720S - is it actually any good?
Discussion
355spiderguy said:
Great vid!
In the comments after, apparently the Porsche 'RS' has went about 0.02 quicker...fair enough but that 720 was a standard car on standard tyres....not a track focused limited edition.
Be interesting to see what the LT version brings to the table.
On that note it was surprising to see it was 3 secs quicker than the 675LT.
It will seem like an eternity until the 720 spider is in my price bracket...
Sooooooooo... Just being quicker is better then? In the comments after, apparently the Porsche 'RS' has went about 0.02 quicker...fair enough but that 720 was a standard car on standard tyres....not a track focused limited edition.
Be interesting to see what the LT version brings to the table.
On that note it was surprising to see it was 3 secs quicker than the 675LT.
It will seem like an eternity until the 720 spider is in my price bracket...
My mate has a 720, we all have a good selection of supercars each a different flavour to the next. Make no mistake the 720 IS the real deal, bonkers fast, super comfortable, stunning to look at and its design will (IMO) age really well.
For me personally, out of all the cars across mine and my various mates. It isn't the one I'd pick the keys up to. I'm a N/A engine type and like my poison raw loud and more track focused.
It is however a bloody brilliant car.
AmoCS said:
So the track focussed Pista against the 720S is about the same. 488 v 720S is the comparison and the Pista v the new LT would be interesting. Unfortunately manufacturers don't release their standard road and track derivative at the same time, so a permanent see saw of my car is faster than yours ensues. You can't buy a Pista for £3.50 and a bag of chips either 
AmoCS said:
Despite what the presenter stated, Ollie drove the 720S in Sport mode, not Track mode for powertrain 🤬 Secondly, 720S is on PZero Corsa and Pista is on Michelin Cup 2.
On same tyres, or perhaps if Ollie had just driven the 720S in Track/Track, the 720S would likely have more than made up that small difference.
This seemed as good a thread as any to post this.
Last week I did a solo 2500 mile trip including France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany in a 19 plate 720S. This comprised four roughly 500 mile days interspersed with a couple of non driving days. What follows are some general observations on the suitability of the car for such a trip.
By and large the 720S was a pretty nice place to be. Driving position and major controls near as dammit perfect. Performance ride and handling quite exceptional; I can’t off hand think of an immediate comparable that comes anywhere close. Car has standard electric heated seats and I found them OK but not great and definitely lacking in lateral support. The first day I finished up with back ache but then on the last day after some 750 miles I was fine.
That said and despite a faultless performance dynamically I never really bonded with the car. We did the trip at the same time but not really together.
In my view the peripherals let it down.
Actually, some of these points are not that peripheral. The lights are poor. The range on main beam completely inadequate and not a patch of Porsche PDLS+. I could find no dipped beam adjustment for LH/RH side of the road and the lights definitely cast into the opposing traffic when in Europe. No auto dip is not a big deal but somewhat cheapskate.
Autodiming makes the rear view mirror too dark and I couldn’t find a simple way to disable it.
Cabin environment is only adjustable by touchscreen, a retrograde step from 650S. Wiper sensitivity also only adjustable by touchscreen another retrograde move which means you have to put up with suboptimal visibility while you search through centre touchscreen submenus for wiper controls.
The sat nav is poor and out of date still showing 90kph speed limit in France. The mapping is old and doesn’t recognise existing roads that are in the Michelin 2017. It won’t accept waypoints unless they are co ordinates which you can’t rename so don’t know which is which. I used a Garmin instead which fits neatly between the A pillar and the console.
After that you get into the IT gremlins. Key not found. WTF, the engines running and were driving along the road. Random window drops. Intermittent comfort entry meaning sometimes the only way to get it to work is to get out of the car and lock the door and then unlock, get in and restart the sequence. Engine won’t start despite applying 200lb to the brake pedal. Again the only way is to get out of the car, lock and unlock and then try again. Happened once again trying to exit the Shuttle to the amusement of the kids in the car behind. There are plenty more examples of where too many ill thought out IT interlocks become a source of frustration.
The doors can be a liability at places such as Shuttle check in, hotel underground car parks and similar. It’s prudent to park with a view to ensuring you can get back in the car.
The fuel gauge and estimated range are not reliable, the latter fluctuating wildly. The tank is too small meaning too many stops for fuel, surely 90l is a minimum for such car. Filling is tricky and unless the nozzle is in exactly the right position fuel flow will be interrupted.
And just when the gremlins seem to have won, the road opens up and there are few cars that would live with a 720S on the empty open back roads of France and Germany. Nor on the Autobahn where on the derestricted A96 heading North out of Austria the sophisticated aero and massive punch of the twin turbo delivered a memorable experience.
Susten Pass more wintery than of late
Interesting to see the splatter pattern on the door.
Last week I did a solo 2500 mile trip including France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany in a 19 plate 720S. This comprised four roughly 500 mile days interspersed with a couple of non driving days. What follows are some general observations on the suitability of the car for such a trip.
