Latest news with #drivingexperience
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Taking Porsche's new Toronto-area driver's playground for a test-drive
Speed demons and Porsche fans rejoice: the company is opening a sprawling automotive playground just east of Toronto where drivers can go wild without fear of seeing cops in the rearview mirror. Porsche Experience Centre (PEC) Toronto, the brand's 10th such centre in the world and first in Canada, will open its doors on June 18. When it does, drivers who feel the need (the need for speed) will be able to sample the company's wares, putting pedal to metal, burning rubber and drifting around on a series of purpose-built tracks, for a fee. Prices range from $140 for demo laps riding shotgun with a professional driver behind the wheel – an experience not for the faint of stomach – to 90-minute test-drives in the latest Porsche models. Prices for the latter start at $850 for the Macan SUV and climb up to $1,700 for a turn behind the wheel of the Holy-Grail 911 GT3. Alternatively, if you purchase certain Porsche models – the 911 sports car range starts at an eye-watering $160,000 – the company is kind enough to throw in a 90-minute Experience Centre session for free. While it may seem ludicrous, Porsche is charging money for test-drives – which, yes are typically free at your local dealership – bear in mind your dealership doesn't have a two-kilometre handling track that mimics famous circuits including California's Laguna Seca and Germany's Nürburgring, nor does your dealership have a drag strip or (my personal favourite) a low-grip handling track that mimics the feel of driving on ice. There's also a cadre of professional instructors who offer driving tips and help you help Porsche by keeping its cars from becoming too cozy with the guardrails. Ahead of the official opening, Porsche invited a small group of reporters and social media influencers to experience the Porsche Experience. The main building is suitably posh, albeit situated in an industrial part of Pickering, Ont. The coffee is excellent, the cars are fast and the driving instructors are very, very brave to ride shotgun with everybody. The main circuit is a thrilling rollercoaster ride and so narrow it makes overtaking on Monaco's Formula One street circuit look easy. Porsche, however, rightly points out this is not technically a racetrack. There should be no non-consensual overtaking. Winning is bringing the car back in one piece with a silly grin on your face. The whole place is like Disneyland for drivers. And, like Disneyland, Porsche's playground is meant to instill a love of the brand and sell some merchandize; not Mickey Mouse hats – although Porsche does sell hats if you want them – but expensive sports cars and luxury SUVs. Trevor Arthur, chief executive officer of Porsche Cars Canada, said the company's investment in the Experience Centre isn't just about fostering existing customer relationships, but introducing new people to the brand and seeing their smiles as they come out of the cars. 'We want to spark that dream [of Porsche ownership] right now and foster it for years to come,' he told me on a visit to the Centre in late May. For dreamers not yet old enough to drive, there's a 'Sim Lab,' a room filled with high-end racing simulators. The Experience Centre is intended to be a family-friendly space, Arthur said. If you want to hold your wedding here, they can do that too, he added. Arthur wouldn't say how many additional sales PEC Toronto will drive; emphasizing that this is a long-term play. 'It's hard to monetize it specifically, but it does have a business case,' Arthur said. 'And, I think with our intentions and plans to fill this up with corporate bookings, with retail bookings, with special events, I think over all it's a win.' Clearly Porsche's executives in Germany think so too. Since the first Experience Centre opened in England in 2008, the company has opened nine more around the world. The 11th is set to open in Singapore in 2027. Ten years ago it might have been a little harder to justify one in Toronto, but the time is right, Arthur said. Canada now ranks as a major luxury car market and a top-10 market globally for Porsche. 'Yes, it's a significant investment into the market,' Arthur said of PEC. 'But I think you have to look back historically. If you take a look at our travel experiences, our ice experiences, our track experiences, I think that's really what justifies the need for this.' The Ice Experience pop-up every winter in Quebec is consistently sold out, he said. Personally, after spending 45 minutes flinging a $200,000 Porsche 911 GTS around the handling circuit and low-grip track in a manner that would've landed me in prison (and rightly so) had I done it on regular roads, my own need for speed has been satiated, for now. Spending $1,200 to drive a 911 like some Ken Block wannabe for 90 minutes at a time might actually be a better financial decision than selling an organ or two to own a $200,000 Porsche 911 and pay for gas, tires, insurance and maintenance. Besides, even if you own one, you can't have this much fun in a sports car on the road, not even close. The Porsche Experience Centre may have cured not only my need for speed, but also my need to own a sports car. Oops.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Test-Driving The 2025 McLaren Artura Spider
