Report: Porsche moving forward with 918 Spyder build plans

By Mark Kleis - Posted March 10th 2010

Porsche unveiled a 718 horsepower topless hybrid supercar concept at the Geneva Motor Show to an extremely receptive crowd, becoming the most surprising and most talked about car of the show. Porsche now says it is looking for letters of intent from possible buyers to determine if the car has production potential.

Auto shows are infamous for showing off wild and extreme concepts vehicles that spike interest from consumers, but never had a chance of reaching production regardless of reception. The Porsche 918 Spyder’s combination of outrageous performance numbers, advanced hybrid technology, and very unconventional Porsche styling seem to make the case for the 918 being nothing more than a concept car – but Porsche says they have other intentions.

Based on a recent interview between Porsche CEO Michael Macht and Autocar, Porsche has every intention of building the 918 Spyder – as long as they can build a business case first.

“There is no one inside Porsche who doesn’t want to build the 918,” said Macht. “The response has been marvelous; we will ask buyers to sign letters of intent.”

Although the 918 Spyder concept car shown at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show was miraculously created in only five months, buyers will reportedly wait closer to five years, according to company insiders estimating time to get the car to production. The 918 Spyder combines a 500 hp V8 with three electric motors that total 218 hp, for a grand total of 718 hp. Despite the incredible power numbers, Porsche claims this car is capable of 78.4 mpg on the U.S. cycle, and a zero-to-62 time of just 3.2 seconds.

“The 918 Spyder provides the answer to whether there can be high-performance cars in the future,” he added. “Many have said they are finished. This car shows they are not.”

References
1. ‘Porsche ‘will build 918′…’ view