The 918 Spyder does not feature outlandish sharp styling that many have come to expect from supercars, but its classy curves make it arguably more beautiful. Instead, a perfect blend of impressive functionality and graceful aesthetics has been found. The elegant beauty of the exterior shows no sign of prioritisation within the design process. The entire car was designed around its impressive hybrid drivetrain, yet Porsche have managed to present the opposite. The 918 Spyder is one of the rare examples where the production car looks almost identical to its concept, and we are not complaining. Below, we discover the reasons why Porsche defined the 918 Spyder as the 'super sportscar'. Since then, the value of this piece of automotive history has significantly increased to well over £1million.
At a 'small' fee of £781,000 from new, in comparison to the £866,000 and £1million price tags of its British and Italian counterparts, the 918 Spyder's cost price was rendered obsolete, with the final model being sold in 2014. A total of 918 units were manufactured at Porsche's Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen plant, with the final unit rolling off the production line in 2015. The 918 Spyder, alongside the Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1, formed the 'holy trinity' and would go on to change the future of the sportscar. An idea was born after a concept car, which was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2010, received over 2,000 declarations of interest and in 2013, Porsche launched the production version of the 918 Spyder. It’s a step into the future and, right now, quite possibly the most complete hypercar there has ever been.Porsche are a coveted German automotive manufacturer with a rich history in motor racing and are responsible for manufacturing some of the finest sports cars on the planet such as the iconic 911. It’s astonishing, so much more than just the hypercar you can drive everyday or proof that hybrid systems have life AP (After Prius). And if the weather’s kind, you can take the roof panels out and pop them under the bonnet.īut it’s not compromise that’s been at work here, it’s mastery. The 918 Spyder has such huge capability in so many areas: it really will average 30mpg, it’s knife-edge sharp on a track, able to scare the living wotsits out of you, it dazzles passers-by, dawdles through town silently and howls through the countryside. It’s a more tightly briefed car, more controlled and, arguably, more far-reaching in its abilities. This approachability, this usability could mean the 918 Spyder comes across as less special than the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari, and true, it doesn’t have their machismo, doesn’t deliver the same viscerality and intimidation as the McLaren, nor the incredible driving experience of the Ferrari. Meet the all-wheel-drive, all-weather hypercar. In the latter two, the engine is always on. Inside a mode dial on the steering wheel allows you to select four different drive modes – Electric, Hybrid, Sport and Race. Like the V8, the aluminium double wishbone suspension is similar to the RS Spyder racer, adaptive dampers are standard and overall the 918 has very little in common with any other Porsche road car.
Above 165mph that motor shuts off, making the car rear-drive only. The rear electric motor is mounted between engine and seven-speed twin clutch gearbox, while at the front, drive is purely electric. On the NEDC test cycle it emits just 70/g/km of CO2 and claims 81mpg. Made almost exclusively of titanium and aluminium and weighing just 135kg, Frank-Steffen Walliser, the man who masterminded the 918 project, has described it as, “the best engine we have ever done”. The V8 is derived from the RS Spyder Le Mans car, pushes out 600bhp and gives the 918 a 0-62mph time of 2.6secs, 0-124mph in 7.2secs and a top speed of 214mph. Bring the engine into play and that figure is more than chopped in half.
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