Thursday, May 8 dawns grey and threatening over Leipzig, Germany, home of what will soon become the VW conglomerate's second-most extreme and expensive supercar, following the Veyron (ignoring the three Lambo Venenos). Porsche's spectacular plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder, which tops the magic million-dollar mark with a few choice options including the $84,000 lightweight race-optimized Weissach package and the $63,000 optional "liquid metal" paint jobs, promises to be to fuel efficiency and Nurburgring-storming what the various Veyrons are to fuel profligacy and straight-line top speeds. And today will be the first time anyone outside the close-knit Porsche organization has slipped behind the wheel for a drive of their very own, but not until the 18 of us fidget through a technical presentation, glancing outside at the darkening skies.
Sure enough, just as things get rolling in PowerPoint land, the heavens open wide. Dammit. Yes, this thing has electric all-wheel drive, but we've also just learned that the quasi-official total system output is up to 887 hp (608 from the engine, 127 from the front motor, 154 from the one between the engine and the seven-speed PDK transaxle -- and no, they don't add perfectly). That's up substantially from the 563/107/121 we were quoted when Paul Horrell rode along in the bare chassis last June, and up from the 580/115/125 Mike Febbo was quoted during his ride-along at the Nurburgring last October. Who knows what the ratings will be when production starts on September 18 (get it?). We start with taxi rides in a GT3 RS piloted by Porsche's chief shoe Walter Rohrl. He establishes a blistering pace despite the bleak conditions while showing us the way around the track, which simulates various storied turns from tracks around the world, including the MRLS corkscrew. As the nine Porsche reps and 18 journalists (you gotta love their fascination with numerology) huddle under umbrellas, we each gradually take our turn in the passenger seat of a less correct prototype, where the driver demonstrates the various Map-switch modes. (It's in the same spot on the steering wheel as Ferrari's Manettino, but it's a rotary switch instead.) They are: E, the default when keying on for fully electric drive unless you give it about 70 percent throttle or until 80 percent of the battery energy is used up. H still maximizes fuel efficiency, coasting as much as possible, maintaining low revs and shifting early; S dials up the aggression further, and R unleashes full race-mode fury.
I transfer directly from the passenger seat to the driver seat of the newer, more production-intent car and head out for a sodden lapping session. First impressions: The 7-second 0-62-mph time quoted in pure EV mode seems conservative, and the sound from the direct-drive front motor is very "Tron"-like (it disconnects at 146 mph), and drowns out what I expected to be the less familiar sound of the rear E-motor rowing up through a gearbox. The electric-assist steering, borrowed from the 911, feels about like it does in the 911, informing me accurately about the fleeting grip levels. When it fires, the engine sounds angry, frenetic, and totally illegal (pass-by tests can be managed with the engine off or at very low revs). Exiting Suntory Corner (Shizuoka, Japan) onto the straight and gently feeding in full throttle brings traction assist, followed by what feels like every bit of 700 horses' worth of acceleration, at least. On my third lap, chancing to engage R mode, the tail breaks loose as I transition off the brake entering the Mobil 1 S chicane (from the Nurburgring), inducing a minor tank-slapper that happily ends with me pointed perfectly out the exit. My unfazed chaperone merely extolls the virtues of the stability control. Throughout this gentle session, the battery state of charge dithers between 60 and 80 percent full. The rain begins to subside midday as we are ushered up to sample Porsche Gastronomy's finest work, ceding the track to photographers and videographers. Sure enough, the sun comes out and dries the track for them. Eureka! Right after lunch we begin cycling through again, but just as I strap in for a gentle lead-follow photo lap, the rain resumes. No biggie, as these laps are at neighborhood velocities, which gives an opportunity to notice how civilized this race-derived track monster can be in between storms of the red mist.
