New car news

21 September 2012 - 10:00

Porsche’s 918 laps the ‘Ring in 7:14

We heard that Porsche were lapping Germany's financially unstable race track a couple of months ago, and now we know the fruits of their labor: 7 minutes, 14 seconds.

Equipped with street-legal tyres and the optional Weissach Package (which is believed to include front canards, six-point harnesses, a bit more lightness and various other deleted bits) the 784bhp hybrid hypercar lapped James' favourite test track as fast as a Nürburgring Edition Lexus LFA. But compared to its predecessor, the Carrera GT, which lapped the track in 2004, it's 18 seconds quicker. Which is a lot. And a monster step in the right direction.

We haven't seen any footage yet, but when we do we'll update the story.

So dot commers, are hybrid hypercars the way forward?