When Linda Bobo sat down in the driver’s seat of a bright yellow 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 on the South Track at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, her first thought was, this is going to be fun.
Bobo, 82, a resident at the senior living community Heartis Suwanee, spent 90 minutes Thursday, May 25, on the center’s South Track, where the 1.6-mile driver development course is used to showcase the performance of Porsche vehicles. The experience was part of Heartis Suwanee’s management company’s signature “Livin’ the Dream” program, which gives residents an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong goal or wish.
With family members and staff from Heartis Suwanee watching, Bobo zig-zagged her way through cones, maneuvered the off-road circuit, pulled the Porsche out of a skid created by a kick plate and drifted on the course’s wet, low-friction circle.
Bobo’s favorite experience during the course was “the launch,” where, using each foot, she held down both the brake and accelerator before lifting her foot off the brake to launch the vehicle into motion.
“It zooms,” she laughed. “It goes very fast. It’s great fun.”
Bobo has been a resident at Heartis Suwanee almost since it opened in February 2019. She said the “Livin’ the Dream” program is a wonderful opportunity for residents.
“It’s such a nice program that Heartis provides to seniors,” Bobo said. “They can really do something that’s fun, that’s out of the box, that’s different.”
After her experience behind the wheel of the 718 Cayman, Bobo visited the Porsche Museum and was treated to lunch at the center.
“It was great fun,” Bobo said of the experience. “I would never have done this on my own.”
