The Porsche 918 Spyder has been revealed in final production form at the Frankfurt Motor Show today and is due to go into production next Tuesday.
Although Porsche has yet to reveal any pricing and specification details for the 918 Spyder, a starting price of €781,550 (£660,300) is reportedly on the cards for the standard car. The car can also be specified with an optional Weissach Pack which raises the price to €853,155 (£720,795).
Just 918 examples of the 918 Spyder will be built, all of which will be left-hand drive. Porsche claims that around half of the cars scheduled for production have already been sold.
The 918 Spyder is the spiritual successor to the legendary Carrera GT; however, unlike its predecessor, the 918 gets an innovative new hybrid powertrain. This means that not only will the 918 deliver performance figures to rival its two key competitors, the LaFerrari and the McLaren P1, but it will also deliver some fairly astonishing economy figures. After all, who wants to spend a fortune on petrol when you've just forked out £660k for a car?
Underneath the bodywork, the 918 Spyder is fitted with a mid-mounted 4.6-litre V8 engine which develops 559bhp. The engine is mated to two electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear, which develop a combined 282bhp, bringing the 918's total power output to 875bhp.
This makes the 918 Spyder the most powerful Porsche ever made.
The power for the electric motors comes from 6.8kWh lithium ion battery which can be recharged within four hours using Porsche's universal charger or just 25 minutes using a speed charging station.
Drivers will also have the choice of five different modes for the hybrid powertrain: E-power, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid, Rave Hybrid and Hot Lap. In E-power mode, the 918 runs on its batteries only, with zero emissions and a range of 20 miles. Hybrid mode brings the engine into play when needed but still with a view to maximising fuel efficiency. Switching to Sport Hybrid turns the petrol engine on constantly, while Race Hybrid is similar to the sport mode on most road cars, with sharpened throttle response and quicker gearshifts. Hot Lap mode uses all of the available energy in the batteries to help the driver record a blistering lap time.
The 918 Spyder is based upon a carbon-fibre monocoque and features carbon-fibre panels and a chassis crafted from an exotic blend of aluminium, magnesium and titanium. The lightweight construction means that the Spyder weighs just 1634kg despite the complicated and weighty battery technology.
The Weissach Package
Buyers of the 918 Spyder can opt to fit what Porsche calls the Weissach package which adds £60k to the list price. For this you get magnesium wheels, a six-point race harness, a range of special colours, an optional film coating for the bodywork instead of a traditional paint finish and a number of aerodynamic improvements.
With the Weissach package, the 918 Spyder will get from 0-62mph in just 2.8 seconds and reach 214mph flat out.
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