Customer brochure reveals all on Porsche hybrid supercar
Hot on the heels of the first official McLaren P1 images, leaked details have now emerged of its Stuttgart rival, the Porsche 918 Spyder.
Sourced from a customer brochure, the information makes for fascinating reading. The hybrid powertrain makes a total of 800hp, with the 4.6-litre V8 combustion engine providing 580hp at 9,000rpm. The combined torque output is 627lb ft, produced at 2,500rpm, with 516lb ft available up to 7,000rpm.
580hp and 94mpg, not at the same time
As you would expect, this power produces some phenomenal acceleration figures. The claimed 0-62mph time is three seconds, and Porsche is stating a 0-200km/h (0-124mph) of eight seconds. For reference, the Carrera GT, predecessor to the 918 Spyder, takes 10.7 seconds for the same test.
The cherry on top of this (very appealing) cake is a combined fuel consumption figure of 94mpg. No, that figure doesn't need a decimal point. It appears the combustion engine is not used for the majority of testing, contributing to such an amazing figure. Though matching 94mpg in real-world driving may be difficult, it certainly augurs fantastically for a raft of more efficient supercars.
The downside? All the hybrid gubbins do add weight. The kerb weight of the 918 Spyder is 1,660kg. The Carrera GT weighed 1,380kg. Moreover, the McLaren P1 and Ferrari Enzo successor will be significantly lighter.
A vista of maximum satisfaction
The options list of the 918 Spyder is, as you would expect of Porsche, full of suitably lavish extras. Not only can you have a Martini wrap applied to your 918, a 10 layer Liquid Metal Grey or Blue can be applied for a cost of 50,000 Euros. A 'Weissach Package', which reduces the kerb weight by 35kg through deleting the air conditioning and some interior trim, will also be available.
Of course, looks are subjective, but both the inside and outside of the 918 Spyder look fantastic to these eyes. The front headlights look a little glum but from the rear ¾ it seems a great design. The current Porsche interior layout, with a prominent centre stack, is carried over to the 918 but with what appears to be a touchscreen.
Not sure what I make of mixing this technology. If you want something really efficient surely you wouldn't buy one of these to begin with? Conversely if you want performance do you want something laden down with this extra tech for supposed extra efficiency?
I do get that it makes sense in this day and age to have some of both (eg a Boxster with a 7th gear overdrive and coast feature that can both be locked out when you don't want them) but I'm not sure about the mix that the 918 provides. Does look good though
Absolutely love the look of this car (inside & out)..... makes the McL P1 look overstyled and fussy.
The hybrid powertrain is clever, although I'd prefer a lower weight petrol only version (which obviously would need a bit of a power hike to keep up with the competition).
Cars like this, which poke the outdated governmental fuel economy / emissions tests in the eye with a big stick, will hopefully bring a bit of a change to the silly regs we have now.... maybe!
Anyway, great looking car now let's see Monkey give one a bit of a shoeing
Impressive looking car and a lot of clever stuff going on with the hybrid system. But a lighter car without all hybrid stuff and a 800 bhp v10 or v12 would be even better.
usualy I'd be a bit worried about a hybrid supercar, but since it's Porsche, when it goes into sale we all will love it, praise its technology and wonder 'why the hell havent anyone thought of that earlier?'
Also, in their research, Top Gear proved the (petrol) M3 actually returned better mpg than the (hybrid) Prius.
gl20 said:
Not sure what I make of mixing this technology. If you want something really efficient surely you wouldn't buy one of these to begin with? Conversely if you want performance do you want something laden down with this extra tech for supposed extra efficiency?
I do get that it makes sense in this day and age to have some of both (eg a Boxster with a 7th gear overdrive and coast feature that can both be locked out when you don't want them) but I'm not sure about the mix that the 918 provides. Does look good though
Well, a lot of this being a "hypercar", means they can go all out, often show us a glimpse of things to come, a testbed of some sort if you want.
As you stated, in this day and age, mpg and co² are seemingly all-important. Even if I had the dosh to spend on a car like this (what will it be, about 400k?), I don't want to give it to the government. For example, having a Panamera Turbo would cost me here (Belgium) about 6k €/year, a Panamera Diesel would be 2k €/year. Now if I could have the Turbo with the diesel co³
Of course, the co² system is faulty, as all manufacturers prove that by just tuning their cars to the results of the test, and it even shows more in hybrids like this one, but if it can save me from giving all of my hard-earned cash to the state,...
