Since Porsche came out with their Porsche 911 in the 60s, the car company was too hesitant to let go of the design. Thanks to modern engineering, there are new cars from Porsche that can easily be the next Porsche 911 of this generation. Porsche uses the 991 as its flagship vehicle. However, the company is not stopping there. Porsche plans to start the production of its new Porsche 918 Spyder by September 2013. Presented in the 80th Geneva Motor Show in 2010, Porsche showcased the Porsche 918 Spyder as a V8 engine that generates 580 horsepower.
The thing that made the Porsche 918 unique is that it is a hybrid car. It is the first plug-in hybrid for Porsche. The electric motor design of the Porsche 918 Spyder contributes 243 horsepower to the performance of the GT car. According to the company, they are planning to sell the Porsche 918 Spyder for €768,000.
Despite the hefty price tag, there is already a demand for the Porsche 918 Spyder. Unfortunately, the delivery of the GT car will begin right before 2013 ends.
Though it wasn’t released yet, there is already a variant presented by Porsche. Porsche already unveiled the RSR which is the first variant of the Porsche 918 Spyder. Unveiled in the 2011 North American Auto Show, it combines the hybrid technology with the typical Porsche 918 Spyder set up.
Unique Design
The Porsche 918 Spyder was designed, by Michael Mauer, to be a two-seater sports car powered by a V8 engine. The origins of the engine came from the RS Spyder Le Mans race car. The unique design of the Porsche 918 Spyder was that it made use of an electric motor to help propel the vehicle.
With the combined power generated by the electric motor and the V8 engine, the car can reach a top speed of 325 kilometers per hour. Also, it can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 2.8 seconds.
Since the car makes use of an electric motor, there are perks to this unique design of the Porsche 918 Spyder. For instance, the fuel consumption of the Porsche 918 Spyder is 3 L/100 kilometers. This feat is rare to a powerful V8 engined car. As for the Carbon dioxide emission of the Porsche 918, it runs on 70g/km. The aim of CO2 emissions in Europe is 130 g/km by 2015. This simply means that the Porsche 918 Spyder is an environmentally friendly supercar.
The popularity of the Porsche 918 Spyder already prompted video game developers to include the supercar as part of the playable cars in the videogame. Need for Speed series is known to feature the Porsche 918 Spyder. The Porsche 918 Spyder is already making noise in the GT car market because of its performance and environmentally friendly design.
According to speculators, these are the types of cars that the automotive industry will witness in the next decade. High performance and environmentally friendly cars are said to dominate the market in the next years. With stricter rules in emission especially in North America and Europe, gone are the days when fuel consumption and C02 emissions are not considered.