New Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid breaks 7 minutes on famed Nürburgring
by Dan Ilika
Super sports car lapped 20.6-kilometre track in 6 minutes 57 seconds; average speed of 179.5 km/h
STUTTGART, Germany—With Porsche set to launch the final production model of its electric super sports car, it needed to find a way to prove the hybrid was more than just hype.
And what better way to welcome the automaker’s plug-in hybrid to world than a run on Germany’s famed Nürburgring Nordschleife, where the all-new 918 Spyder lapped the 20.6-kilometre track in exactly six minutes and 57 seconds.
According to Porsche, the production 918 Spyder shaved 14 seconds off its previous record on the challenging course.
“We promised a great deal with the 918 Spyder, namely to redefine driving pleasure, efficiency and performance,” Porsche AG board member Wolfgang Hats said in a statement. “We have kept our word.”
The automaker said the 918 Spyder’s average speed during the record-setting lap was 179.5 km/h.
Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb was behind the wheel when the record was set.
“The lap time on the Nordschleife is and remains the toughest measure of a super sports car,” 918 Spyder project head Dr. Frank Walliser said. “Posting a time of (six minutes and 57 seconds), we achieved a result of which everyone in the development team and at Porsche as a whole is rightly proud.”
The plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder delivers an astonishing total output of 887-horsepower—through a combination of a 608-hp 4.6-litre V8 engine and two electric motors delivering 279-hp—while maintaining an estimated combined fuel consumption of 3.3 to 3.0 l/100 km.
Porsche plans to build 918 2014 model year Spyder 918s, with deliveries expected to begin in December.
The plug-in hybrid will be on display at this month’s Frankfurt auto show in Germany.
