AutaBuy - Used Cars for Sale. Logo AutaBuy - Used Cars for Sale. Logo

News & Reviews

Private Party Sellers
Click here to place your ad now!

2020 McLaren GT vs. 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S: When Joy and Function Collide

The person who first suggested using the term Gran Turismo as a car model has been lost to history, as has their reasoning. But we do know that person was working for Italys Alfa Romeo, which used the term on a version of the 6C 1750 in 1930 to describe a sporty touring car designed with a flexible frame for better ride quality on the bad roads of the time. Nearly a century later, the letters GT have been applied to everything from Hyundais to Ferraris. The concept, though, has endured: a car comfortable and luxurious enough to cross a continent at speed without the occupants, or the machine, breaking a sweat. The latest claimants to the title: the 2020 McLaren GT and the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S. McLaren has been offering leather in its super cars since the almighty F1, but its only really tried its hand at building a proper GT car once, the frankly disappointing 570GT. That car took the insanely good 570S and made it worse, but hey, there was more room for your luggage. This GT commits no such sin, and it proves empirically that McLaren learned from its mistake. Youd be forgiven for questioning this assertion. The concept is the same. The GT is effectively a 720S redressed and retuned. Every carbon-fiber body panel has been worked over and molded into the least radical, most conventionally pretty car McLarens yet done. The interior has only two soft materials: carpet and leather. Yes, that means the ceiling is leather, too. I think the leather is leather wrapped. Im pretty sure I saw that on the build sheet. The engines been detuned by about 100 hp and 100 lb-ft, and McLaren has used every inch of space above and around it to create a shockingly commodious cargo hold. Unlike with the 570GT, though, McLaren didnt just add weight and subtract sportiness from the 720S to create the GT. Yes, the lunatic fringe has been clipped, but the essence of the 720S is still there. The acceleration is still explosive, so much so you wouldnt know the difference if you hadnt driven a 720S lately. Just as important, its lost nothing perceptible in handling, either. It can still be flung at a mountain road like a supercar, just a more comfortable one. Porsche has gone the other direction, and the 911 Turbo S is equally better off for it. The last Turbo S suffered a coldness, an aloofness when pressed. It did all the right things. It would absolutely destroy a good road. It just did it in a clinical, somewhat detached way that left you impressed, but not in lust. The new one is lusty. Its learned the best lessons Weissachs GT division had to teach, giving it very nearly the visceral drive of a GT3 without compromising on its grand touring credibility. Lets be honest, though. Both of these cars are stretching the limits of the GT concept. Neither rides like a luxury car in its most comfortable setting. Neither is silent inside, nor accented with a luscious engine note. Each is just comfortable enough, but still a supercar at heart. McLaren has long boasted its cross-linked hydraulic suspension is capable of providing a magic carpet ride if so desired, but this is the first time its ever really tried to make good on it. The result is impressive, making the heavier car ride better than the 720S and better than the Turbo S, too. But the GTs additional plushness on the interstate becomes more bounciness on the scenic detour. Mid-corner bumps, in particular, get the GT pogoing up and down. Its disconcerting at first, but as much as the body moves around under you, it quickly becomes apparent the suspension has job No. 1 under control. The car doesnt get loose at either end, neither oversteering as the rear end loads and unloads, nor understeering as the skinny front tires hang on for all theyre worth. [The] car feels more planted than I was expecting, MotorTrend senior features editor Jonny Lieberman said. Even in situations where you get a skosh airborne, the car is controlled and snaps itself into the proper line, and thats with the stability control in Sport. The steering is heftier than in the 720S, and I like it better, he continued. [Its the] first McLaren Ive driven where the steering doesnt feel over-boosted. Just a honey of a thing to hustle around. Although heftier, the steerings lost none of that McLaren delicacy or communication. It has bitten McLarens in more than one track competition, but the engineers at Woking keep those front tires narrow and unpowered to maintain the steerings response and feedback, and you cant argue it doesnt succeed. There isnt another electrically boosted steering system with this much feedback in the wheel. It kicks back like a manual rack. Even the Porsche cant say that. It can say something similar, though. I challenged Jonny to name an all-wheel drive car with better steering feel than the Turbo S, and we couldnt think of one even close. Its tamer in your hands than the GT, but it doesnt give up too much feedback for it. More importantly, its part of a greater whole. Where the GT trades some body control at the limit for comfort on the commute, the Turbo S goes the other way. The Porsches body control over mid-corner bumps is simply phenomenal. It never fails or falters, yet makes you feel like youre in complete control and every accomplishment