Porsche AG unveiled the final design for its new North American headquarters in Atlanta and it pays homage to the automaker's racing and performance roots.
The automaker expects to break ground early next year on the new center in Atlanta, which will consolidate the company's North American administration, technical, training and other operations.
It will house about 400 employees when it opens in Fall 2013.Porsche said last May it would build the new North American headquarters in Atlanta, where it has maintained a presence for 13 years.
Porsche's new North America headquarters will be built on the site of a former Ford Motor Co. assembly plant near Atlanta's international airport and will also feature a customer and driver experience center.
The center -- a major component of Porsche's marketing outreach -- includes a test track, restaurant, and store with Porsche-branded merchandise.
Porsche announced this week it will open a second customer experience center in North America in Carson, Calif., between Los Angeles International and Long Beach airports. The 53-acre facility and road handling course will be one of five such sites worldwide.
Porsche will break ground on the L.A. center next summer.
The Los Angeles area is Porsche's largest U.S. market, followed by New York, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco and Chicago.
Porsche's U.S. sales are up 23 percent this year through October to 24,934. The automaker's U.S. sales peaked at 34,693 units in 2007.