The 918 Spyder at Goodwood | Porsche

Porsche 918 Spyder

918 Spyder Runs at Goodwood

Porsche's plug-in hybrid supercar, the918 Spyderfinally made its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend.

Text by SUZUKI Fumihiko (OPENERS)

The Supercar Leading the Future with High Efficiency

At this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed,the '911', celebrating its 50th anniversary,wasfeatured, and as anticipated, numerous historic Porsche racing cars also made an appearance.

Naturally, Porsche's latest supercar, the918 Spydercould not be absent.

While the 918 Spyder had been unveiled before, its appearance at Goodwood marked a dynamic debut, showcasing its performance to the general public.

This latest supercar, which Porsche is introducing as a car to lead the next decade, shares various ideas with the new race car that Porsche will enter in the top LMP1 category of the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. Porsche's full-scale return to Le Mans marks its first participation since its overall victory in 1998. The car from that year, the '911 GT1', which also appeared at Goodwood, is said to be based on the 996-generation '911'. In terms of entering with a works team and a prototype racer, this is the first time since the '962C' of the 1980s.

Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche's 2014 Le Mans Entry Model

Porsche 911 GT1

Porsche 962C

While the 918 Spyder shares the same DNA as these full-fledged racing cars, its 4.6-liter V8 engine is also based on that of the Le Mans racer 'LMP 2 RS Spyder'. As the name LMP2 suggests, this is a racing car that Porsche fields for privateers in a category one level below LMP1.

This engine, combined with a rear electric motor and an independent front motor, drives all four wheels, forming the 918 Spyder's drivetrain. This unique 4WD system is inherited from the911 GT3 R Hybrid.

With the engine and other heavy components concentrated low in the center of the vehicle, the front-rear weight distribution is achieved at 43:57. Furthermore, CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) is used for the monocoque, sub-frame, and suspension, resulting in a dry weight of 1,640 kg.

The front flap and rear wing adjust the aerodynamic resistance according to the driving mode. In Race mode, the flap opens and the wing is raised to maximize downforce and cooling capacity. In Sport mode, the front opening is closed for straight-line stability. In E-Power mode, the wing is retracted to minimize air resistance.

As a result,recorded a blistering 7:14 on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, demonstrating astonishing performance while enabling approximately 30 km of electric-only driving with its 6.8 kWh lithium-ion battery. Fuel efficiency is estimated to be around 3 L/100 km (approximately 33.3 km/L) based on NEDC measurements.

The 918 Spyder, with its concept of "maximum performance with minimum energy consumption," is slated for release this year. Prices are said to be around 780,000 euros in Europe and 845,000 dollars in North America.