The first U.S. customer deliveries of the Porsche 918 Spyder have just kicked off and famous actor Jerry Seinfeld and noted automotive enthusiast has been spotted behind the wheel of his blue 918 Spyder for the very first time.
He was snapped at the Malibu Country Mart and looked absolutely home behind the wheel of the $845,000 German supercar. Of course, this is no surprise considering he reportedly has a collection of almost 50 Porsches including some of the rarest ever produced!
In case you didn’t know, the Porsche 918 Spyder comes fitted with a mid-mounted 4.6-litre V8 engine producing 608 hp independently – the highest specific power of any naturally aspirated Porsche engine. The V8 is then supplemented by a further two electric motors mounted on each axle.
The electric motors can either drive the wheels independently or work together with the engine to boost performance. Each motor produces enough power to boost the total figure of 887 hp. A seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) controls power delivery to the rear wheels.
The 918 Spyder has been greatly influenced by its affiliations with motorsport. A number of the developments to the Porsche race car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2014 were used in the 918 Spyder – and vice versa. It features a carbon fibre monocoque and a multi-link chassis. The chassis is aided by Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) adaptive shock-absorber system and rear-axle steering.
The Porsche 918 Spyder gets five operating modes, which can be activated via a map switch in the steering wheel, just like in race cars.
In terms of competition, the 918 Spyder is only rivalled by the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. Until we see the first comparison tests between the trio, all three seem to be on the same playing field and are inevitably ushering a whole new era of performance cars which we can’t wait to see unfold.
[Via Bild]
