Porsche reveals production version of the 918 Spyder

After the prototype we saw recently, Porsche finally pulled the wraps off the production version of the all-new Spyder 918. It is already the most impressive among the others in Porsche's stable and the specifications of the car are testimony to this.

Let's start with the engine. The RS Spyder-based 4.6-liter naturally aspirated V8, punches out a total of 887bhp. But I am going to explain this power bit by bit. Start with 608bhp at 8600 rpm. The 9150rpm redline engine creates an impressive 133bhp per litre, which is same as Ferrari’s 458 Speciale, and is tucked deep in the chassis aft of the driver.

This gas engine is connected via a clutch to a 154bhp electric motor that also drives the rear wheels. To that add 127bhp of the motor that powers the front wheels. If you add all these figures together, the number actually turns out to be 889. But Porsche has a different mathematics at play. The company explains this figure by saying that, "The engine and motors reach max power at different rpm, so the combined power output at any given point is not necessarily cumulative."

The V8 has a 180-degree crankshaft, which adds wickedness to the exhaust note and all that horsepower propels this 918 from 0-100km/h in under 2.8 seconds. It is also impressive to note here that the 918 has gone around the Nürburgring Nordschleife and set a lap time of 7minutes 14 seconds. The aim though for Porsche is to make this one do it in under seven minutes.

The 918 Spyder has 5 drive modes which act on the engine and motors. E-Power - is basically electric only unless the battery level dips and the V8 fires up to recharge it. Hybrid - is as it implies, mixing gas and electric for max efficiency and minimal fuel use. Sport Hybrid - keeps the V-8 running all the time. Race Hybrid - where the electric motors contribute still more, able to run at full power as long as the battery holds out, after which the V8, charges the battery more intensively.

The 918 Spyder uses a 6.8 kilowatt-hour energy capacity of the lithium-ion battery, which is made up of 312 cells and is liquid-cooled via its own cooling system. Warranty on the traction battery is seven years, and should you plug it into your 110-volt home system you’ll need around seven hours to recharge it. At 240 volts you’d be out and running in less than four hours, and if you opt for the DC “Speed Charging” system you'll be up and atom in less than 25 minutes.

We'll see the first 918's in the US around the first quarter of 2014 and we are sure there are a lot of wealthy Indians who would want to get their hands on this Porsche.