There are two phases to test driving a supercar. The first is the anticipation of its arrival - knowing you're going to make a giant leap from ordinary, functional vehicles to 'the Mighty Mac'as the Artura became known before and during its 3-day weekend test, and feeling that delicious excitement as the great day approaches. 2025 Artura The Artura arrives, it is of course gorgeous, it is pristine - and it is purple. I've had yellow, red, orange and blue, never purple, lantana purple to be exact. (Not shown.) For the first day, you are extra paranoid, as well you should be. It almost makes you ill, how concerned and focused you have to be. When you've over the novelty, the excitement and the looks you get, then the second phase arrives and you can just drive - and there, my friends, is the sweet spot. The looks of the Artura are classic, ultra-fine and stylish, naturally, but it is in the drive where the spirit comes into play. Let's take a look. 2025 Artura *The McLaren Artura features a mid-engine layout built on a lightweight carbon fiber chassis, distinguishing it from traditional grand tourers. *Its engine is a 3.0L twin-turbocharged V6 with a plug-in hybrid system. *Horsepower is 690 hp, torque is 531 lb-ft, and it's mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic. *0-60 is accomplished in about 3 seconds and top speed is 205 MPG. *Pricing starts at $273,800. With all options, it's $310, 308. The nice man who brought me the car asked that I not go 205 MPH, and I didn't. Fuel economy is a not-bad 19 MPG combined, 45 MPH when considering the electric range. You can go up to 21 miles on electric-only. It offers multiple drive modes: Electric, Comfort, Sport, and Track. 2025 McLaren It's minimal, and luxurious. There's a digital gauge cluster mounted on the steering column and slim carbon-fiber-backed sport seats wrapped in leather. (Alcantra.) The flat-bottom steering wheel fits well in the hands and an 8-inch touchscreen runs an underwhelming infotainment system that lags behind the car's high-tech pedigree. One of my passengers was tall and extra-large and took some assistance getting in and out, but the deed was accomplished and off we went, so you don't have to necessarily be a svelte human to enjoy the Artura. 2025 Artura Badge The Artura is available as both a coupe and my tester, the Spider or convertible. The top comes up or down in 11 seconds up to 31 MPH via 8 electric motors, but I didn't chance it - I pulled over to raise or lower the roof. There is a button to push to raise or lower the suspension for when you meet speed bumps or other hazards to the underside of your front bumper. One must remember to use it not only when you are going over something, but often when you're simply pointed downhill. It was something of a bother to have to remember, but hearing silence - as opposed to a stomach-dropping scrape - when one drove over an obstacle was worth it. When you start 'er up, it's automatically in electric mode - so no setting off car alarms or scattering birds. You must smash the brake pedal - as in 'all your might' to start the vehicle. At red lights, you also need to apply considerable pressure to the brake lest the car lurch forward. That got old quickly. 2025 Artura Badge Once you're out in the open, free of traffic and photo-takers, it's a sublime pleasure of scent, sight and feel. Eventually your foot, hands and body are all in tune with the car. Put it into 'Track' and there it is, all the ferocity, all the noise you love, the grumble. It is not the GT - it is not Godzilla. But by the end of the test, that didn't matter. The pleasure is in the drive. It's also best done at night for the full experience, and it's as much a thrill to drive slowly as it is to smash the pedal. You and your passengers, top down, agree that it's a most pleasant experience - and isn't that what everyone wants, after all? Since I didn't take the vehicle on a track, my experience was almost entirely as the 'daily driver,' and cruises to nowhere, with no launch control. But when you barge around town on your errands, you don't wish you had taken the Accord. You also don't feel like you want to do 200 MPH - it's not one of those vehicles that dares you to speed - but it's nice to know you could do it if you needed to. The McLaren Artura is equipped with all the top safety features including Lane Departure Warning, Road Sign Recognition, Available Blindspot Monitoring and Cross-Traffic Detection and more. 2025 McLaren Artura *The 3.0-liter V6 gets a 19-horsepower bump to 690 hp - an upgrade available for existing coupes - while the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission now shifts 25 percent quicker and the active suspension responds to driver input or changing road surfaces 90 percent faster thanks to improved electrical architecture. *The 7.4 kWh battery pack's all-electric range has improved from 11 to 21 miles and the new drivetrain mounts reduce engine movement during aggressive maneuvers to boost the Artura's stability and confidence. A new 'spinning wheel pull-away' setting in the launch control system adds maximum drama to acceleration if and when you need it, cowboy. Conclusion: The Artura is a thoroughly darling little monster, and worth its purple price.
