About a month ago, we were wrapping up a yoga and reiki workshop up when a Karen barged in to inquire if any of us participants had committed the grievous error of parking in her business spots.
As no hands went up, she escalated her campaign. “You’ll be towed,” she threatened. “A black Porsche 911?”
I felt something surge in my chest—the faint sensation of hope. Then I cut loose.
“Yeah, that’s my car. Go ahead, tow it.”
The entire class laughed and she retreated, defeated. When I went outside to look, the troublesome Porsche was there. It looked completely stunning and I felt a silent chagrin as I walked away to find my Lexus.
Porsche Experience Centre: What Do You Want to Learn?
When the opportunity to visit the Porsche Experience Centre Toronto arrived, I packed my cameras and arrived slightly before its morning opening for what would turn out to be the chance of a lifetime. A Cartagena Yellow 2025 911 Carrera GTS sat on the tarmac, freshly detailed for four different track surfaces to be explored under the expert tutelage of instructor Dawson Campbell.
“What do you want to learn?” Dawson asked me.
Consuming classic anime like Initial D and Wangun Midnight had honed my checklist to two items: stability at speed and the ability to drift.
These cars are much more than reliable daily drivers or verified track weapons; they are emblems for men who worked to fulfill dreams as old as the poster of a car on their teenage bedroom.
Marvellous Engineering
The initial briefing showcased enthusiasm by the centre’s staff, ensuring we were caffeinated, but there was slight brain-fog as none of us assembled could name the apex through a turn shown in the Powerpoint. As it turned out, all of us would have much more to learn before the 90-minute session was complete.
Then there’s the internal ritual: questioning your confidence, skills and cognition as you prepare to helm a $212,290 car through a gauntlet explicitly designed to showcase the limits of a Porsche’s marvellous engineering. Because while we all know how to drive a car, we may not all understand how to achieve smoothness and harmony while facing challenges.
“OK, so you should be able to press the brake pedal to the floor,” explained Dawson as he patiently assisted while I fuddled with the seat and wheel position.
Roaring Down the Tarmac
Ready as I was to explore the two-kilometre handling circuit, I was thrown when we began with the dynamics area by weaving through traffic cones.
“Look where you want the car to go,” Dawson said, repeating the same advice my old man had given me when I was first learning to drive.
Launching the car during the next exercise proved to reveal exactly where my learning curve started. Launch control activates by holding both the brake and accelerator pedals down simultaneously and then lifting off the brakes. The car’s 3.6 litre boxer engine roars to life as it speedily roars down the tarmac.
It’s too much power too soon and my brain can’t comprehend how we are going to stop in time. So it sabotages the run and forces me to lift off far short of the intended markers.
Porsche Experience Centre: Getting To Know the Car’s Handling
“The ceramic composite brakes work great, don’t they?” Dawson muses while I kick myself for being so shy in initiating this dance.
I do better the next time, and on the run after that. Experience counts, which is why Porsche allows new car buyers a free 90-minute session at their experience centre in order to be fluent in the language of the car’s handling.
The next surface we try is the absolute highlight of my trip: The Drift Circuit, where water is sprayed continually onto concrete to help us lose traction.
“Just give it some gas,” says Dawson with full confidence, as I feel that familiar trepidation burst through my chest.
The 911’s rear wheels began to skid as the car rapidly moves sideways. I counter-steer and the car recovers.
“Now do it going 30 km/h,” suggests my instructor, always keen to move the goalposts further and further away.
Each fresh attempt brings mixed results, but my ability to flick the tail end out and regain control grow stronger with each spin. If I keep practicing, one day I may finally be ready to deliver tofu without spilling a glass of water.
Porsche Experience instructor Dawson Campbell. Image by Brian D’Souza.
“What do you want to learn?” Dawson asked me. Stability at speed and the ability to drift.
Revving Up the Thrill
We take a break before the handling circuit. It’s intuitive that one needs to stretch and relax—my snarling lower back and hips thank me for the freedom.
The shock sets in because I’m about to be broken down so that I can be built back stronger. There are cones placed all around the corners to let us know where to guide the car for the optimum corner.
“Slow in, fast out, yeah?” I ask as Dawson shows me where to brake and how to input maintenance throttle to let the car carry itself smoothly around the track. Ultimately, this is something he demonstrates when we switch seats and he’s holding back plenty of his ability.
There’s no wheel-to-wheel banging Days of Thunder style with the other journos. None of us would be keen to explain any unforeseen expenses to our respective bosses, anyways. Just total etiquette and respect for our personal space in a way not seen since the god-awful COVID days.
Porsche Experience Centre: Total Freedom on the Track
Something inside of me awakens and wishes that I could revert to my flawed approach to corners. Because, again, I lift off completely which reduces traction. It’s the path of least resistance which may not coincide with future Porsche ownership.
These cars are much more than reliable daily drivers or verified track weapons; they are emblems for men who worked to fulfil dreams as old as the poster of a car on their teenage bedroom.
The low-friction handling circuit continues our story, with me learning to keep the vehicle steadily going. Some of my energy and focus is gone, but so is some of the hesitation that plagues me in unfamiliar situations.
I’m confident that I can drive this car. However, I would love a few more sessions in order to begin to gain mastery. Lessons are available in the $850 to $1700 range, it is my personal belief that only long-term ownership of a vehicle can allow anyone to unlock a legitimate understanding of driving dynamics.
Information session before we head out onto the track. Image by Brian D’Souza.
First Impressions of Porsche Power
As the sun begins to climb in the sky, our time on the track winds down. The facility is so spacious and beautiful that I wonder how I could have missed the view from the second-floor terrace overlooking the track surfaces.
I make small-talk with the girl serving coffee as she tells me about her Mazda3. I assure her that it’s a great car. She smiles back with eyes that know she’s surrounded by bleeding-edge technology that comes with a price tag approaching the lowest-tier of homes far outside the GTA.
Finally comes the moment when it’s time to say goodbye to the scented hand lotion on the front desk and Americano served at the Carrera Cafe. The budget-friendly Porsche experience is limited to old Boxsters that have you guessing about the IMS bearing and 944’s that could have swapped gauge clusters.
Test Driving Porsche Boxsters
I think back to years ago, when a raucous Grade 8 student asked me if I was having a midlife crisis during a class presentation I was making on the Honda motor company.
“I’m flattered that you ever think there’s ever been prolonged stability in my life,” I tell him after the girl sitting next to him admonishes him for interupting so brashly.
The next Friday after my Porsche experience, I zoom to make the Gardiner on-ramp in the rain and the rear of my Lexus breaks away. The traction light flickers on my dashboard. Within a flash, I am already counter-steering as the car recovers and I zip ahead.
We do recover. And life moves on at the same rapid-fire pace.
Images by Brian D’Souza
Brian J. D’Souza is a Toronto-based writer and storyteller with work published through Sharp magazine, Sportsnet magazine, ESPN.com and many other outlets. He released his book, Pound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial Arts, in 2012 and is currently working on various literary fiction projects.
