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At this exact moment, deep in the loins of a Stuttgart factory, some Porsche engineers are sharpening their scalpels: the 918 Spyder is now available to order.
The show-stopping concept car which delivered a haymaker to the world's preconceived hybrid ideas will commence production on September 18, 2013. To ensure its exclusivity, just 918 models will be produced, with first customer deliveries expected in November that year.
See the first sketches of the 918 Spyder and limited edition 911 Turbo S
Porsche tells us the production version will be based on a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic monocoque with removable roof panels, while underneath that beautiful body lies the dolphin-friendly tech of Porsche's future.
A high-revving 4.0-litre 500bhp V8 will partner two electric motors - one each on the front and rear axles - offering a total of 218bhp, with a seven-speed PDK box administering the green horsepower effectively.
And it will be mighty effective. Porsche reckons the plug-in hybrid 918 will hit 62mph from rest in 3.2 seconds, top out at over 199mph and will lap the 'Ring in seven minutes and 30 seconds - 2 seconds faster than the Carrera GT. Using just electricity, it'll top out at 94mph, in silence, probably.
Here's the astonishing part: 94mpg and 70g/km of CO2. The future tastes fruity...
A lithium-ion liquid-cooled battery will power the electric motors, and charged from a regular plug will offer an all-electric range of 16 miles. Charge time is around three hours, or the first act of a Bollywood film.
Should your burning desire for everything 918 Spyder exceed the brain cells responsible for ‘reason', Porsche is offering Spyder customers the exclusive opportunity to purchase a limited edition 911 Turbo S ‘918 Spyder edition'. Basically a Turbo with acid green trimmings and some badges, limited to 918 models.
And now, friends, the difficult part. Prices for the 918 Spyder start from £565,000, plus VAT - pushing total price to an eye-watering £678,000. Makes the £125,865 918-badged 911 Turbo S look a bargain.
Your thoughts, TopGear.commers?
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Freijan commented on this article
at 09:08 am on 21 March 2011
what a car and what a price.
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Lamborgboy commented on this article
at 10:02 am on 21 March 2011
WOW bit expensive though
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BethK commented on this article
at 10:05 am on 21 March 2011
Looks really mega, best looking Porsche for a while methinks. Just one thing; "94mpg and 70g/km of CO2"?? I'm presuming that efficiency is only valid whilst one is using up the "16 miles worth" of energy available in the batteries via the electric motors? Seriously, full marks for a company with the wealth of engineering capacity such as Porsche to delve into the realm of green power, but the claimed efficiency is a good headline grabber only methinks . . >>>>>>>>>
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BethK commented on this article
at 10:06 am on 21 March 2011
. . a range of 16 miles is only useful for nippping to the corner shop for a pack of boiled ham for work sarnies, at best! I'd like to see a broad emissions test over real-life examples, but more importantly, [*sigh*] I hope we see the development of a valid 'quick charging' fuel cell device that can store the capacity of energy to be able to use the immense efficiency of the induction motor, for real, in a supercar environment, then we'd see some real supercar performance
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AshHorne commented on this article
at 10:21 am on 21 March 2011
So the car that promised to slay the Carrera GT in every way... is much less powerful, and in my opinion not quite as pretty. Still, at least it's green. And it's all well and good saying it's quicker round the nurburgring than the old car; it's only slightly quicker and people in the real world couldn't give a rat's.. errr, tail. Mind, people in the real world don't have £600k knocking about either...
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