is your own, not the cars. The Turbo S teases you relentlessly. Why arent you going faster? Why did you brake so much? Why arent you pushing me? The Porsches magic is in the moment its at its limit. Its pure, unadulterated driving. Im not thinking. My mind is clear. My eyes see, and my hands and feet react, and the car does exactly what they ask of it. Backing off even slightly feels like giving up and driving like a normal person. Forget the brain implant idea, Elon, this car is already connected to my brain stem. The combination of outright speed, trustworthy handling, undefeatable brakes, and delivery of feel good driving yayas catapults Porsches latest, greatest Turbo S to the head of the class, Lieberman said. The most dominant supercar Ive driven in a long time. A long time. The GT just isnt. Not quite. It keeps up with the Porsche, but its more work. Maybe the polar moment is different, both for the car and for the drivers hip point, but it doesnt glide through the corners like the Porsche. It takes them as quickly, but it doesnt feel nearly as effortless. I couldnt find the same easy groove in the GT; I had to think, and it was less enjoyable for it. The extra bouncing up and down didnt help. The McLaren feels lighter, but also bigger and less reflexive, less nimble. The Porsche just has better dance moves. The GT needs more front tire. Id give up some of that delicious steering feel for a more authoritative front end. You can hear and feel the McLarens front tires struggling to hang on when youre driving the car for all its worth, hear and feel them struggling for grip under heavy braking. The brake pedal itself is also less reassuring. The feel is good, but the effort is too high. Its much stiffer than the Porsches, and you need to use more of its travel to stop hard, whereas the Turbo Ss pedal requires a mere squeeze. The McLarens is more deliberate, and I like it less the harder I drive. I never had a moment with the Porsche. I had three in the GT where I started checking if the oncoming lane is clear in case I cant slow enough before the corner in my own. I got into the pedals crunchy, ABS pulsating section a few times, Lieberman said. though youd better love McLarens optimized for left foot-braking pedal placement. The Turbo S, by contrast, needs more tire, period. Not because the P Zeros are doing anything wrong. Theyre just not sticky enough. I can hear them scrubbing in the hardest turns, and Im not running out of brakes when I get to ABS threshold; Im running out of tire. The Turbo S chassis can handle so much more grip. This car demands Pilot Sport Cup 2s. With those, it could go even faster up Angeles Crest, and I dont think Ive ever gone so fast up there, dont think Ive ever used wide-open throttle so much with this much power on that road. The Turbo S is speed made a tangible object. Its screaming out for more tire, Lieberman said. You can out-brake the tires; you can out-steer the tires. Put this on the GT2 RS Michelins, and GT2 RS values would drop. The GT, meanwhile, needs just a bit more cooling. Cocooning the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 in leather has apparently reduced the airflow through the engine compartment because when driven like a supercar, the catalytic converters overheat. We got the ominous warning several times while chasing the Porsche, telling us to reduce engine speed to bring down the exhaust temperature. Oil and water temperatures were fine, so only the catalysts were in any danger. Theyre probably expensive, too, so we backed off and the warning went away after a minute of normal person driving. Heres where I get to make an excuse for the McLaren, Lieberman said. Owners arent going to run their GTs this hard for this long. They just aint. Ive driven with them. When I drove the GT at eight- or nine-tenths, rather than as hard as I could, no problems. Need to run 10/10s for extended periods of time? Go for the 720S. Thats the tradeoff; thats the compromise. The 720Ss motor sits under glass, and theres air flowing all over the place. But how about that luggage space? You dont really appreciate how low the engine sits in a McLaren until you see how much space for your stuff engineers found under the GTs massive hatch. Youd only know theres an engine under there by the bright aluminum oil and coolant fill caps. Its a far more useable and practical space than the Porsches rear seats. Not only does the GT have 50 percent more storage capacity in the cabin, its much easier to load luggage through the hatch than try to muscle it in through the doors of the Porsche. Even the McLarens frunk is bigger. By contrast, the GTs infotainment system is inscrutable. The Porsches is overly complicated and layered, but at least it makes sense. The McLarens is so user unfriendly, youd think they designed it that way, so youd give up and keep your hands on the wheel. Same for the optional electrochromic sunroof and its touch-sensitive controls. When I first handed the car over to Jonny, I asked him to let me know how long it took to figure out how to change the tint of the sunroof glass. The text I got the next day read: 30 hours, but I got it. At full tint, those two little sunroofsits almost got a T-top thing going onshould keep the sun and its heat out, but there are still the windshield, windows, and hatch glass to contend with, and the GTs air conditioning isnt the coldest on the market. McLaren also wont sell you ventilated seats, and the ones they do install have thin, hard bottom