Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) opened its Porsche Experience Center public track facilities on the east and west coast for a celebration of sports cars and cinema.
For three consecutive nights, as the sun set in Georgia and California, dozens of families and guests pulled into the Porsche Experience Center (PEC) Atlanta and Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles for drive-in movie showings. The parade of classic and new Porsche sports cars arriving each night was as much of a highlight as the movies on screen.
“The drive-in is such a unique way to appreciate car culture, and really appeals to such a large group of people,” said Michelle Rainey, Senior Manager for the Porsche Experience Center PEC Atlanta. “Being able to use the Experience Center as a backdrop really speaks to the way we can engage with our community during a time where entertainment options are limited.”
From Thursday, August 27 through Saturday, August 29, the PECs screened a rotation of films, with titles ranging from classics to current blockbusters, several including Porsche sports cars. Bad Boys For Life (2020), Le Mans (1971), Sixteen Candles (1984), Days of Thunder (1990) and Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) played at one or both of the locations. In Los Angeles, movie-goers were staged in front of a screen set up on the Driver Development Track dynamics area. In Atlanta, the auxiliary lot overlooked One Porsche Drive.
Demand for the screenings in Atlanta exceeded expectations, and a second late showing was added on Friday night.
“Whenever we host events at the Experience Center in LA, the turnout and enthusiasm is always top notch. The response for the drive-in, however, was truly remarkable. We sold out all three showings in less than an hour,” said Jennifer Malacarne, Senior Manager for the Porsche Experience Center Los Angeles. ”There were couples who looked like they were reliving a first date, and small children who had probably never heard of such a thing before coming.”
The drive-in experience was the first of its kind at PEC LA and PEC Atlanta.
Crowd sizes were limited to 50 vehicles, per showing. Ticket proceeds benefited Feeding GA Families in Atlanta and the Boys and Girls Club of Carson in LA. Safety precautions for guests and employees included temperature checks, social distancing guidelines, and required face coverings upon arrival and when outside of vehicles.
