Porsche 918

[Haasman]

A lot has already been published about this car. Like it or not, this is the technological focus and future of Porsche.

I found a good composite of information here-

http://www.windingroad.com/articles/...he-918-spyder/

This is the Master Landing Page for the Porsche 918 Spyder. From now on, as we further review this car, we will be updating this page with whatever fresh content we create. Future drive reviews, updated specifications, videos, and other relevant information will all be found right here, in one convenient spot.

SUMMARY

First Look: 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder

Years after we found out what it looked like, Porsche has finally released complete details on the 918 Spyder. We covered a few facets of the car’s performance earlier this week, but the attached press release has almost everything.

As we mentioned yesterday, the 918 Spyder is a plug-in hybrid hypercar (if you want the abridged version of the following paragraphs, click here). A 4.6-liter V-8 sits amidships, churning out 608 horsepower at 8600 rpm. Torque rests at 390 pound-feet at 6600 rpms, while the max engine speed is 9150 rpms. Joining the V-8 are a pair of electric motors, one for each axle. The rear-axle motor packs an extra 154 horsepower, while the front axle has 127 horsepower. Combined system power sits at 887 ponies. Torque, meanwhile, amounts to 940 pound-feet with over 590 pound-feet available between 800 and 5000 rpm.

Not surprisingly, the 918 will be fast. 62 miles per hour arrive sin just 2.8 seconds, while driver’s can hit 124 mph in 7.9. Keep the pedal to the floor, and 186 mph arrives in just 23 seconds. The top speed is over 211 mph.

This being 2013, though, the 918 needs to be green. Its twin electric motors and 312-cell lithium-ion battery allow it to cover about 18 miles on electricity alone, as well as hitting 62 mph in about seven seconds. Charging takes seven hours on a standard wall plug, or two hours on a rapid charger. Buyers can also opt for a more potent at-home solution, that completely juices the 918’s battery in 25 minutes.

Speaking of those two electric motors, mounting one on each axle essentially gives the 918 a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system. That, along with the seven-speed PDK gearbox, account for a fair portion of this Porsche’s performance.

To control the myriad systems at play in the 918, drivers will have five different driving modes at their disposal. Controlled via a switch on the steering wheel, the driver can easily select a mode based on the conditions.

“E-Power” is the default mode on a charged battery. The 4.6-liter V-8 will only kick in when there’s a power demand that the electric motors can’t fulfill. “Hybrid” mode functions just like your uppity neighbor’s Prius, with every aspect of the powertrain working together.

“Sport Hybrid” keeps the gas engine running full time, and is the primary source of power. The electric motors act in more of a support role. “Race Hybrid” sharpens things up, with the gas engine’s leash being let out even further. The V-8 will charge the batteries when its full potential isn’t used, while the electric motors deliver their maximum amount of power. Finally, “Hot Lap” pulls out all the stops, and will drain the battery packs in order to deliver maximum performance.

We were told back in March of 2011 that the 918 Spyder would go on sale September of 2013, with pricing to start at $845,000. If that is the case, the 918 should be more affordable than either of its primary competitors, the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari.

Please scroll down for the official press release from Porsche.

Introducing the Porsche 918 Spyder

A unique combination of performance and efficiency

Atlanta. The 918 Spyder embodies the essence of the Porsche idea: it combines pedigree motor racing technology with excellent everyday utility, and maximum performance with minimum consumption. The task faced by the development team was to create the super sports car for the next decade with a highly efficient and powerful hybrid drive. Developing the car from scratch, appropriately beginning with a sheet of white paper, allowed the team to come up with a no-compromise concept. The entire car was designed around the hybrid drive. The 918 Spyder therefore demonstrates the potential of the hybrid drive to a degree never seen before: the parallel improvement of both efficiency and performance without one being at the cost of the other. This is the idea that has made the Porsche 911 the most successful sports car in the world for 50 years. In short, the 918 Spyder will act as the gene pool for the Porsche sports cars of the future.

The 918 Spyder reveals its close links to motorsport in a variety of ways. It has been designed, developed and produced by Porsche engineers who build race cars, in cooperation with series production specialists. A great deal of insight gained from the development of Porsche race cars for the 24 hours race in Le Mans in 2014 is thus integrated into the 918 Spyder – and vice versa. The structural concept of the 918 Spyder with a rolling chassis as its basis – a basic vehicle that can be driven even without a body – is race car tradition at Porsche. The concept of the V8 engine originates from the LMP2 RS Spyder race car. The load-bearing structures, the monocoque and subframe, are made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer. Porsche has many years of experience with this high-strength, lightweight construction material and has again achieved top results with the development of the series production 918 Spyder. Many parts of the super sports car come from manufacturers who have a proven record as suppliers for motorsport vehicles.

