Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche's latest hybrid

One of Porsche’s Geneva reveals is yet another hybrid, and whilst we’ve been forced to accept that this is the way the industry is heading, this Porsche really makes me sad. It is one thing for hybrid systems to flood the market with boring cars that we wouldn’t have been all that interested in even if they did just burn petrol, but it is quite another issue when an otherwise gorgeous and monstrously powerful Porsche goes down the hybrid road. And gorgeous the 918 most certainly is, its Carrera GT undertones and almost Ferrari like sleekness had me sold almost immediately. The 918 also has some 917 inspirations it seems.

Okay, the performance stats are impressive if I’m honest, 0-100 km/h in just under 3.2 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h, all with a claimed fuel economy of 3L/100km. I’m not sure how true that fuel economy is, even considering the hybrid system, there is still a 3.4L high-revving V8 churning out over 500 horses positioned midship, surely that’s going to drink more fuel than 3L/100km. It spins all the way up to 9,200rpm for crying out loud, that will consume a lot of fuel no matter which way you look at it. The electrical aspect of the powertrain is actually fairly standard stuff, an electrical motor sits on each axle producing a combined power output of 160kW/218hp. Getting energy into the batteries is possible in a few ways, the 918 Spyder is a plug-in as well as coming equipped with a KERS system of sorts. A regenerative braking system can convert kinetic energy and channel it into the batteries. Just as in the recently revealed Porsche GT3 R Hybrid the regenerative braking system can also be deployed in F1 style as a power boost, a push-to-pass button feeds in additional electrical power (E-Boost) when overtaking or for even better performance.

Porsche 918 Spyder

The 918 Spyder has four powertrain configuration modes; E-Drive is pure electric mode but really that’ll take you not much further than your driveway, Hybrid mode obviously uses both electrics and combustion and then two additional sporty hybrid modes, Sport Hybrid and Race Hybrid. The primary difference between normal and the sporty hybrid modes being driving dynamics, more power for instance is channeled to the rear wheels in Sport and Race Hybrid mode. The push-to-pass button is available in Race Hybrid as well.

The construction of the 918 Spyder is fairly advanced as well, the modular body is made from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFP) with what Porsche calls “liberal use of magnesium and aluminum” reducing weight to below 1,490 kg. All I know is that it looks very attractive, now all they have to do is chuck the electrical malarkey, and then build it.

Porsche 918 Spyder interior