Porsche 918 Spyder driven: Chris Harris Video
The Porsche 918 Spyder driven on camera by Chris Harris - yes, for real!
Which is kind of crazy for a car that has a claimed 887hp from its hybrid powertrain.
Hugely impressive but already outclassed?
But should a supercar be judged on its numbers alone? I just don't know the answer to that. Like much else about the 918 and the class of cars into which it will tumble later this year, I know very little and am quite confused. But I have now driven the 918, albeit very briefly.
The fully hybrid 918 is quite a different car to its supposed rivals, but not enough to justify Porsche's insistence that it isn't a rival at all. That's cobblers. People in this area of the marketplace will be choosing between all three. And some will indeed take all three.
We went to Leipzig, home of the Cayenne and Panamera, for a brief technical presentation and then a fairly chaotic rugby scrum to get a squirted three laps on the small test track that backs onto the factory. Fair play to Porsche for letting us have a go behind the wheel so early? Or a big sales push to reach those proposed 918 sales? I'll leave you to decide that.
Fabulous steering, even with all the electronics
Pulling away silently in electric mode will be one of the 918's best tricks, and it feels eerily smooth from behind the wheel. But it will need to be a trick that depositors crave because the vast weight of the battery packs and motors create a kerb weight of 1,640kg and only allow 19 miles of electric-only drive, with a maximum of 94mph.
How the car feels is mostly covered in the video (it's a bit rough as you can imagine), but there's much I didn't manage to talk about. Like the steering, which I thought was exceptional and uncorrupted by the torque of the electric motors under full power. And the rear-wheel steering which works imperceptibly but aids a sense of agility completely at odds with the claimed kerb weight.
The hybrid powertrain is very cleverly managed. You don't feel the front axle electric power but the sensation of being dragged from slow turns is impressive. In fact so capable is the car that project leader Frank Walliser insists that a 918 with no batteries (the mythical one I harp on about) would post slower lap times than this car despite weighing significantly less, simply because it wouldn't have the same traction or the clever torque vectoring chassis.
However, the key question remains one of perception. Does being so much slower than its supposed rivals damage the 918's reputation before the contest has begun? It can't help, can it? And much as I admired what the engineers have achieved with the building bricks it was given, the KERS systems on the P1 and LaFerrari does seem to be a better solution - although we need to drive them to make sure. So, to extend the metaphor, was Porsche using the correct set of bricks in the first place?
Faster with hybrid tech than without, it's claimed
Right now, I don't know what to think. Maybe the McLaren and Ferrari will prove too insane for public roads? Maybe the 918 will be more measured and therefore more pleasant? Maybe the whole game is slightly out of control?
Maybe we've never had it this good, this exciting and with this much aggro?
The convenience of being able to commute and make short trips on electric-only power seems attractive in many sectors, but not this one. If you want the performance you still have to burn the petrol so it's all a bit cynical.
We'll obviously have to wait and see, but for me Porsche might just have got it wrong with this, particularly relative to McLaren/Ferrari.
Great that you had Walter Röhrl to do the installation laps, too.. I presume that was him in the 918 as the credits roll at the end?
When the journo's finally get these new cars into the real world i think they will be blown away by the sheer usability of them. Cruise quietly in 'lecy mode through the mean streets of the big smoke, then let rip up the M40 and into north wales in the same car. In all these cars the symbiotic capabilites of the hybrid systems are being realised, whether to sharped downshifts, fill in boost threshold/turbo lag torque dips or dynamically vector torque in near real time to maximise chassis stability and tyre adhesion.
Two questions are however not answerable imo;
One: does a capable car equal a boreing car?
&
Two: is a P1 > LaFerrari > 918?
The King is dead, long live the King !
;-)
I see these hypercars as test beds for new tech that will find its way into all cars, albeit with much lower levels of performance.
These hypercars are using torque vectoring and hybrid drivetrains to increase grip, increase acceleration through a slug of assisted electric torque and to generally increase performance levels massively. 0-100 in a few seconds is staggering performance.
These cars are probably even more unusable in their performance than the current generation cars.
The acceleration between corners will mean that entry speeds into bends are going to be way higher, and the torque from the electric motors will mean that exit from corners will be rapid too. Throw in electronic driver aids mid-corner, and speeds are going to get very silly indeed unless people have some self discipline.
I would wager that more than a few of these cars will have massive shunts in the real world when they find their way into owners hands. A lack of talent, lack of caution and the laws of physics are going to bring down some harsh realities IMO.
Great video. You look healthier now Chris, just stay away from the stodgy food and beer! And your expertise warrants the wearing of a smart looking polo shirt now, ditch the tees.
Great video. You look healthier now Chris, just stay away from the stodgy food and beer! And your expertise warrants the wearing of a smart looking polo shirt now, ditch the tees.
As an aside = This is PH, not Men's Health. Maybe save the sartorial advice for another time eh?
Can't wait for Evo's LF vs P1 vs Huayra vs 918 Spyder article some months down the line
Just not getting turned on by these hyper beasts... Still want that Carrera GT and Zonda F.
I only have two requests. One, if honda can put a proper manual in the CRZ is it possible to do the same here? Two, if so, can I please have the money to buy one. My pick of the three, just as I would have an XJ220 over an F1.
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