Along came a Spyder...
As Ferrari and McLaren trade hypercar hyperbole, Porsche’s 918 is preparing to blow them both off the road and off the track
Off in the distance, the Porsche 918 Spyder rounds a bend and spears toward us, pursued by the high-pitched scream of its petrolelectric driveline. It flashes by the pit wall then arcs into the turn at the end of the straight, revealing a huge rear wing before disappearing from view.
It seems an impossible achievement given the car’s complexity, but the 918 Spyder has gone from concept to preproduction form in just two years. Even since my ride in the first road-going prototype last year, Porsche has reworked much of the mechanical and electrical package and the car’s completeness today has me in awe.
The naturally aspirated 4.6-litre V8 produces 599hp at 8,600rpm. Two electric motors — one mounted within the front axle and developing 154hp, another at the rear with 127hp — add a further 275hp. Combined, the three power sources provide 875hp.
This makes the 918 Spyder easily the most powerful Porsche road car ever. By comparison, the rear-wheel-drive Carrera GT’s naturally aspirated 5.7-litre V10 produced 603hp.
Appearance wise, the Spyder is squat and wide but lacks the visual flair and aesthetic impact of Ferrari’s LaFerrari and McLaren’s P1. Entering the cabin is tricky because the carbon fibre monocoque’s sills are so high and wide, but at least the seatbelts are three-point affairs so there’s no need to wrestle with a full race harness before getting down to business.
I twist the key. There’s no direct firing of the V8 engine, merely some distant whirring as the electric motors are primed for action. The windscreen provides an excellent view out, but there’s no rear window due to the lightweight titanium exhaust, which is mounted atop the engine just an arm’s length behind. Instead, a reversing camera and a tight turning circle come to the rescue as we manoeuvre out of the pits.
The 918 Spyder may claim race-car lineage, but it doesn’t sound like one. Besides the rumble of tyres on the asphalt and the sound of stones being thrown up into the wheelarches as we head to the first corner, it is all but silent.
With sufficient battery charge in E-Power mode, the Porsche relies on the front electric motor to get you off the mark, which makes this Porsche’s first front-wheel-drive car.
Before the first lap is over, I’m already gushing about the razor-sharp throttle response, the immense in-gear urge, the immediacy of the chassis and the searing V8 engine, which emits a spinetingling mechanical shrill on the way to its 9,150rpm limiter.
The juggling act between efficiency and performance has resulted in five driveline modes. E-Power is the default setting, in which the 918 Spyder is propelled by its front electric motor and, above 25kph, the rear electric motor. Turn a rotary dial to select Hybrid mode and both the electric motors and the combustion engine combine, although the V8 doesn’t run all the time.
A further turn of the dial activates Sport Hybrid, in which the combustion engine runs continuously and the electric motors operate most of the time, while Race Hybrid introduces torque vectoring to the front wheels and, when required, has the rear motor acting as a generator to supply power to the front electric motor.
If that’s not enough, there’s a socalled Hot Lap mode that allows the electric motors to draw up to 90% of available energy, or 20% more than usual.
Third gear, with Race Hybrid mode engaged, is best for an out-of-body experience. The efforts of the three power sources and the shriek of the V8 under full load is mind-blowingly intense. It’s the same in fourth, and fifth brings little respite; the torque is so strong that you reach huge speeds with little more than a fleeting prod of throttle.
The V8’s 548Nm torque peak arrives at 6,600rpm, but there’s colossal shove throughout the range thanks to the added efforts of the electric motors. All up, there’s a whopping 1,317Nm, more than 826Nm of which is available between 800rpm and 5,000rpm, giving the car a tremendously flexible nature.
The 918 Spyder uses a bespoke regenerative braking system to extend its range, with the two electric motors providing deceleration of up to 0.5g. There’s no regeneration until you hit the brake pedal, though, and just lifting the throttle engages a coasting function. Despite their complexity, the carbonceramic brakes are stunningly effective and deliver true feel.
The steering, which operates on the front and rear axles simultaneously, helps to endow the 918 Spyder with superb agility. The weighting of the electro-mechanical system is a little lighter than expected. But the tyres bite hard, there’s little roll and the front end remains remarkably calm. No ploughon understeer, no sudden-death oversteer, just terrific neutrality and masses of grip.
The secret to the ease of driveability is the packaging of all of the 918 Spyder’s major drive systems below the horizontal centre line and within its wheelbase. All three power sources are mounted exceptionally low for the best possible centre of gravity and low polar movement.
Porsche employs the front electric motor not only for propulsion, but also to tailor the handling by constantly increasing or decreasing the amount of torque that goes to each of the front wheels.
As well as countering any tendency toward understeer or oversteer, the addition of drive to the front wheels via a fixed-ratio gearbox also provides the 918 Spyder with tremendous traction and drive.
Porsche has yet to sign off the final chassis tuning, but one thing is already abundantly clear: the 918 Spyder possesses extraordinary purchase and traction. It feels tremendously well sorted for something so inherently complex, and it seems there’s even more to come.
Despite its complexity, this car is also spectacularly alert, providing meaningful communication and tremendous weighting as lateral forces are piled on.
In pre-production form at least, the 918 Spyder has exceeded our expectations. For all its speed and ability to run on electric power, the truly extraordinary thing about it is the accessibility of its performance.
It’s not a car to be scared of by any means, but one you’re urged to drive — and hard. Provided, that is, you can forget about the price.