While Porsche ’s 918 Spyder exotic high-performance hybrid was stateside for the festivities at Pebble Beach, Porsche decided to let Jay Leno have a few minutes with the car and its head designer.
While Jay didn’t get the liberty of driving the 918 – yet – he did get to ask some questions from the man in charge of developing the car, giving some insight into some of the subtleties and significances behind its creation. Of course, Leno also managed to talk them into giving the car a healthy dose of throttle and revving the engine, showing off the Porsche ’s deep and throaty…yet still very Porsche-like exhaust note.
Jay Leno’s Garage – Porsche 918 Spyder
The next video discusses the importance of the car to the brand, and shows some simply beautiful footage of the car with a great musical background. In fact, Michael Mauer, Porsche design chief, goes as far as to say that the 918 symbolizes that the Porsche brand as a whole even has a future as it is an answer to the “environmental discussion.”
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After realizing how strong the support was for the 918 Spyder following its debut as a concept car, Porsche said that it would take the hybrid into production if the automaker could obtain 1,000 letters of intent – at an astonishing $600,000 per car. Leftlane reported in late April that Porsche had topped 900 letters of intent, giving the automaker enough confidence to begin moving forward with production despite being short of the goal at the time.
“I’m confident that we will soon reach the threshold of 1,000,” Wolfgang Duerheimer, Porsche chief said in an interview with the media. “We need 1,000 seriously interested people to make a sound business case.”
Now Porsche has announced that it has reached its 1,000 unit goal, cementing the future of the 918 Spyder Hybrid as a production vehicle. Porsche says this truly exotic high-performance hybrid will be produced at its facility in Zuffenhausen, outside of Stuttgart.
Two sources familiar with the Spyder have told Bloomberg that the Carrera GT’s replacement will be priced at $630,000.
The plug-in hybrid combines a V8 power unit delivering more than 500 hp and three electric motors with a combined electric output 160 kW (218 hp), boasting overall output of 718 hp. Fuel efficiency is said to be 78.4 U.S. mpg, making this the fastest and greenest Porsche ever created.
The sprint to 62 mph is said to take just 3.2 seconds, and a top speed of 198 mph is sure to be ample for Autobahn cruising. Porsche says the car will lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under 7:30 – besting the Carrera GT.
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Power from the V8 is transmitted to the rear wheels via a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch gearbox. Power from the electric motors is controlled by computer and sent directly to the front wheels.
There are several drive modes, offering different levels of performance and efficiency. E-Drive minimizes fuel consumption by using the batteries to power the car for up to 16 miles. Hybrid mode uses both electric and gas power for a blend of efficiency and longer range. Sport Hybrid adds Torque Vectoring for more performance-oriented driving. And, lastly, Race Hybrid maximizes both gas and electric output, without regard for efficiency.
References
1.’Porsche may price 918…’ view
2.’Porsche to make 918 Spyder…’ view