cushions, a miss for a GT car. Still, they put leather on the ceiling. Did I mention that? Because this thing is real nice inside. If youre looking at the photos, youre probably wondering how the Porsches interior could hope to compete. Its got a much more modern, industrial vibe going on, for starters. On the other hand, this particular car is what we call a journalist special. Just the performance options, not a single comfort item. Not even a sunroof. As Jonny said, Just the way customers never want em. Spend a few bucks on the build sheet or a lot of bucks at Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, and you can make a 911 much more luxurious and comfortable. The $30,000 as-tested price difference between the $254,195 McLaren and $224,320 Porsche wont get you that far down the Porsche options list, but itll definitely dress up this black-on-black-on-black affair. Although no amount of money will fix the fact you cant see the outer halves of the twin instrument cluster screens because the steering wheel is in the way. Purely on their merits, the McLaren is the better GT, and the Porsche is the better supercar. As vehicles meant to do both? We had a long talk about it, and we decided the Porsche is just a little better overall. Its bandwidth is just a little bit broader. Then, Jonny stole the thought straight out of my head. I feel strongly that McLaren expertly benchmarked the 991.2 Turbo S and beat it, he said. But like us and everyone else, McLaren had no clue just how remarkably dazzling the 992 Turbo S would be. This things impact will be like what the Nissan GT-R did to the supercar zeitgeist 12 years ago. Meet the valedictorian/captain of the football team. The proper heir to the 959, a 911 that beats everyone in every way. Second Place: McLaren GT The better long-distance runner. Prettier and more practical, the McLaren GT takes its name seriously, but leaves just a little performance on the table. First Place: Porsche 911 Turbo S The new king of supercars, the 911 Turbo S trades just a little GT practicality and plushness for utterly dominant performance, and its a deal were happy to endorse. 2020 McLaren GT 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD Rear-engine, AWD ENGINE TYPE Twin-turbo 90-deg V-8, alum block/heads Twin-turbo flat-6, alum block/heads VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 243.7 cu in/3,994 cc 228.6 cu in/3,745 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 9.4:1 8.7:1 POWER (SAE NET) 612 hp @ 7,500 rpm 640 hp @ 6,750 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 465 lb-ft @ 5,500 rpm 590 lb-ft @ 2,500 rpm REDLINE 8,500 rpm 7,200 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 5.5 lb/hp 5.7 lb/hp 0-60 MPH 2.9 sec (MT est) 2.3 sec (MT est) TRANSMISSION 7-speed twin-clutch auto 8-speed twin-clutch auto AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 3.31:1/2.27:1 3.33:1 (front), 3.02 (rear)/1.84:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, adj interconnected shocks, hydraulic anti-roll and downforce resist; control arms, coil springs, adj interconnected shocks, hydraulic anti-roll and downforce resist Struts, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar; struts, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 15.1:1 12.5-14.1:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.5 2.5 BRAKES, F;R 14.4-in vented disc; 13.9-in vented disc, ABS 16.5-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc; 15.4-in vented, drilled, carbon-ceramic disc, ABS WHEELS, F;R 8.0 x 20-in; 10.5 x 21-in, forged aluminum 9.5 x 20-in; 12.0 x 21-in forged aluminum TIRES 225/35R20 90Y; 295/30R21 102Y Pirelli P Zero MC PNCS 255/35R20 97Y; 315/30R21 105Y Pirelli P Zero NA1 DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 105.3 in 96.5 in TRACK, F/R 65.8/65.5 in 62.4/63.0 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 184.4 x 75.8 x 47.8 in 178.6 x 74.9 x 50.9 in TURNING CIRCLE 38.4 ft 35.8 ft CURB WEIGHT 3,400 lb (MT est) 3,650 lb (MT est) WEIGHT DIST, F/R 42/58% 40/60% (MT est) SEATING CAPACITY 2 2 + 2 HEADROOM, F/R 37.5/- in 37.9/32.5 in LEGROOM, F/R 42.4/- in 42.2/27.2 in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 51.2/- in 52.6/47.9 in CARGO VOLUME Front: 5.3 cu ft/rear: 14.8 cu ft Front: 4.5 cu ft/rear parcel: 9.3 cu ft CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $218,695 $205,750 PRICE AS TESTED $254,195 $224,320 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/yes Yes/yes AIRBAGS 6: Dual front, front side/head, front knee 6: Dual front, front side/head, front knee BASIC WARRANTY 3 yrs/Unlimited miles 4 yrs/50,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 3 yrs/Unlimited miles 4 yrs/50,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 3 yrs/Unlimited miles 4 yrs/50,000 miles FUEL CAPACITY 19.0 gal 17.6 gal EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 15/22/18 mpg (mfr est) 20/25/22 mpg (MT est) ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY 225/153 kW-hrs/100 miles (est) 169/135 kW-hrs/100 miles (est) CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.11 lb/mile (est) 0.88 lb/mile (est) RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded premium Unleaded premium --> The post 2020 McLaren GT vs. 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S: When Joy and Function Collide appeared first on MotorTrend .

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/porsche/911/2021/2020-mclaren-gt-vs-2021-porsche-911-turbo-s/

 

Share this Article

 

Top