By and large the 720S was a pretty nice place to be. Driving position and major controls near as dammit perfect. Performance ride and handling quite exceptional; I can’t off hand think of an immediate comparable that comes anywhere close. Car has standard electric heated seats and I found them OK but not great and definitely lacking in lateral support. The first day I finished up with back ache but then on the last day after some 750 miles I was fine.
That said and despite a faultless performance dynamically I never really bonded with the car. We did the trip at the same time but not really together.
In my view the peripherals let it down.
Actually, some of these points are not that peripheral. The lights are poor. The range on main beam completely inadequate and not a patch of Porsche PDLS+. I could find no dipped beam adjustment for LH/RH side of the road and the lights definitely cast into the opposing traffic when in Europe. No auto dip is not a big deal but somewhat cheapskate.
Autodiming makes the rear view mirror too dark and I couldn’t find a simple way to disable it.
Cabin environment is only adjustable by touchscreen, a retrograde step from 650S. Wiper sensitivity also only adjustable by touchscreen another retrograde move which means you have to put up with suboptimal visibility while you search through centre touchscreen submenus for wiper controls.
The sat nav is poor and out of date still showing 90kph speed limit in France. The mapping is old and doesn’t recognise existing roads that are in the Michelin 2017. It won’t accept waypoints unless they are co ordinates which you can’t rename so don’t know which is which. I used a Garmin instead which fits neatly between the A pillar and the console.
After that you get into the IT gremlins. Key not found. WTF, the engines running and were driving along the road. Random window drops. Intermittent comfort entry meaning sometimes the only way to get it to work is to get out of the car and lock the door and then unlock, get in and restart the sequence. Engine won’t start despite applying 200lb to the brake pedal. Again the only way is to get out of the car, lock and unlock and then try again. Happened once again trying to exit the Shuttle to the amusement of the kids in the car behind. There are plenty more examples of where too many ill thought out IT interlocks become a source of frustration.
The doors can be a liability at places such as Shuttle check in, hotel underground car parks and similar. It’s prudent to park with a view to ensuring you can get back in the car.
The fuel gauge and estimated range are not reliable, the latter fluctuating wildly. The tank is too small meaning too many stops for fuel, surely 90l is a minimum for such car. Filling is tricky and unless the nozzle is in exactly the right position fuel flow will be interrupted.
And just when the gremlins seem to have won, the road opens up and there are few cars that would live with a 720S on the empty open back roads of France and Germany. Nor on the Autobahn where on the derestricted A96 heading North out of Austria the sophisticated aero and massive punch of the twin turbo delivered a memorable experience.
Susten Pass more wintery than of late
Interesting to see the splatter pattern on the door.
Edited by lowndes on Monday 7th October 09:51
Edited by lowndes on Monday 7th October 17:48
LotusJas said:
https://youtu.be/2dTVNq2tqko
In summary - it redefines what a Supercar is. Nothing comes close.
Well worth viewing this.
That is an amazing video. I am a little surprised that technology has moved forward so quickly that this is now as fast ?! as a P1. In summary - it redefines what a Supercar is. Nothing comes close.
Well worth viewing this.
lowndes] said:
Actually, some of these points are not that peripheral. The lights are poor. The range on main beam completely inadequate and not a patch of Porsche PDLS+.
]
Weird, I think the main beam lights are incredibly good, certainly the best I have come across including Porsche PDLS+.]
TB993tt said:
lowndes] said:
Actually, some of these points are not that peripheral. The lights are poor. The range on main beam completely inadequate and not a patch of Porsche PDLS+.
]
Weird, I think the main beam lights are incredibly good, certainly the best I have come across including Porsche PDLS+.]
I want mine looked at when it's serviced in December - I think it's pointing too low.
TB993tt said:
lowndes] said:
Actually, some of these points are not that peripheral. The lights are poor. The range on main beam completely inadequate and not a patch of Porsche PDLS+.
]
Weird, I think the main beam lights are incredibly good, certainly the best I have come across including Porsche PDLS+.]
PDLS has developed over the years and for the record my reference points are current 991 TS; 991.2GT3 and MY18 Macan. If your experience is that the 720S lights are better than that generation of PDLS+ then I think I will get McL Brum to check out the lights on my car as they are certainly not up to that standard.
lowndes said:
This seemed as good a thread as any to post this.
Last week I did a solo 2500 mile trip including France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany in a 19 plate 720S. This comprised four roughly 500 mile days interspersed with a couple of non driving days. What follows are some general observations on the suitability of the car for such a trip.
By and large the 720S was a pretty nice place to be. Driving position and major controls near as dammit perfect. Performance ride and handling quite exceptional; I can’t off hand think of an immediate comparable that comes anywhere close. Car has standard electric heated seats and I found them OK but not great and definitely lacking in lateral support. The first day I finished up with back ache but then on the last day after some 750 miles I was fine.
That said and despite a faultless performance dynamically I never really bonded with the car. We did the trip at the same time but not really together.
In my view the peripherals let it down.
Actually, some of these points are not that peripheral. The lights are poor. The range on main beam completely inadequate and not a patch of Porsche PDLS+. I could find no dipped beam adjustment for LH/RH side of the road and the lights definitely cast into the opposing traffic when in Europe. No auto dip is not a big deal but somewhat cheapskate.
