Porsche 918 Spyder Concept

Porsche 918

With four other debuts planned for this year’s Geneva auto show, Porsche saved one surprise for just before the show opened. Behold the 918 Spyder concept, a radical Carrera GT–like supercar that employs Porsche’s latest take on enviro-firendly performance technology.

The Supercar of Tomorrow

Moving in the same direction as Ferrari with its 599 Hybrid concept, Porsche is laying its cards on the table with this dual-purpose supercar plug-in hybrid. Said to “combine high-tech racing features with electric mobility to offer a fascinating range of qualities,” the 918 Spyder concept borrows the mid-mounted 3.4-liter V-8 engine from the RS Spyder race car, singing a symphony of 500 hp up to a 9200-rpm redline. That covers the race portion of the equation, while electric motors found at both the front and rear axles that combine for an output of 218 hp handle the electric mobility. These motors, able to move the car on electric power alone, make the 918 a full hybrid, which Porsche claims has a range of 16 miles using the liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery found behind the passenger compartment. Porsche claims the concept is capable of hitting 62 mph in under 3.2 seconds, topping out at 198 mph, lapping the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 30 seconds (faster than a Carrera GT), and achieving fuel economy of up to 78 mpg, but certainly not while laying down those figures.

How does the 918 Spyder offer the best of both worlds? With four different driving modes, of course. A button on the steering wheel allows the driver to handle the 918’s multiple-personality disorder, selecting from E-Drive, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid, and Race Hybrid modes. E-Drive is exactly that, using the stored energy in the batteries that’s supplied through plugging the car in at home or captured from regenerative braking. Hybrid mode combines the two drive systems, allowing the driver to either conserve fuel or flog the car to their heart’s content. Sport Hybrid is a step to the performance side using both gas and electric systems with power biased to the rear wheels and torque vectoring for improved handling. Greenies need not apply to the Race Hybrid setting, which squeezes out every bit of oomph from all onboard systems and even features an “E-Boost” push-to-pass button that feeds additional electric power for overtaking. As if the 500-hp gas motor needed any help.

Frankenstein Looks Good

Using just about every exotic lightweight material to keep the concept’s weight to a mere 3285 pounds, Porsche has also given the 918 Spyder a futuristic style that only vaguely resembles past models. Slung low with huge wheels that we don’t even know how to begin to describe, the roadster more directly hints at cues from other sports cars of today. The overall profile is reminiscent of the Lotus Elise, the front fascia has hints of Ferrari 360, and it’s capped off by a Carrera-GT-got-busy-with-a-Bugatti-Veyron rear end—the result is decidedly un-Porsche. That said, the interior is right out of the GT’s design book, featuring a steeply sloped center console that Porsche says will serve as a potential interior architecture on future models.

The concept also uses advanced features like variable aerodynamics for increased efficiency and added downforce at high speeds, as well as a Range Manager that uses the navigation system to present the predicted range the car is able to roam in its various modes.

As usual, Porsche remains tight-lipped about the potential for the 918 Spyder concept to see production, but seeing as Porsche has never shown a concept it hasn’t produced, we’d say the chances are pretty good.