Porsche has announced today that the production version 918 Spyder will go on sale in November 2013, but order books are open as of now. The production of the Porsche 918 Spyder will be limited to well, 918 units, at a price of 645,000 EUR, not including VAT and other taxes. the production version Porsche 918 Spyder will have a similar powertrain with the concept, meaning a 500 hp petrol V8 working together with two electric motors.
Design-wise, not much has changed in comparison to the Porsche 918 Spyder concept premiered in Geneva a year ago. Porsche equips its 918 Spyder with a 4.0-liter V8 petrol engine developing 500 hp and two electric motors that output an additional 160 kW (218 hp). 918 Spyder's V8 is
placed in the middle and the electric motors power one axle each which gives it variable all-wheel drive with independent control of the propulsion force on both axles. Porsche's 918 Spyder is equipped with the seven-speed PDK double clutch transmission and a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery that has a range of more than 25km (16 miles). The battery can be re-charged in around 3 hours from a 230 V socket. Porsche 918 Spyder's engine is based on the racing unit found in the RS Spyder.
Let's talk performance and efficiency - the strong point's of Porsche's 918 Spyder. It's top speed is rated at 320 km/h (199 mph) and the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time at 3.2 seconds. Porsche says that the new 918 Spyder is able to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in less than 7 minutes 30 seconds which is quite an achievement. On electricity only, the 918 Spyder can get to a top speed of 150 km/h (94 mph).
The Porsche 918 Spyder can offer all these figures with a fuel consumption of just 3.0 l/100 km (94 mpg) and a 70 g/km CO2 emissions level.
Porsche's 918 Spyder is really in a class of its own, so we don't really have anything to compare it with. It's cost however, does put it in the exclusive hypercar segment.
