Autocar: Porsche 918 Spyder will be made

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Porsche has confirmed that its 918 Spyder hybrid supercar concept will be put into production. The dramatic concept will be an indirect successor to the Carrera GT, sitting at the top of the Porsche range as both its halo hypercar and the ultimate showcase of its hybrid powertrain technology.

The Porsche supervisory board confirmed today that the decision had been made following "overwhelming response from the public and customers to the concept study".

The Porsche 918 Spyder was the star of the Geneva motor show in March. The mid-engined two-seater achieves headline figures of 78mpg and 70g/km of CO2. It hits 62mph from a standstill in 3.2sec and can go on to reach a top speed of 198mph.

The car is powered by a 500bhp V8 petrol engine - a development of the RS Spyder racer's 3.4-litre unit - and a pair of electric motors with a combined output of 218bhp. The front wheels are driven by one electric motor and the rear wheels by the engine and the other motor, making the 918 Spyder four-wheel drive.

Porsche says the car is capable of a sub-7m30s lap around the Nurburgring, quicker than the Carrera GT. It can also travel up to 16 miles on battery power alone and is a plug-in hybrid. It is similar in width and height to the Boxster and Cayman, but is much wider than both of these. The body and shell are made from carbonfibre-reinforced plastic, but there is also extensive use of magnesium and aluminium. The concept weighs 1490kg.

Porsche had initially been cagey about its chances of production. Potential customers were able to sign declarations of interest from Geneva and the most recent reports claimed more than 2000 of these had been received. The hybrid supercar may end up being priced at around 500,000 euros (?420,000) ? eclipsing the ?321,000 Carrera GT.

The concept will be at Pebble Beach next month where customers are expected to be able to formally express their interest in the car, and possibly even place deposits.

"Production of the 918 Spyder in a limited series proves that we are taking the right approach with Porsche Intelligent Performance featuring the combination of supreme performance and efficient drivetrain concepts," said CEO Michael Macht. "We will develop the 918 Spyder in Weissach and assemble it in Zuffenhausen. This is also a very important commitment to Germany as a manufacturing base."
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http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/251687/
 
With that being a "concept" I wonder how it will be changed for production?
 
NecroJoe said:
With that being a "concept" I wonder how it will be changed for production?
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Hopefully remove the daft plastic discs on the wheels, put some proper wing mirrors on it and leave it at that.
I imagine the exhausts will end up at the back though.
 
Looks like a Lotus Evora tuned by Mansory or whatever that atrocious company is called.
 
NecroJoe said:
With that being a "concept" I wonder how it will be changed for production?
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I doubt much will be changed. The Carrera GT changed precious little from it's original 2000 Geneva Motorshow Concept, to the 2003 production model. It will get some mirrors, the "humps" behind the headrest might get changed to fit a Carrera GT-style roof. I might also loose the sidepipes.

Redliner said:
Looks like a Lotus Evora tuned by Mansory or whatever that atrocious company is called.
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LeVeL said:
I see a Noble with an Elise back end
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I see a Porsche with a Porsche front end, Porsche rear end, and also Porsche profile. :hmm:

Definitely lots of classical Porsche in this one, I see elements of the 718 RSK, 917, but mostly Carrera GT. It's after all based on the Carrera GT's carbon fiber monocoque, which is visible on the interior shots.
 
I think it looks like a Carrera GT meshed with a Boxster Spyder, and all the details exaggerated. Looks spectacular.
 
Peter3hg said:
Hopefully remove the daft plastic discs on the wheels, put some proper wing mirrors on it and leave it at that.
I imagine the exhausts will end up at the back though.
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You don't even have to say hopefully because those wheels would never work on a production car.
 
can i have one without the fucking hybrid please? thats becoming ridiculous.
i don't want no hybrid, no start stop, no three million esp settins and no magnetic shock absorbers. things are getting way to complicated even for me and i'm german. hybrid supercars won't even do anything about climate change or pollution, they will still be supercars and use a lot of fuel.

they should do a hydrogen supercar instead because what we really need is a new clean internal combustion engine.
 
Production of the 918 Spyder in a limited series proves that we are taking the right approach with Porsche Intelligent Performance featuring the combination of supreme performance and efficient drivetrain concepts," said CEO Michael Macht.
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FYI, "Macht" is german for "Power". :D
 
I don't get You "poetrollheads", Why don't You like hybrids or other technologies which make a car run cheaper and less pollute? I understand not liking the JeeViz (don't know how to spell it), but a Porsche with 700+HP, 3,2s to 100km/h and since its a Porsche it will handle and only 3L/100km? Thats super!

Whats wrong with paying less for fuel, less pollution and so on? Pay less attention to Clarcson and don't take his words for granted. Sometimes all those eco-haters speak without logic.

This is aimed at ryosuke.

:)
 
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Great news. Predictable but still great.

Concerning the tech-specs:
THIS:
ryosuke said:
can i have one without the fucking hybrid please? thats becoming ridiculous.
i don't want no hybrid, no start stop, no three million esp settins and no magnetic shock absorbers. things are getting way to complicated even for me and i'm german. hybrid supercars won't even do anything about climate change or pollution, they will still be supercars and use a lot of fuel. (...)
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The problem with the hybridsystem is it's extra weight. Imagine how fast - i mean not in straight line - the Porsche 918 Spyder could be without having to carry around a hybridsystem which weighs as much as the moon.
 
XYZviper said:
I don't get You "poetrollheads", Why don't You like hybrids or other technologies which make a car run cheaper and less pollute?
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Maybe because it's overly expensive, heavy, complicated, and actually not nearly as good for the environment as most people think?

add that to the fact that in a car like this, it is completely pointless. I promise you there will be none of this:
700+HP, 3,2s to 100km/h
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while getting this:
3L/100km?
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The hybrid stuff is pretty much just so rich people can buy it and feel smug about themselves. There are lots of other good ways of increasing gas mileage, but none of them let you stick trendy buzzwords on the back.
 
I wonder if this'll be as successful as the Carrera GT.
 
As long as it still looks like the concept I'm happy.
 
XYZviper said:
I don't get You "poetrollheads", Why don't You like hybrids or other technologies which make a car run cheaper and less pollute? I understand not liking the JeeViz (don't know how to spell it), but a Porsche with 700+HP, 3,2s to 100km/h and since its a Porsche it will handle and only 3L/100km? Thats super!

Whats wrong with paying less for fuel, less pollution and so on? Pay less attention to Clarcson and don't take his words for granted. Sometimes all those eco-haters speak without logic.

This is aimed at ryosuke.

:)
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i would like paying less for fuel and i like no pollution. a hydrogen car could do both withouth the uneccessary weight of the electric engine and batteries, withouth the toxic ingridients of those two while still maintaining the emotions that are affiliated with the internal combustion engine.

a hybrid supercar will never use only 3 litres while doing 300 km/h. it will use copious amounts of fuel like any other supercar. compared to that, a hydrogen supercar could use all the fuel it wants and still be a lot greener and cleaner if the hydrogen was produced with renewable energy.

the way we move about will most likely change dramatically in the next couple of decades especially for commuting. supercars however are not made for mass transport, they do not need to be electric or hybrid. they could probably even just continue to work on gasoline, because as soon as we find another fuel for commuting oil might almost become worthless.
 
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