« Articles

If anyone is familiar with driving the 405 South down through the South Bay, they should be familiar with a certain tall, fiberglass man. Just past the 110 freeway in the city of Carson, Porsche will be setting up a new playland for Porsche enthusiasts. But after excavating the land, they decided to keep the iconic “muffler man” statue erected by the previous owners.

“Muffler Men” are giant fiberglass statues that stand 18-20 feet tall. They are a piece of Americana and a familiar form of roadside advertisement. Usually holding a muffler, these ‘“muffler men” came in the form of legend Paul Bunyan, astronauts, repairman and in this case, a golfer.

The old Dominguez golf course has been razed off the ground and is now being replaced by the Porsche Experience Center. The “muffler man” that used to greet golfers off the freeway is now transformed into a race car driver. Dressed in a fire suit and holding a checkered flag, this new “muffler man” will now greet racing enthusiasts who come to the Porsche Experience Center.

Groundbreaking to the new facility was in August 2013 and plans were revealed of what Porsche will be doing with this 53 acre space. It will involve a test track for test drivers, Porsche developers and Porsche enthusiasts to push their German engineered machines.

The Porsche Experience Center will bring a nice stimulus to the local economy, as Porsche invested $28.7 million and created 310 jobs during the development phase. Once operational, the facility is expected to result in the creation of 135 additional jobs and generate $22.5 million in economic activity each year for Southern California.

Porsche anticipates that construction will be completed and facility operations will commence during the fourth quarter of 2014. And that’s not the only one planned in North America -- a second Experience Center is also under construction in Atlanta, part of the company's new U.S. headquarters.

You don’t have to go all the way Stuttgart in order to experience all that Porsche has to offer. The total driving experience will be coming to American shores and you can finally push that Porsche to the max.

Image credit: Orin Zebest on Flickr