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NEWS
Leaked: The real Porsche 918 Spyder
Final production versions of racy 918 Spyder emerge as new Porsche flagship breaks Nurburgring recordPorsche’s cracking new 918 Syder plug-in supercar has emerged in final production guise, via leaked brochure images published on a US website.
The 918’s unexpected appearance coincides with Porsche claims that its all-new flag-bearer has set a new official lap record at the Nurburgring for road-legal cars, of seven minutes and 14 seconds. Porsche previously said pre-production versions of the 918 have lapped the Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit in less than 7:22 – two seconds quicker than Nissan's GT-R (7:24) and four seconds quicker than the new Porsche flagship’s spiritual predecessor, the 450kW 5.7-litre V10-powered Carrera GT (7:28).
But the 585kW petrol-electric 918’s official time of 7:14 at the testing 20.8km German track betters that of Porsche’s own outgoing 911 GT2 RS (7:18) and matches that of the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition (7:14), although the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR has reportedly achieved 7:12.
Either way, none of those production cars can match the 918’s ability to sprint to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds and return combined fuel consumption of less than 3.0L/100km - better than a Toyota Prius hybrid – thanks to the combination of 4.6-litre V8 turbo petrol engine and two electric motors, resulting in a unique all-wheel drive powertrain.
The emergence of the production 918 Spyder, which will also be available in limited-edition Martini Racing livery, comes as a surprise given the long-awaited showroom version was not expected to appear until next year’s Frankfurt Motor Show on September 10, 2013 – a week before production commences in Stuttgart.
The ground-breaking plug-in super-spyder has been the subject of a drip-feed media reveal for more than two years, since it appeared in concept form at the 2010 Geneva motor show.
Porsche released images of a 918 Spyder prototype wearing vintage Martini Racing livery that recalls Porsche racers from the 1970s, following a licensing deal between Porsche and Martini’s parent company, Bacardi & Company Limited of Switzerland.
Martini was the Porsche factory team’s official sponsor between 1973 and 1978 - during which time it claimed victory in the 1973 Targa-Florio, the 1976 Sports Car World Championship and the 1976 and 1977 Le Mans 24 Hours – and the distinctive Martini Racing colours have adorned Porsche 908, 917, 935, 936 and various 911 RS and RSR models.
The release of official images of the full-colour Martini Racing 918 prototype came a week after a black and white Martini-look 918 was spied and an earlier 918 test mule was revealed in close-to-production form in matte-black colours in May. The leaking of these brochure images – which also show the 918 will be available in 12 exterior paint colours – follows the completion of hot-weather testing in Spain and high-speed tests at the Nurburgring.
Wrapped in a two-seat carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer monocoque body with two-piece Targa roof, the 918 is claimed to weigh less than 1700kg and accelerate to a 325km/h-plus top speed. Porsche says the full parallel hybrid system will also offer the ability to run in zero-emissions mode for at least 25km (at up to 150km/h). An electro-pneumatic lift system to raise the car’s front-end will be optional, while a special track pack is also reported to be on the cards.
Just 918 examples will enter production on September 18 next year (9/18, as it’s known by some), priced at $US845,000 plus taxes in North America.
In the meantime, Porsche is reported to be readying a Panamera-based ‘shooting brake’ concept for the Paris Motor Show this month – when it will also reveal all-wheel drive Carrera 4 versions of its new 911 – and will show its second-generation Cayman coupe at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.
Porsche’s all-new Macan medium SUV will hit Europe next October (and Australia in early 2014), and the company’s first direct rival for BMW’s large 5 Series sedan – so far dubbed the Pajun – could emerge as Porsche’s seventh model line after the 918.
However, Porsche recently said it could delay one of two planned new models following slower than expected European sales.
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Written byMarton Pettendy
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