So my running-in period is now completed. We hit the magic 2,000 miles yesterday, just after leaving Honfleur to catch the Eurotunnel, home. We counted the last miles down 1,998 then 1,999 and then finally 2,000. Our friends joined in via the walkie-talkie system we have been using to keep close contact, as they were travelling directly behind us.
We have returned home with 2,262 miles on the clock. Started at 431 miles so the run-in tour was 1,831 miles in total, over ten days (of which seven were travel days). I have not ever used France before for this exercise but certainly can recommend it, to get the miles out the way with easy driving (France quiet at this time of year) on good roads.
I have been using an old friend as our guide on this tour (Travellers France circa 1980) I bought in the early 1980s when I first went to Le Mans as handy guide of where to sight see.
We stopped in Cognac for lunch the other day en-route to Billiers and noted the history of the famous spirit. Apparently, Brandy was invented when Cognac and the area decided that the wine they sent to England and Holland should be distilled; officially, this was to protect the wine in travelling; the real reason was to save increasing freight charges ( instant wine - just add water). The Dutch called it Brandewijn (Burnt Wine), hence Brandy.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the GTS for me, is the manual gearbox as I have seen very little on this aspect, as most of the focus has been on the flappy paddles versions. As I have already written this is a huge improvement over that in my old 991.1 Targa 4 S.
It really is a superb piece of engineering.
For example, the change out of 6th. The default change with the spring loading is straight to 3rd. With a very gentle right hand input it flies straight to 5th.
It really makes for fun moving around 5th to 4th back to 6th down to 3rd.
Given the amount of comments on the B4 engine I shall add in my pennies worth on subject of the noise from the 718’s turbo charged engine. Or actually how quiet and it’s so smooth. Given it’s basically the same engine detuned from the 919, so it certainly has a proven racing heritage.
I remember the first time I saw the Audi R8 at Le Mans in 2000 in the LMP1 class. They were very quiet except for the whistle they made as they drove the track, due to the advanced aero. By the time of the diesel cars some 6 years later, the R10 TDI this quietness, was even more noticeable. At the end of the day it’s speed that’s important, it’s not about the noise. I can still hear a Panoz from the the same era. In golfing terms you drive for show and putt for dough.
The GTS fits this formula well. It’s fast, nimble and steers beautifully. The middle engine layout has once again has proven itself.
Now that the GTS has been run-in, I have been able to finally explore the higher rev ranges over 4K and the torque and pull are really impressive. Can’t wait for my annual Le Mans run in 6 weeks time.
We have the speed limit notification fitted on the car. A first for me yesterday, when in the kilometre per hour operating mode seeing the 130/110 limit (the left hand number is slightly bigger than the right hand) limit switch in real time as we went through rain and out again. Clever stuff.
If you are interested, go to
https://www.tophairpin.com/blog
you will find a Blog on the Six hotels we stayed at and how we rated the Relais & Chateaux’s we stayed at. The last one in Honfleur was a total surprise. Amazing history as Monet stayed at it and even painted the old farmhouse in the late 1860’s. Top notch hotel very popular with the Parisians and other Europeans nearby. The Spa has photos of famous guests. Sting was right at the top.
At our final venue in Honfleur the first car we saw in the car park was a french plated DB11. I guessed £180k as the cost, which it would be by the time you spec this car properly from the basic £157k. 0-60 was 3.9 secs. A time very marginally quicker than the GTS.
A quick look on Autotrader and I see you can pick up now, for the low £100k’s. Gosh that’s McLaren level of depreciation and it’s not even a soft top. Volante’s can be found at around £130k.
I must lastly, mention an Italian biker called Chris, that we spoke to yesterday, at a fuel stop near to Abbeville. He was en-route to Helsinki on his Yamaha. He started his journey, near to Maranello. Then over to Narbonne (a great spot on the Med) then into Spain and then over to Portugal then up into France again via Spain. Snow near Bilbao, then up Nantes. He saw us a couple of days ago at another fuel stop near Nantes. He is now on his way up into Denmark then over to Oslo and then Stockholm and then finally Helsinki.....we wish him well on such a mammoth tour on a bike. He was a tad cold yesterday so he had stopped to put on another layer.....now that’s what I call a proper Grand Tour.
Some of the pictures taken along the way as promised now I have access to my pc.
