Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team moves into new Cologne HQ

Porsche launches new Esports Performance Center in Cologne, enhancing training for Coanda team with top-tier sim rigs and tailored facilities.

Porsche continues to strengthen its presence in virtual motorsport — this time with the opening of a new headquarters for its official esports team. The Porsche Esports Performance Center (PEPC) has been inaugurated in the Cologne district of Ossendorf, located at the Licht Campus of Trilux, a long-standing partner of Porsche Motorsport and a leader in professional lighting solutions. From now on, the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team will compete in online races from this new base.

The new facility spans 324 square meters and is equipped with six professional racing simulators, a performance engineer’s workstation, chill-out and fitness zones, as well as a dedicated show car area. Additional workspaces and a meeting room provide a complete and focused working environment. According to Nina Braack, Manager of Esports at Porsche Motorsport, special attention was paid to the mental demands of sim racing. The lighting, acoustics and overall environment were tailored to help drivers perform at their best.

The move from Gronau to Cologne was driven not just by technical requirements, but also by the evolving needs of the drivers. Many have now transitioned to living in their own apartments, while some still share accommodation — a sign of the team’s organic growth. Cologne itself is a natural fit: home to leading esports firms like ESL and the annual Gamescom convention, the city plays a central role in the global gaming scene.

Currently, the Porsche Coanda team is leading the prestigious ESL R1 championship and is preparing for the decisive showdown — the Esports World Cup final, scheduled to take place this summer in Saudi Arabia. The team’s lineup features internationally recognized sim racers: Jordan Caruso, Joshua Rogers, Charlie Collins, Dayne Warren, Mitchell deJong, and Elvis Rankin.

But the project’s importance extends beyond competition. As Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, points out, sim racing has become a vital way to engage with a young, tech-savvy audience. More than that, simulation technology is deeply integrated into Porsche’s real-world racing and vehicle development processes. PEPC, then, is more than just a training hub — it marks a strategic evolution for Porsche at the intersection of the digital and physical automotive worlds.