There are not a lot of car manufacturers out there that get it right every time so that you startle when hearing of a new release, but Porsche is certainly one of them. Just last week did the German company announced the testing of the 918 Spyder hybrid, that everyone turned their attention towards it, wanting to find out more.
And here’s what the world found: photos showed a close resemblance to the 918 RSR hybrid racecar concept presented at Detroit last year – same wavy form of black, targa-top sports coupes. The white flames flowing from the headlights and front wheel wells send back to the ‘50s hot rods or to the 917 model of racecars, but no matter where they come from, they put out a nice touch.
Now, leaving aside the aesthetic part, let’s take a look at the specs: the 918 features a high-performance V-8 internal combustion engine; its pair of electric motors, one on the front axle and one in the drivetrain, make up for a heart-delighting 770 horsepower. Some earlier information released by Porsche talks about a zero-to-60 mph. time of 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 199 mph.
All this power is encased in a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic monocoque body structure with a unit carrier, while the car offers fully adaptive aerodynamics, an adaptive rear-axle steering and an upward venting exhaust system. All we know about the fuel economy so far is that it registered an approximate 3 liters per 100 kilometers on the European test cycle.
However, with features like these, customers who can afford the $845,000 price can hardly wait until the 2013 delivery, which is set to come after the September production of that same year. Especially since, like some sort of irony, only 918 models will be see the light of day!…In case these 918 cars sell like hot bread, then Porsche considers introducing this technology into a series-production. We do however have a feeling that like hot bread they will sell!
[via NYtimes]
