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(Tue 02 Mar 10) The most immediately obvious feature of the Porsche 918 Spyder, on display now at the Geneva Show, is that it looks absolutely wonderful. It is also very fast, as well it might be with a maximum power output well on the high side of 700bhp. More unexpectedly, it has combined fuel economy of 94mpg and a CO2 rating of 70g/km.
At first, these statistics seem to relate to two completely different cars. The reason they all apply to the 918 Spyder is that it is a plug-in hybrid, which a 500bhp-plus 3.4-litre V8 engine driving the rear wheels plus two electric motors - one at each end - contributing a further 218bhp. The battery pack is regenerated in normal hybrid fashion in braking and coasting conditions, but it can also be charged overnight using a main supply (which is what "plug-in" means). The extraordinary fuel economy and CO2 figures are due to the fact that the 918 Spyder can be used as a purely electric vehicle when required, and in this form it has a range of up to 16 miles - certainly enough to make a huge difference in the EU fuel consumption test. Obviously it will get through petrol, and emit CO2, at a significant rate when that V8 engine fires up. This is by no means Porsche's only venture into such technology. A hybrid 911 GT3 R race car is also on display at Geneva, along with the 34.4mpg Cayenne Hybrid production car, which will be going on sale shortly. Comment on this story on Facebook or Twitter. |
