Porsche 918 Spyder Fleet Hot Weather Testing In S.A.

We don’t need an excuse to bring you photos of the Porsche 918 Spyder, but we’ll take the opportunity to recall what all the excitement is about.

We already know the ins and outs of the all-new, tech-laden, Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar. Plenty of chatter surrounding the car has meant we’ve been following its development since its debut in concept form back in 2010. The production version was officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but not before it lapped the famed Nordschleife in just 6 minutes and 57 seconds. The McLaren P1 has potentially gone even faster, but that’s another story.

As the hypercar successor to the Porsche Carrera GT, the Porsche 918 Spyder is powered by a mid-mounted 4.6-litre V8 with 447 kW. The engine is coupled with a pair of electric motors (one on each axle), which offer another 205 kW between them. In ‘e-Power’ mode the electric motors can provide a travel range of 32 km, yet still deliver enough grunt to get the 918 to 100 km/h in 7 seconds and onto a top speed of 150 km/h.

Porsche claim the 918 Spyder’s average fuel consumption is 3.1 l/100 km, but more than offering economy, the electric motors can be set between three modes of performance – ‘Hybrid’; ‘Sport Hybrid’ and ‘Race Hybrid’ – to deliver varying degrees of ferocity. The outright performance figures are as follows: 0 – 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds; 0 – 200 km/h in 7.9 seconds; 0 – 300 km/h in 23 seconds; top speed of 345 km/h.

Our team spotted the 918 fleet undergoing some final testing in the Western Cape which, despite the rain and clouds, is likely to be of the hot weather variety. Unlike the often cagey response from drivers of prototypes in the early stages of development, the Porsche team seemed happy to oblige and maintain some modest speeds long enough for us to snap a few photos while on the move – even if we had to make do with a compact camera.

Apart from the obvious sense of occasion surrounding any hypercar, some notable features include the high-mounted exhaust pipes, the large and wide wheel and tyre combination (265/35 ZR20 in front and 325/30 ZR21 at the rear), together with the lack of engine noise at low speeds that goes against what your brain expects to hear. The Weissach package is evident on the silver metallic coloured 918, which affords a reduction in weight thanks to lightweight magnesium wheels, the removal of some interior items, as well as more generous use of carbon fibre.

Today’s pinnacle of Porsche engineering will only be available in left-hand drive though, meaning these photos of Porsche’s 918 Spyder test fleet are likely to be the last we’ll see of the hybrid hypercar on South African roads. Porsche will build 918 examples of the 918 Spyder, with prices starting from around US$845 000.

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