Elite Traveler January-February 2018

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PORSCHE PROXIES Want a Porsche as an anywhere vehicle without the hassle of actually owning it? Load a couple of surfboards on the roof of a Cayenne and hit the beach. Slip into a 911 and head out for a Friday night on the town. Dreading Monday morning traffic? Ease the pain by commuting in a Panamera. Porsche believes there’s a perfect vehicle for every occasion; hence the launch of Passport, its app-based subscription service. Providing entrée into a more flexible ownership option, Porsche is looking to attract both brand loyalists (those who want the supercar but own the SUV) as well as younger, technologically savvy first-time buyers who just aren’t sold on a particular model. Although the program’s pilot launch is taking place in Atlanta, it has the potential to disrupt both the luxury-car dealer and rental industries. Passport users can opt for either the Launch or Accelerate program. The former offers eight model variants, including the 718 Boxster, Cayman S and Macan S, while the latter offers 22 models, including the 911 Carrera S, Panamera 4S, Macan GTS, Cayenne S E-Hybrid and the vehicles in the Launch package. Registration, insurance and maintenance costs are covered, though subscribers will be responsible for fuel. Users can swap for as many different models as desired during the month, meaning it’s possible (and encouraged) to drive nearly the entire fleet of Porsche automobiles. Launch, with access to eight models, is $2,000 per month. Accelerate, with up to 22models, is $3,000 per month. Both have a one-time $500 activation fee. porschepassport.com

The luxurious interior of McLaren’s 720S

Street Predator

Inspired by the lines of the great white shark, the McLaren 720S devours road and track with power and design

Drown out the purrs and the pop-pops of the garden-variety supercar and focus on the understated quivers of the McLaren 720S. A racing-derived supercar born from a legacy of track dominance, McLaren’s 720S feels not only manageable at both high and low speeds, but luxurious and purposeful. The teardrop-shaped cabin allows for the glass canopy to flood the interior with light, but it wouldn’t be a McLaren without a bit of dramatic flair. That arrives in the form of the twin-hinged dihedral doors that sweep forward and up, as well as a pair of eye sockets that serve as air intakes for the vehicle’s low-temperature radiators. They sit just below the headlights, creating an optical illusion of Beetlejuice ogles, wide-eyed and looking for trouble. And with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo and

710-horsepower V8 engine capable of hitting 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, what else would you be looking for? As the second generation of McLaren’s Super Series, the 720S subscribes to the new Proactive Chassis Control II system. Rather than anti-roll bars and traditional dampers, McLaren has substituted a set of interconnected hydraulic dampers. Chassis settings adjust and self-modify every two milliseconds thanks to algorithms developed with Cambridge University and a dozen sensors around the car that feed it information. The result is not just a car that feels like it could quite possibly drive itself, but one that may be able to predict the future. And that’s a very appealing proposition, whether on urban or suburban roads. From $285,000, cars.mclaren.com

Words Alexandra Cheney