Porsche 918 Spyder Orders Open

(Monday 21 March 2011)

The production version of the Porsche 918 Spyder, which was first revealed as a concept at the 2010 Geneva Show, won't officially be on sale until November 2013, but it's available to order now priced at €645,000. That doesn't include VAT or on-the-road costs, so the total price for a UK customer is likely to be in the region of £680,000.

Apart from the fact that it's an arresting-looking two-seater supercar, the most important thing about the 918 Spyder is that it's a plug-in hybrid, with a four-litre V8 petrol engine producing over 500bhp and two electric motors (one each on the front and rear axles) contributing a further 218bhp. Porsche quotes a 0-62mph time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of around 200mph, while in electric-only mode it can manage 94mph and has a range of 16 miles (though not if you drive it at 94mph).

Porsche also predicts combined fuel economy of 94mpg and CO2 emissions of 70g/km, making this one of the most economical cars in the world as well as one of the fastest. The idea that the Spyder would therefore be exempt from both Vehicle Excise Duty and the London congestion charge is very appealing, if not particularly relevant to someone who had paid £680,000 to buy it in the first place.

However, it's worth bearing in mind that this is an extreme case of the fuel economy testing procedure failing to match real-world conditions. If you use more than a tiny fraction of the Spyder's performance you'll certainly get through fuel at a much greater rate than 94mpg, and will emit vastly more than 70g/km of CO2, even if you're taxed as though you hadn't.

If you can afford one very expensive, very fast Porsche you can probably afford two, and with that in mind the 918 potential customers of the Spyder are being exclusively offered the chance to purchase a special version of the 530bhp 911 Turbo S.

Named, reasonably enough, the 911 Turbo S Edition 918 Spyder, it's available in coupé and Cabriolet forms and has various unique features including a badge on the glovebox bearing the same number as the Spyder you ordered.

Deliveries of the 911 are due to start in June this year, and it costs £125,865 in coupé form and £133,553 as a Cabriolet. Plus the price of the 918 Spyder, of course.

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