With its 12-city Stay Driven tour, Porsche keeps auto enthusiasts dreaming of the open road.
Porsche’s powerful electric Taycan Turbo S was one of the models thrilling drivers on the Stay Driven tour.
What does a luxury car brand do in the middle of a pandemic to keep drivers engaged and inspired? If you’re Porsche, you bring the inspiration to them. With the motto “Stay Driven,” the iconic carmaker (celebrating its 70th anniversary in the U.S.) launched the 12-city Porsche Driving Tour in July, crisscrossing the nation to offer intimate test drives of the brand’s most popular models— all in a socially distanced manner, of course.
A bold move during a time when people were just starting to leave the house again, but with the tour wrapping in late October, the verdict is in: Porsche has created an of-the-moment auto event like no other. Forgoing standard test drives, the brand smartly offered select pairings of vehicles—the 718 Boxster with the Macan S, say, or the Cayenne E-Hybrid with the buzzy all-electric Taycan—the wheel and tour a curated scenic route in a lead-follow format led by Porsche Track Experience experts. At the halfway point, drivers switched cars after the autos were sanitized by on-site detailers, then returned to the starting point to enjoy beverages and hors d’oeuvres before departing with a branded gift bag.
Social distancing in the event’s lead-follow format
“Porsche brings people together,” says Pedro Mota, the brand’s vice president of marketing for North America, “and we want to continue giving people a chance to connect with the brand, with each other and with our most popular sports cars while respecting social distancing and reduced travel.” The tour has been so successful, in fact, that a second wave is set to start in late October focusing exclusively on the Taycan, a blockbuster EV smash for the brand. Mota sums up the tour’s appeal: “The Stay Driven campaign adapts to current conditions, gets drivers into a new Porsche and leaves them with a smile.”
Photography by: Courtesy of Porsche
