Porsche 918 Spyder Images And Details Emerge

By Ganesh

Updated: Saturday, February 1, 2014, 11:12 [IST]

Porsche has no intention of keeping its upcoming 918 Spyder supercar a secret. The world has known and seen official images of the 918 Spyder ever since Porsche began working on it some two years back. This is in stark contrast to how Ferrari and, to a lesser extent, McLaren kept the LaFerrari and the P1 shrouded in secrecy till the end.

Porsche has now released the more tech specs, the most detailed information till date about the 918 Spyder, along with new images of the hybrid supercar in race livery. Like its counterparts, the LaFerrari and P1, the 918 Spyder is a hybrid supercar, but it relies on the hybrid system much more than the other two. This also provides it with five driving modes, way more than the other two - E-Power, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid, Race Hybrid and Hot Lap.

While the Porsche 918 Spyder is an extremely clean supercar delivering a mileage of 3 liters/100 km at its best, the use of the hybrid system and battery make it heavy at ~1,640 kg. The 868 HP developed by the 918 Spyder is also less compared to the LaFerrari's 950 HP and the McLaren P1's 903. This makes it both less powerful and heavier than the competition. But Porsche is confident its advanced design features will negate any negative effect and will the others.

Porsche's dynamic active rear wheel steering, also featured in the 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo, could be one of those features. The system works by turning the rear wheel opposite to the front, at low speeds and vice versa. This reduces the turning radius, improves cornering stability and speed among other things. Official details and images in the gallery below.

Body:

Two-seat Spyder; carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) monocoque interlocked with CFRP unit carrier; two-piece Targa roof; fixed roll-over protection system.

Drivetrain:

Parallel full hybrid; 4.6-liter V8 mid-engine with dry-sump lubrication; hybrid module with electric motor and decoupler; electric motor with decoupler and gear unit on front axle; auto start/stop function; electrical system recuperation; four cooling circuits for motors, transmission and battery; thermal management.

Engine power:

608 hp at 8,600/min (V8 engine)

154 hp (hybrid module on rear axle)

127 hp (electric motor on front axle)

887 hp (combined)

Max. torque:

390 lb.-ft. at 6,600/min (V8 engine)

940 lb.-ft. (equivalent torque calculated on the crankshaft, complete system in 7th gear)

787 lb.-ft. (complete system, 3rd gear)

> 590 lb.-ft. (800/min - 5,000/min)

Maximum Revs:

9,150 rpm

Power output per liter:

133 hp/l (V8 engine)

Power transmission:

Combustion engine with hybrid module and transmission bolted together to form a single drive unit; seven-speed Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK); rear-wheel drive; front electric motor with gearbox for driving the front wheels (decoupled from 146 mph); five pre-selectable operating modes for optimum coordination of all drive units.

Chassis and Suspension:

Double-wishbone front axle; optional electro-pneumatic lift system on front axle; electro-mechanical power steering; multilink rear axle with adaptive electro-mechanical system for individual rear wheel steering; electronically controlled twin-tube gas-pressure dampers in the front and rear with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM).

Brake system:

High-performance hybrid brake system with adaptive recuperation; internally ventilated and perforated front ceramic brake discs (PCCB), 16 in. in diameter and 1.4 in. thick; rear discs 15.4 in diameter and 1.3 in. thick.