The Porsche 918 Spyder: hypercar of the future

GETTING ready for the taxi ride in the 918 Spyder at Aldenhoven’s high-speed section

Coming from last week’s column about the Porsche Sport Driving School, I mentioned that I got a brief ride in Porsche’s latest hypercar, the 918 Spyder.

I witnessed the unveiling of the 918 Spyder at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, sat inside the record-breaking ’Ring car that broke the magical 7-minute barrier with a 6:57 lap time, and exchanged shop talk with the engineers and test drivers who performed the record-breaking run.

Now, I would get the next best thing: a quick taxi ride around Aldenhoven’s high-speed section. Getting in is tough: The door is small, the roof low, the side sill is really wide, and I don’t want to damage the exposed carbon fiber, of which the entire 918’s chassis is made of.

Inside, you fit yourself into very tight, body-hugging bucket seats with fixed backs. The steering wheel is quite large, has three spokes and adjusts for reach but not rake.

GETTING ready for the taxi ride in the 918 Spyder at Aldenhoven’s high-speed section

What resembles a center console has a few knobs and dials plus a large 7-inch LCD screen  for the basic in-car electronics (climate, audio, navigation, etc.) while another 8-inch LCD  shows vehicle statistics and drive mode. There’s a tiny toggle switch beside the steering wheel which engages Park, Neutral, Drive or Reverse. You get paddle shifters behind the steering wheel to actuate the seven forward gears of the PDK system.

The flat-plane crankshaft 4.6-liter V8 engine is a stressed member of the composite chassis and produces 608 horsepower (roughly 133 hp/liter), and the hybrid system’s twin electric motors (one for the front and rear respectively) adds 281 hp to the mix. The total is 887 hp.

Yes, it should be 889 hp but the electric motors peak at different revolutions-per-minute points,  hence 887 hp. A Mezger flat-six engine the 918’s V8 isn’t, but it has real racing pedigree, based on the LMP2 Class RS Spyder of the mid 2000s.  Dry sump lubrication, forged pistons, titanium connecting rods with direct fuel injection mated to massive catalyzers means great power and a very responsible exhaust emission. There are no belt-driven accessories for this engine so response is amazingly quick and inertia-free, too!

The engine’s exhaust ports are in the middle of the V-formation, which is partly why the Inconel exhaust (same material used in F1) points up and out of the back of the 918. Better packaging, shorter exhaust routing and, crucially, a noise so spine-tinging-ly awesome, part F1 (re-turbo era), part superbike and part Nascar V8 as it wails through to its 9000-rpm redline. It’s not very noisy, compared to Italian supercars. But because the exhaust points upward, you can hear the beautifully distinct engine note from far, far away. All told, expect a sprint to 100 kilometers per hour in about 2.85 seconds and a top speed in the region of 350 kph. Porsche also claims that the 918 Spyder can achieve an estimated 71 miles per gallon (yes, that is not a typo!) on the new combined European Fuel Consumption Testing Parameters.

Quite light for a hybrid

In modern terms, the 918 is quite light for a hybrid: 3,616-3,716 pounds (1,640 kilograms/1,685 kg) depending on options. Seems heavy though from a purely performance standpoint, especially compared to rivals form Ferrari and McLaren (both weighing in below 1,400 kg), but the 918 has the security of all-wheel drive and is the first hybrid hypercar to go into production. All the heavy bits are placed ultralow in the car to lower the center of gravity, and well within the two axles to reduce yaw.

Moving off, the 918 is in full maximum attack mode: full combined electric and gasoline power, rear wing raised to the max, the underbody fans sucking the car to the ground and providing extra cooling to the engine and hybrid system. Through the 35-degree steeped banked section, you can really feel the g-force AND downforce working constantly to push the car to the ground. It’s a cliché but it’s unlike any other car I’ve ever ridden in my life.

Catching attention

Aside from the sensations, it’s the noise that really catches your attention. You can constantly hear the rose-jointed suspension mixed with slight noise from the carbon-fiber tub creaking a bit as the 918 is devoid of any sound-deadening. And when the hybrid system kicks in to provide you the full-monty 887-hp experience, you hear a mix of noises form behind you, like R2D2 going berserk, a computer going haywire and Mr. Fusion about to blast you back into the future all rolled into one, increasing in frequency and volume as the 918 speeds up.

We hit an indicated 270 kph before braking hard at full-tilt but the 918 simply tracks straight and true as the massive 21-inch Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, sized 325/30R21 at the rear scrabble to find all possible traction on the wet, banked oval. It’s amazing, amusing and truly memorable! The equally massive 265/35R20 front tires, despite being wider than most rear tires, showed no hint of tram-lining on the grainy Aldenhoven test track.

The best part about the 918 Spyder being a hybrid? A top-speed of 150 kph in full electric mode with a 20-km range. Go at a slower speed and the range increases as well. Not bad at all, which Mattias, our highly skilled “taxi” driver, racecar driver and part of the 918’s development team, demonstrated as the 918 cruised to 150 kph silently on the second banked oval. From a distance, you’d think something was wrong as the 918 would suddenly go quiet. Perfect for sneaking away on an early morning fun run or track day. Drive the 918 in a steady 5,000 rpm in gasoline mode for 8 minutes and the electric system is fully charged as well.

It’s sad I was unable to feel how organic the rear-wheel steering works, nor how feelsome the all-electric, power-assisted steering feels, nor how the hybrid system also provides one-third of the total braking requirement, with the advanced and massive carbon-ceramic brakes automatically adjusting brake line fluid pressure to provide seamless, fade-free and excellent braking modulation.

Optional  package

An optional Weissach Handling package (lighter forged magnesium wheels, ceramics instead of steel bearings for the wheel bearings, lighter bucket seats, no leather, more aggressive aerodynamic aids and no A/C among other things) is available for a more track-focused experience. There’s so much more engineering geekery to say but I’d fill this entire newspaper with facts and figures of the 918 Spyder! It truly is a monumental achievement, and the fastest, most expensive car I’ve had the pleasure to ride. Base price is $848,000. Simple estimates peg the 918 Spyder close to P100 million in the country, more so with the Weissach Handling Pack which adds $84,000 to the base price.

Overall, I’ve never, ever packed so much high-performance driving in one day. We were driving for the better part of 7 hours on the track, sideways half of the time, accelerating via Launch Control or deploying the brakes at full tilt the other half.

I do hope more car manufacturers introduce more driving programs. This not only enriches you, but, crucially, helps you understand how your high-performance car works and allows you a safe environment to experiment and find the limits of  your car and your own.  I know I’m now certainly less “chicken” on driving my Toyota Supra on the wet.