Plan for housing, track and runway is gaining speed: a Beverly Hills developer launches Georgia project.

Do racing car fumes and luxury housing mix? Not ordinarily, but a Beverly Hills-based company is betting on it with a proposed 120-home development that includes a speedway course with a 175 mph straightaway.

Unlimited Speed LLC plans to build the development, called Victory Lane, in NASCAR-obsessed central Georgia--and it's already talking about a more upscale California version.

The Victory Lane development, about 70 miles west of Savannah, is aimed at racing car enthusiasts with far bigger wallets than the average U.S. racing fan. In fact, it's far more Lamborghini than Chevrolet.

The development, which is expansive at 3,078 acres and includes a golf course, equestrian center and multiple lakes, was built for serious car collectors who are often cooped up in cities with no place to drive their exotic cars.

"These are collection valued at $200 to $300 million dollars and the owners just don't have access to tracks where they can get seat time to get acquainted with the car to drive them to the full potential," said Andrew Goggin, president of Unlimited Speed.

The developer plans to break ground next month and claims to have already sold 25 of the 120 home sites. Home prices start at about $700,000 and rise up to $2 million or so.

Construction is slated to take a year, but that hasn't stopped the company from scouting for its next project in Southern California.

"The development we are looking into in California would be an even more exclusive version with 10 to 15 home sites ranging in price from $10 to $14 million," Goggin said.

High profile Los Angeles attorney Tim Lappen, a partner and chairman of the family office group at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP, serves as general counsel to the firm.

Lappen, who recently arranged for a client to receive a rare $1.3 million Bugatti Veyron, said that California is an ideal place for such a development.

"When people think about automobiles, they think about California," said Lappen, "The weather allows people to have exotic cars. A lot of people don't want to drive rare cars on salted, wet roads."

Another feature of the Georgia project touted by the developer is a Federal Aviation Administration-approved aircraft runway. The runway, which doubles as the road course straightaway, is long enough to accommodate large private jets.

But the main attraction is the track--which is configurable for multiple layouts.

"For people who have these unusual cars, to drive them somewhere and actually enjoy the car in a place with safety and control is a nice thing to do," Lappen said.

By DANIEL MILLER

Staff Reporter