Details of the production Porsche 918 Spyder have leaked via a brochure obtained by Teamspeed. We’ve known a lot about the cars vital statistics thanks to a very open development process pursued by Porsche. Instead of engine statistics and power to weight ratios, we get details on the cars colours and a set of brochure renderings depicting the finished car.

What we learn is that there will be four standard solid colours, white, black, racing yellow and guards red. On top of these, customers will also be able to order two special, ten-layer colours; liquid metal silver and liquid metal chrome blue both priced at 50,000 euros. Metallic options will include rhodium silver metallic, basalt black metallic, sapphire blue metallic, dark blue metallic, meteor grey metallic and GT silver metallic. Finally, the brochure confirms two vinyl packages, the Martini Racing Design and the Salzburg Racing Design.

The Porsche 918 Spyder will get a combustion engine and two independent electric motors – one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels. The engineering and design focus is centered on minimal fuel consumption and maximum performance. We are told that Porsche engineers have been impressed so far with the testing results. In fact, the development cars were spotted near the Nurburgring on Monday this week for journalist test drives.

The combustion engine of choice is a 4.6 liter V8 originally fitted to the three-time ALMS LMP2 Championship-winning RS Spyder. This will feature 580hp on its own at 9,000rpm and the exhaust outlets will exit in the middle of the engine block to reduce engine compartment heat. This will be coupled to an 80kW lithium-ion electric motor powering the two front wheels. In total, this means 800hp, with 600Nm of torque at 0rpm, 850Nm of torque at 2,000rpm and over 700Nm all the way to 7,000rpm.

0-100km/h times will be less than three seconds, 0-200km/h times in less than nine seconds and a top speed of 325km/h. You should be able to hit 145km/h without needing to use the 918 Spyder’s petrol engine. Powering up the power pack will take around six hours on a 110 volt power supply, a Porsche supplied quick charger will see that cut to just two hours though. The development of an even more advanced system that could do the job in just 20 minutes too!

Customers will apparently be able to order a performance package named the Weissach Package after Porsche’s testing facility. This will include weight savings of 35kg, a six-point harnesses, dive planes for the front and rear, a lightweight braking system, no armrests, no storage bins for the doors and Alcantara and carbon fiber trim. Deletion of the air conditioning can be included at no extra cost. A set of magnesium wheels will also be available, saving a further 13.5kg.

The chassis, as you would expect, is a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum. The same style of construction we saw in the Carrera GT. Whereas that car took five days to build one shell, Porsche can now build five 918 shells in just one day! The Porsche 918 Spyder should weigh 1,670kg with 80 percent of that weight below the central line. Expect plenty of grip.

The Porsche 918 Spyder will get three different modes. The first is “E-Power”, an all-electric setting, then we get the standard “Hybrid” mode which focuses on efficiency, finally there is the “Sport Hybrid” which pushes the balance in favour of performance! Fuel economy is estimated at three litres per 100 kilometers which translates to 78mpg.

It will be interesting to see what actually gets unveiled. It will have plenty of competitors this time around with Ferrari, Pagani and McLaren all releasing similarly priced options. At the moment it looks as though the Ferrari and Porsche will be the most technically complicated with the McLaren being the fastest and the Pagani being the most traditional. We must not forget the Koenigsegg Agera R too! It’s interesting times.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Errr … slight correction on the predictions and assumptions

    1)The Porsche will be the most complicated of the bunch by far what with the Ferrari only having a KERS system
    2) In light of all the hype pre release for the MP4-12C’s performance which it has not lived up to in any way shape or form ….. its more than doubtful that the P1 will be the fastest of the bunch or even close . In fact according to interviews with A. Sheriff he has all but confirmed the P1 will NOT be as fast as the competition
    3) The Pagani is no where’s near as ‘ traditional ‘ a supercar : what with its active aerodynamics etc etc etc as the Agera R ….. so
    4) In fact its the Koenigsegg that will be the most traditional of the bunch . As well as the best looking IMHO !
    5) The Pagani is already on the road …. been run tested and documented by the pundits etc … so where you guys been ?

    Next time a little Fact checking please !

  2. The Porsche 918

    The automotive Oxymoron of the decade .

    Hybrid / Green / and Environmentally sound not belonging in the same sentence as a Supercar .

    @ udrago – Correction . The TESLA is in fact what is useless in this or any other conversation / comparison etc about supercars . Super it aint . Heck ! Functioning it aint . Also if you read between the lines what you’re seeing with the 918 is the fact that the electric motors are all but useless , weighing more than the HP they’re capable of creating would justify : as well as complexity and reliability concerns and in fact would of been better left off and the ICE upgraded a bit .

    Ahh . You kids and your obsessive addiction to gizmos . All Blinded by Science ( terminology ) despite it not functioning as advertised .

  3. @GuitarSlinger –

    1) You appear to have misread a very small part of the article. What i’m trying to say is that the Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren will all be using high-tech solutions.
    2) You’ve made a whole bunch of assumptions on a car that actually hasn’t been released yet. You may have seen the photos but there are no official details yet.
    3) Traditional as in it doesn’t use KERS etc.
    4) Your opinion.
    5) We’ve been driving it… where have you been?

  4. @ urdrago
    You miss my point. A company can make a nice interior regardless of price range. My caparison was between to (seemingly) touch-focused interiors… And I like the Porsche’s. Explain the uselessness of that?

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