While patiently awaiting a third swing at the hero car, I strap into the older prototype for some hot laps at Walter Rohrl velocities. Rohrl makes it look easy, using one hand on the straights and a very light touch in the turns. He remarks at how much more civilized and comfortable the 918 Spyder is at delivering hero performance than its predecessor, the Carrera GT, was, as we blast over the Mobil 1 S curve's FIA curbing, rocketing toward Monza's Curve di Lesmo, which is entered with exceedingly late ABS-level braking. As we drift out of Suntory, I ask if we're in Race mode, and he nods, "but there is no E-assist." That got used up in the first several 1.0g or better accelerations, and wasn't replaced by the brief 1.3+g brake stabs. The mercurial skies are darkening yet again when I finally strap in to determine how the most complicated Porsche ever tackles the racing world's trickiest corners in the dry. Accelerating out of the pits and into Monza's Parabolica, I try to detect the rear axle's 3-degree contribution to the steering effort, but the intoxicating twin-four-banger exhaust note barking right behind my ear proves too distracting. The brake pedal impresses with its utter linearity -- there's no clue as to when the handoff from regen to hydraulics occurs. The steering also provides plenty of information as to the surface grip and tire condition (which seems to degrade ever so slightly after three laps) without wiggling or squirming as front-wheel torque pulls us out of the turns. I attempt to detect a difference between life before and after touching the Hot Lap button (in the center of the Map switch), which temporarily makes 100 percent of the battery's power available, but between the overwhelming amount of incoming sensory input and the ingrained caution with which one drives an $8-plus-million prototype while 17 other top journalists are watching stymies my attempt to definitively report on this feature. In fact, because of my early and gentler braking and the engine's aggressive recharging efforts in Race mode, the battery's state of charge increases from 70 to almost 90 percent during three laps. I am prepared to go out on a limb and declare that this is far and away the best-driving, most competent, coolest, most geeked-out street-legal Porsche ever. It feels like a Ruf CTR-3 that's quicker and gets 78 mpg on the European NEDC cycle; like a Veyron or Veneno that one could drive to an Earth Day rally without irony en route to laying down a Nurburgring lap time in the sixes; like a better way to blow a million bucks on a car than most of the alternatives. Get your order in soon -- half of the 918-car production run is already spoken for. Weissach Package: The $84,000 Weissach package shaves 77 pounds off the car, by fitting magnesium wheels (30.0 lbs total), substituting carbon fiber parts like the roof (4.4 lbs), rear wing, windshield surround, mirror caps and rear anti-roll bar (1.1 lb), and replacing the paint with a foil wrap (5.0 lb). Ceramic wheel bearings and titanium brake pad backing plates shave another precious pound per corner of unsprung weight. Other track-oriented details include non-flammable cloth seat upholstery, door pull straps, six-point harnesses, less carpeting, thinner leather, Alcantara in place of some leather, and exposed carbon-fiber trim (total savings, 7.4 lbs). Deleting the glovebox (2.2 lbs) radio (9.9 lbs) and A/C (2.2 lbs for the cabin evaporator, the rest of the hardware must remain to cool the battery pack). The radio and A/C can be added back at no cost. Oh, and if you're not worried about the weight of your paint job, and could even tolerate a few more layers, spring for the "Liquid Metal" silver or blue shades, for $63,000.
Sure enough, just as things get rolling in PowerPoint land, the heavens open wide. Dammit. Yes, this thing has electric all-wheel drive, but we've also just learned that the quasi-official total system output is up to 887 hp (608 from the engine, 127 from the front motor, 154 from the one between the engine and the seven-speed PDK transaxle -- and no, they don't add perfectly). That's up substantially from the 563/107/121 we were quoted when Paul Horrell rode along in the bare chassis last June, and up from the 580/115/125 Mike Febbo was quoted during his ride-along at the Nurburgring last October. Who knows what the ratings will be when production starts on September 18 (get it?). We start with taxi rides in a GT3 RS piloted by Porsche's chief shoe Walter Rohrl. He establishes a blistering pace despite the bleak conditions while showing us the way around the track, which simulates various storied turns from tracks around the world, including the MRLS corkscrew. As the nine Porsche reps and 18 journalists (you gotta love their fascination with numerology) huddle under umbrellas, we each gradually take our turn in the passenger seat of a less correct prototype, where the driver demonstrates the various Map-switch modes. (It's in the same spot on the steering wheel as Ferrari's Manettino, but it's a rotary switch instead.) They are: E, the default when keying on for fully electric drive unless you give it about 70 percent throttle or until 80 percent of the battery energy is used up. H still maximizes fuel efficiency, coasting as much as possible, maintaining low revs and shifting early; S dials up the aggression further, and R unleashes full race-mode fury.
