Pathy

Some car enthusiast youtuber recently put up a video doing a detailed review / breakdown of the McLaren 720s and the Porsche 911 Turbo S and what he likes and dislikes about the TTS as compared to the 720s.

For reference, he's a big "rally car" guy who does long drives in sports cars with other enthusiasts, so that's his perspective. I like a lot of his videos and usually find his take on things (not just cars) to be refreshing and genuine, so hearing this review based on his experiences owning both cars (he sold the 720s to buy the Porsche) was interesting to me.

He makes a pretty big deal about the interior not being as high-quality as the McLaren, which sounds odd but makes sense when you consider the lack of carbon fiber in the Porsche, and the odd placement of the guage cluster behind the steering wheel, and the piano black plastic featured prominently... and he lists the "0-120km/h" speed of the Porsche as a pro, but the "120km/h+" speed of the McLaren apparently destroys the Porsche, in his words. He loves the comfort of the seats, the AWD, and the sound of the car in idle (but not the sound of the car at full throttle). Based on his comments, I think the conclusion that he draws is basically that the Porsche is a better overall car, especially for the kind of rally driving he does, but that the McLaren is a better pure sports car.

Anyway, if you take a look at this video, post what you think he's wrong about and what he's right about. I feel as if there are quite a few Rennlisters who may have experience with both McLarens and Porsches to make similar comparisons.

Here's the link:

RD16RR

His presentation and delivery are comfortable - i would watch his reviews again (aka subscribe) -- his nit-picking (no android - no usable back seat - no carbon etc) was understandable, even though i do not feel the same way -- overall he is informative -- thanks for posting it

3-Pedals

His review is pretty spot on. I drove several mclarens and I had a 992 TTS. They are pretty different cars and mclaren interior does feel more special/higher quality. I have an incoming 750S just as an FYI.

Manifold

Didn’t watch the review, but yes, 992 tts is an excellent and versatile normalish sports car, McLaren is more of a pure sports car with a race car vibe. The only thing they have in common is being really fast.

eclou

I was just told my Artura build that was scrapped last September is being completed Oct 26 for Nov delivery

hcvone

With porsche switching over to hybrid in 25, yesterday I ordered a 750s spider, my first mclaren was a disaster, it was a mp4-12, and it spent more time at the dealership than in my garage, but they have come a long way, I hope this one is MUCH better

X-PH.COM - MIKE

Thank you for sharing

Manifold

I watched the review. I generally agree with his comments about the tts, but he's a bit picky and I don't think he fully appreciates what a 911 is about.

For example, he rags on the rear seats not being usable. Duh! They were never meant to enable four adult passengers to travel in comfort. But they do add some usable space in the cabin, and you can get a small child back there for a short trip if absolutely necessary.

As far as carbon fiber, well mine has it and not everyone wants it. Carbon fiber isn't the benchmark for a car being high quality, and the ethos of a tts is on the sophisticated side, it's not a Porsche GT car.

eclou

Most of the women I used to date would fit in the back seats - not comfortably for long trips but they fit lol

daveo4porsche

TLDR; in his summation at the end of the video - he likes his 911 TTS MORE than his McLaren for his rally usage…there he said it...so yeah - the conclusion is the 911 is better than his McLaren even with his "dislikes"

I agree with his likes…my comments in orange

the list of "dislikes" are …

• 120 kph + acceleration - points to McLaren - it is what it is
• Engine sound over idle - ummm - yeah this is highly personal thing - I like the TTS - but I also know people that obsess on this - I also know its fixable with aftermarket
• weight - again it is what it is
• no carbon fibre - this is a "build issue" - he bought off the lot - vs. ordering - however even for ordering I'd suggest he's be disappointed unless he did extensive CXX (CCX?)
• useless back seats - agreed - not a surprise - move on
• no android auto support - this. has been fixed in software updates or later models ot the 992 - the reason is the china market demands - the reason why no AA previously was (and still) is due to vehicle telemetry data gathering requirements in the AA license - previously porsche was not keen to share that much data w/Google - they probably still aren't but market pressure in china forced them to balance that differently
• poor quality doors - not sure I agree with this one - but ok - that is his perception/reality
• boring trim - yeah again a build issue - but I wonder if he would or would not be happy with a "personal" build
• repairs - I've heard different things about Mclaren than his experience in Canada - also I think he'd feel dfiferently about porsche vs. McLaren if he lived outside of one of the 3 major Canadian metro areas vs. Porsche
• aero is lacking - sound like he wants a GT3 RS
• no temp monitor - ok - maybe - not quite sure it's as bad as he makes it out to be - and honestly if you're using temp gauge to gauge your tires "are ready" well then maybe get some car control skills
• rides rougher - I agree on this - but I wonder if he dropped pressures he'd happier (better grip also) - but the McLaren suspension is world class and we'd all love a similar style suspension on our 911's - so yeah
• too complex gauges - feedback is valid - but over blown in my opinion -but he's not wrong…

my feel having watched the video is if that's his "hate" list - car is pretty damm good - only a "few" items are systemic vs. judgement/personal-bias based

• accleration
• rougher ride
• aero

the rest is really not that big a deal IMHO - but yeah I can see his points.

if you stay to the end of the video - he likes the TTS for his purposes more than the McLaren

eclou

Funny thing is that the TTS has active aero, including "DRS". The front spoiler has 3 settings - fully retracted, fully deployed, sides extended and center retracted. The rear spoiler has 4 positions - fully retracted, half extended, fully extended with high angle, fully extended with mild angle. The engine shutters are also active aero

Manifold

Yeah, the tts aero is pretty sophisticated. It even puts the back wing up in wet mode to prevent oversteer and keep the car from spinning.

The car doesn't maximize downforce because there's no need to. On the road, the main function of aero is stability and front/rear balance, not maximizing grip for braking and cornering.

AlexCeres

I mean most supercars aren’t chosen over their 3500km road trip ability. This isn’t what most people do with them, so I wouldn’t generalize too much. He wants a road rally car. Fair. Some folks want a street legal track car, or a cup car, or a cars and coffee car. Different strokes. 720 fuel economy is bad. I get 10 to 11mpg. Holding back driving to make it to the next gas station with your buddies is no fun. The 765 is not the same car, the gearing is much shorter and so is the fuel economy.

But you do have to contrive pretty hard to find a niche where the TTS is a better sportscar than a 720. Sorry. Love them both, totally different price brackets and it’s not even remotely a contest if you drive them back to back. The TTS is slower and 500# heavier with a worse suspension and exhaust note. It’s not a contest. With about $150k difference, there shouldn’t be.

If fuel economy is that important, he should give the artura a spin. Almost as fast as a 720, about twice the fuel economy.

BudFox6

I saw the review. I thought the guy rambled and wanted to boast about his driving experiences. His complaining about the lack of interior carbon fiber and a push-to-start button, given the cost of the car, didn't make sense. Three minutes of information packed into 29 minutes.

3-Pedals

I’m surprised nobody mentioned this guy’s posts about dating and divorced women. I watched a few videos and my jaw dropped.