Burning rubber, and cash, attract high-end buyers. Clint Davis; Dice: Phil Cardamone/Getty Images
Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and others go way beyond test drives.
As the world’s busiest passenger airport, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson moves over 75.9 million travelers through its eight terminals every year. Many inbound passengers will catch connecting flights. Some will drive into the metro area to do business with the 16 Fortune 500 companies headquartered there. And some will head home to one of the city’s 26 major suburbs.
But a tiny, fortunate segment of that group will get onto I-75 and take exit 239 to a place called the Porsche Experience Center, which sits just off the airport’s northeastern border. Opened last year, the 26-acre complex houses the legendary German automaker’s new North American headquarters, a mammoth, LEED-certified building complete with business center, restaurant, museum and a restoration facility for classic Porsche cars. But as its name suggests, a big draw for the Porsche Experience Center is the chance to get behind the wheel of one of the world’s most iconic sports cars.
Assuming you’re 21 or over, possess a valid driver’s license and have prepaid for a reservation, Porsche pairs you with a driving instructor, then buckles you in for 90 white-knuckled minutes on a 1.6-mile track. Out on the sunbaked labyrinth of asphalt, drivers navigate the curves of the handling circuit, practice skid control on...