Every Porsche owner’s dream is to one day take their car to a track and unleash the full power of their cars, really get into the handling, and set down some impressive lap times. Unfortunately, if you live in Vancouver or the surrounding areas, that fantasy will remain a fantasy. The nearest track available is in Mission, and it probably isn’t the place you would want to take your $150,000 + sports car. The other option is Vancouver Island, now while the track is much more suited for sports cars, there is the hassle of trying to get on one of the many sardine packed ferries and actually booking a track day. The best track we have available to us is a 5-hour drive away in the Okanagan to this great place called Area 27. Now for those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s a track that was inspired by Canadian racing legend Gille Villeneuve and designed by a Canadian champion, Jacques Villeneuve. It is 4.83km track with 16 gut wrenching turns and a half mile straight to hit the highest speed you’ve ever done in your car. Now while that may sound like a driver’s heaven, the membership cost is $55,000 and then another $3,000 a year which jumps up to $4,000 a year in phase two. Not to mention you have to drive all the way down there, book a hotel, drive for a day, and then go back home. We understood our driver’s frustration, and with the help of Porsche Canada, we offered a solution.
The 2021 Porsche Roadshow was a drivers dream come true that included driving different Porsche vehicles on the road, and then three special vehicles on a short autocross circuit. The event took place atop Grouse Mountain in their large parking lot over the course of one day, an absolute perfect day at that. Guests came to their pre-booked appointment time where they were greeted by a number of smiling Porsche Canada staff members. They were offered espresso and snacks as refreshments, took a look at the cars they would be driving, and even had a chance to jump into a carbon fiber bucket seat and try their hand at a racing simulation.
Once started, guests were directed to one of 6 available vehicles for their road test portion of the event. Their choices were; a Cayenne E-Hybrid, Macan GTS, Panamera E-Hybrid, Taycan 4S, and the all new Taycan Cross Turismo. Once in their vehicle, they were taken on a 10km cruise to their meeting point where they would switch vehicles, and get to try something new on their 10km drive back. After this, guests were treated to a bit of a special autocross setup and did 3 laps in each of the following vehicles; a Carrera 4S, 911 Turbo S, and a Taycan Turbo S which has 750hp! They were instructed, by former professional race car drivers and multiple instructors that teach at the Porsche Ice Experience in Montreal, on how a car handles on the track under hard braking and acceleration and then were given the green light to go. With a quick start, a chicane, a 180 degree turn, another straightaway, ending off with a stopping box where they were allowed to fully test the brakes on the Porsche they were driving, guests left not only with their hearts pounding with adrenalin, but also with a massive grin on their faces. To top it all off, each guest was given a surprise gift from Porsche that included a Porsche branded leather notebook and pen, as well as a Porsche coffee tumbler!
Now we don’t encourage anyone to try this on their own as this was done in a controlled environment, and with some fantastic instructors that have raced in the American Superbikes, Indy Car, and even Formula 4. Should you wish to try your hand at racing, Vancouver has a couple of fantastic spots that have 4-D racing simulations set up where you can see how fast you can get around iconic tracks like Laguna Seca in sports cars, GT cars, and even F1 cars.
Written September 2021