Porsche released a gallery of official pictures showing the Martini Racing-liveried Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype. The Porsche 918 Spyder is currently undergoing development testing. More recently, the car has been spotted with an attractive Martini Racing-livery. It’s a hat tip to the old histroic racers that wore the team livery during the late 60’s and early 1970’s.
The livery has quite a history, with its victories including a first overall at Targa-Florio in 1973, first at the Sports Car World Championship in 1976 and overall victories at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1976 and 1977. Porsche 908, 917, 935, 936, 911 RS and RSR models have all worn the livery before. Now Porsche 918 Spyder owners will be able to specify the design for their cars.
Development of the Porsche 918 Spyder continues. The car has moved into a new phase that will see extensive testing at the Nurburgring in Germany. The car has already been spotted testing several times before. One of the development goals for the Porsche 918 Spyder project is a lap time of less than seven minutes and 22 seconds. Engineers believe that this will be possible.
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.
The first is a 4.6 liter V8 originally fitted to the three-time ALMS LMP2 Championship-winning RS Spyder. This will feature 570hp on its own 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 770hp, with 553 pound-feet of torque available across the rev range. There is a second electric engine at the back.
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 Porsche 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!
The chassis, as you would expect, is a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum. The same style of construction we saw in the Porsche Carrera GT. Whereas that car took five days to build one shell, Porsche can now build five 918 Spyder 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 kilometres which translates to 78mpg.
In terms of design, it is expected that Porsche will fit a removable two-piece targa roof as they did with the Porsche Carrera GT. Only 918 Porsche 918 Spyder’s will be built. All of these have been pre-sold at a European price of €645,000, subject to VAT and country-specific charges. Those with an order were offered an exclusive Porsche 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder” and the chance to jump the queue for any model that gets released in the mean time.
A lovely engineered eco/super car!