I transfer directly from the passenger seat to the driver seat of the newer, more production-intent car and head out for a sodden lapping session. First impressions: The 7-second 0-62-mph time quoted in pure EV mode seems conservative, and the sound from the direct-drive front motor is very "Tron"-like (it disconnects at 146 mph), and drowns out what I expected to be the less familiar sound of the rear E-motor rowing up through a gearbox. The electric-assist steering, borrowed from the 911, feels about like it does in the 911, informing me accurately about the fleeting grip levels. When it fires, the engine sounds angry, frenetic, and totally illegal (pass-by tests can be managed with the engine off or at very low revs). Exiting Suntory Corner (Shizuoka, Japan) onto the straight and gently feeding in full throttle brings traction assist, followed by what feels like every bit of 700 horses' worth of acceleration, at least. On my third lap, chancing to engage R mode, the tail breaks loose as I transition off the brake entering the Mobil 1 S chicane (from the Nurburgring), inducing a minor tank-slapper that happily ends with me pointed perfectly out the exit. My unfazed chaperone merely extolls the virtues of the stability control. Throughout this gentle session, the battery state of charge dithers between 60 and 80 percent full. The rain begins to subside midday as we are ushered up to sample Porsche Gastronomy's finest work, ceding the track to photographers and videographers. Sure enough, the sun comes out and dries the track for them. Eureka! Right after lunch we begin cycling through again, but just as I strap in for a gentle lead-follow photo lap, the rain resumes. No biggie, as these laps are at neighborhood velocities, which gives an opportunity to notice how civilized this race-derived track monster can be in between storms of the red mist.
While patiently awaiting a third swing at the hero car, I strap into the older prototype for some hot laps at Walter Rohrl velocities. Rohrl makes it look easy, using one hand on the straights and a very light touch in the turns. He remarks at how much more civilized and comfortable the 918 Spyder is at delivering hero performance than its predecessor, the Carrera GT, was, as we blast over the Mobil 1 S curve's FIA curbing, rocketing toward Monza's Curve di Lesmo, which is entered with exceedingly late ABS-level braking. As we drift out of Suntory, I ask if we're in Race mode, and he nods, "but there is no E-assist." That got used up in the first several 1.0g or better accelerations, and wasn't replaced by the brief 1.3+g brake stabs. The mercurial skies are darkening yet again when I finally strap in to determine how the most complicated Porsche ever tackles the racing world's trickiest corners in the dry. Accelerating out of the pits and into Monza's Parabolica, I try to detect the rear axle's 3-degree contribution to the steering effort, but the intoxicating twin-four-banger exhaust note barking right behind my ear proves too distracting. The brake pedal impresses with its utter linearity -- there's no clue as to when the handoff from regen to hydraulics occurs. The steering also provides plenty of information as to the surface grip and tire condition (which seems to degrade ever so slightly after three laps) without wiggling or squirming as front-wheel torque pulls us out of the turns. I attempt to detect a difference between life before and after touching the Hot Lap button (in the center of the Map switch), which temporarily makes 100 percent of the battery's power available, but between the overwhelming amount of incoming sensory input and the ingrained caution with which one drives an $8-plus-million prototype while 17 other top journalists are watching stymies my attempt to definitively report on this feature. In fact, because of my early and gentler braking and the engine's aggressive recharging efforts in Race mode, the battery's state of charge increases from 70 to almost 90 percent during three laps. I am prepared to go out on a limb and declare that this is far and away the best-driving, most competent, coolest, most geeked-out street-legal Porsche ever. It feels like a Ruf CTR-3 that's quicker and gets 78 mpg on the European NEDC cycle; like a Veyron or Veneno that one could drive to an Earth Day rally without irony en route to laying down a Nurburgring lap time in the sixes; like a better way to blow a million bucks on a car than most of the alternatives. Get your order in soon -- half of the 918-car production run is already spoken for. Weissach Package: The $84,000 Weissach package shaves 77 pounds off the car, by fitting magnesium wheels (30.0 lbs total), substituting carbon fiber parts like the roof (4.4 lbs), rear wing, windshield surround, mirror caps and rear anti-roll bar (1.1 lb), and replacing the paint with a foil wrap (5.0 lb). Ceramic wheel bearings and titanium brake pad backing plates shave another precious pound per corner of unsprung weight. Other track-oriented details include non-flammable cloth seat upholstery, door pull straps, six-point harnesses, less carpeting, thinner leather, Alcantara in place of some leather, and exposed carbon-fiber trim (total savings, 7.4 lbs). Deleting the glovebox (2.2 lbs) radio (9.9 lbs) and A/C (2.2 lbs for the cabin evaporator, the rest of the hardware must remain to cool the battery pack). The radio and A/C can be added back at no cost. Oh, and if you're not worried about the weight of your paint job, and could even tolerate a few more layers, spring for the "Liquid Metal" silver or blue shades, for $63,000.
2016 Porsche 918
Reviewed by admin
Published :
Rating : 4.5
Published :
Rating : 4.5
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