Hybrid drive brings advantages in terms of driving dynamics

A key message of the 918 Spyder is that the hybrid drive from Porsche is a plus for no-compromise driving dynamics. Drivers can experience this thanks to the unique all-wheel drive concept with a combination of combustion engine and electric motor on the rear axle and the second electric motor on the front axle. It is based on knowledge gained by Porsche during motor races with the successful 911 GT3 R Hybrid. Due to the additional, individually controllable front drive, new driving strategies for extremely high, safe cornering speeds can be implemented, especially for bends. Furthermore, the advanced “boost" strategy manages the energy of the electric drive so intelligently that, for every sprint with maximum acceleration, the full power of the 918 Spyder can be tapped into by simply pressing the accelerator down fully. In short, the 918 Spyder allows even drivers without motorsport training to experience the potential of advanced longitudinal and transverse dynamics.

[Haasman]

From the New York Times. Interesting focus on the huge technological focus and efforts Porsche is employing in the 918 project.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/au....html?hpw&_r=0

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May 24, 2013

<nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" ">Porsche’s Entry in the Science Fair</nyt_headline>

<nyt_byline style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; ">By AARON ROBINSON

</nyt_byline><nyt_text style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; "><nyt_correction_top></nyt_correction_top>Most auto engineers spend their lives on short leashes, constantly straining against the limitations of cost and market acceptance and whispering questions that begin with, “What if...?”

As in, what if Porsche, a German brand with a 75-year pedigree of building winning racers and delightful sports cars, threw into a single vehicle everything it knows about advanced materials, hybrid-electric powertrains, sophisticated electronics and the shaping of car bodies both to appease the wind and to get wealthy buyers to drop to their knees.

The forthcoming Porsche 918 Spyder, an $846,000 gasoline-electric hybrid supercar with all-wheel drive and 4-wheel steering, scheduled to arrive at dealers next year, is what can happen when management lets its white-coated geniuses run loose. Production is to begin on Sept. 18 — as in 9/18 — and a total of 918 are to be built.
The rakish two-seater is both a technical reach and a business risk for Porsche. Though the Toyota Prius and others have proved the quotidian reliability of hybrids, no automaker has yet put such a powerful hybrid on the road. The 918’s 4.6-liter gasoline V-8 has a redline of 9,000 r.p.m. and pairs with two electric motors, one driving the front axle and one between the midmounted engine and its 7-speed automated gearbox.

The combined horsepower is 887, which should propel the car to 60 m.p.h. in about 2.6 seconds and take it to a top speed of 211 m.p.h.

The mostly carbon-fiber 918 will travel up to 18 miles on electric power, at speeds up to 93 m.p.h., Porsche says. On European fuel economy tests, the car has achieved 71 m.p.g. while running in its most efficient mode.

Even among the many stupendous rewards that signal their owners’ financial success, the 918 will be a standout.

Though Porsche’s self-imposed technical challenges were formidable, the company had no other choice if the 918 is to have a hope of success. The market for cars over $250,000 is extremely small, and it’s increasingly hard to bedazzle the few highly jaded buyers at the high end. With up to 1,200 horsepower, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, priced around $2 million, has already established the likely upper power limit for street-legal cars.

So instead of brute force, Porsche, as well as rivals like Mclaren with its planned P1, Ferrari with its limited-edition LaFerrari and even Honda with its forthcoming Acura NSX, have turned to lightweight construction and hybrid technology.

The reasons to go hybrid now include social acceptance in Europe, where reducing carbon emissions is a priority, and the expectation that more localities will join cities like London, Berlin and Stockholm in having zones open only to low- or zero-emissions vehicles. A 918 running in electric mode would qualify.

Also, new rules for Formula One racing, which mandate smaller hybrid engines in 2014, will help to link the technology with a sporting image.The 918’s hybrid hardware also lets engineers better control power distribution to the wheels to aid handling. In the 918, which has about 50 microprocessors onboard, the front-axle motor can vary its torque side to side, which along with the 4-wheel steering helps aim the car at corners and makes it more stable under braking and acceleration.

But Porsche’s success with the 918 is hardly guaranteed. While the costs of developing such tech flagships are high, the sales can be fleeting. Porsche’s last foray into the market’s upper stratosphere was the $448,000 Carrera GT, a 605-horsepower roadster with a V-10 engine. That car was canceled in 2007 after 1,270 were built — well short of the sales goal of 1,500.

Porsche is a known risk-taker, having twice gambled its reputation on unexpected products, first with the Cayenne S.U.V. and then with the Panamera sedan. Both have paid off richly. The Cayenne quickly became Porsche’s best-selling vehicle worldwide, and it positioned the brand for growth in Asia. The Panamera has also exceeded sales expectations, helping Porsche to its best sales year ever in 2012.

Still, an $846,000 toy from a brand that is considered only near-exotic may prove a stretch. When the required $250,000 deposits came in at a slower pace than expected, Porsche began inundating the media with teaser photos and “preview ride” opportunities for journalists. The company says it now has more than 400 deposits.
What if the 918 never makes its sales target? With the car still almost a year away, Porsche isn’t ready to ponder that possibility.

</nyt_text>