ATLANTA — The increased visibility of Porsche’s new North American headquarters will allow the German sports carmaker and the Peach State to benefit from each other’s reputation for a good quality of life, CEO Detlev von Platen said Tuesday.
Porsche owes much of its early success to the fact that its 911 model was perceived as “cool” in California in the 1960s, where it was featured in movies, commercials and the garages of the stars. But when the company wanted a home for its new North American headquarters, it chose Georgia.
Porsche Cars North America that von Platen heads has been based in Atlanta since 1998, and imports one-quarter of its vehicles through the Port of Brunswick. When the $100-million headquarters opens around yearend on 28 acres next to the Atlanta airport, it will consolidate offices scattered as far away as Chicago. It will also include a test track, training center, upscale restaurant and conference facilities designed to raise the company’s visibility.
“I said we need to do something different for the future,” von Platen said in a luncheon speech at the Atlanta Press Club. “We wanted a very unique design and a very unique location.”
Other states tried to lure the company, but after reviewing all of them, executives concluded Georgia was the clear winner because of its quality of life, transportation and the fact Porsche has found that it has no trouble hiring the best employees from anywhere in the world because they are willing to move here, he said.
And Porsche aims to share some of its own allure with the Georgia by hosting conferences, bringing in tourists and emblazoning its prestigious logo across its test track.
“If you sit on the right side of the plane, every passenger will see it from the air as they fly in,” von Platen said.
The Hapeville location is just up the road from Griffin, the home of the late Jack Ryan, who raced Porsches and won the first race ever for the company’s iconic 911 in 1967 at the 24 Hours of Daytona. So, Georgia has had sports car cool of its own for a while.