 18.
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Images: Camber Collective