Autodiming makes the rear view mirror too dark and I couldn’t find a simple way to disable it.
Cabin environment is only adjustable by touchscreen, a retrograde step from 650S. Wiper sensitivity also only adjustable by touchscreen another retrograde move which means you have to put up with suboptimal visibility while you search through centre touchscreen submenus for wiper controls.
The sat nav is poor and out of date still showing 90kph speed limit in France. The mapping is old and doesn’t recognise existing roads that are in the Michelin 2017. It won’t accept waypoints unless they are co ordinates which you can’t rename so don’t know which is which. I used a Garmin instead which fits neatly between the A pillar and the console.
After that you get into the IT gremlins. Key not found. WTF, the engines running and were driving along the road. Random window drops. Intermittent comfort entry meaning sometimes the only way to get it to work is to get out of the car and lock the door and then unlock, get in and restart the sequence. Engine won’t start despite applying 200lb to the brake pedal. Again the only way is to get out of the car, lock and unlock and then try again. Happened once again trying to exit the Shuttle to the amusement of the kids in the car behind. There are plenty more examples of where too many ill thought out IT interlocks become a source of frustration.
The doors can be a liability at places such as Shuttle check in, hotel underground car parks and similar. It’s prudent to park with a view to ensuring you can get back in the car.
The fuel gauge and estimated range are not reliable, the latter fluctuating wildly. The tank is too small meaning too many stops for fuel, surely 90l is a minimum for such car. Filling is tricky and unless the nozzle is in exactly the right position fuel flow will be interrupted.
And just when the gremlins seem to have won, the road opens up and there are few cars that would live with a 720S on the empty open back roads of France and Germany. Nor on the Autobahn where on the derestricted A96 heading North out of Austria the sophisticated aero and massive punch of the twin turbo delivered a memorable experience.
Susten Pass more wintery than of late
Interesting to see the splatter pattern on the door.
Got the same issue on my 600LT, fuel flow stops till I try 3 times then it keeps going. Think something to do with vapour egress...Last week I did a solo 2500 mile trip including France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany in a 19 plate 720S. This comprised four roughly 500 mile days interspersed with a couple of non driving days. What follows are some general observations on the suitability of the car for such a trip.
By and large the 720S was a pretty nice place to be. Driving position and major controls near as dammit perfect. Performance ride and handling quite exceptional; I can’t off hand think of an immediate comparable that comes anywhere close. Car has standard electric heated seats and I found them OK but not great and definitely lacking in lateral support. The first day I finished up with back ache but then on the last day after some 750 miles I was fine.
That said and despite a faultless performance dynamically I never really bonded with the car. We did the trip at the same time but not really together.
In my view the peripherals let it down.
Actually, some of these points are not that peripheral. The lights are poor. The range on main beam completely inadequate and not a patch of Porsche PDLS+. I could find no dipped beam adjustment for LH/RH side of the road and the lights definitely cast into the opposing traffic when in Europe. No auto dip is not a big deal but somewhat cheapskate.
Autodiming makes the rear view mirror too dark and I couldn’t find a simple way to disable it.
Cabin environment is only adjustable by touchscreen, a retrograde step from 650S. Wiper sensitivity also only adjustable by touchscreen another retrograde move which means you have to put up with suboptimal visibility while you search through centre touchscreen submenus for wiper controls.
The sat nav is poor and out of date still showing 90kph speed limit in France. The mapping is old and doesn’t recognise existing roads that are in the Michelin 2017. It won’t accept waypoints unless they are co ordinates which you can’t rename so don’t know which is which. I used a Garmin instead which fits neatly between the A pillar and the console.
After that you get into the IT gremlins. Key not found. WTF, the engines running and were driving along the road. Random window drops. Intermittent comfort entry meaning sometimes the only way to get it to work is to get out of the car and lock the door and then unlock, get in and restart the sequence. Engine won’t start despite applying 200lb to the brake pedal. Again the only way is to get out of the car, lock and unlock and then try again. Happened once again trying to exit the Shuttle to the amusement of the kids in the car behind. There are plenty more examples of where too many ill thought out IT interlocks become a source of frustration.
The doors can be a liability at places such as Shuttle check in, hotel underground car parks and similar. It’s prudent to park with a view to ensuring you can get back in the car.
The fuel gauge and estimated range are not reliable, the latter fluctuating wildly. The tank is too small meaning too many stops for fuel, surely 90l is a minimum for such car. Filling is tricky and unless the nozzle is in exactly the right position fuel flow will be interrupted.
And just when the gremlins seem to have won, the road opens up and there are few cars that would live with a 720S on the empty open back roads of France and Germany. Nor on the Autobahn where on the derestricted A96 heading North out of Austria the sophisticated aero and massive punch of the twin turbo delivered a memorable experience.
Susten Pass more wintery than of late
Interesting to see the splatter pattern on the door.
Edited by lowndes on Monday 7th October 09:51
Edited by lowndes on Monday 7th October 17:48
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