With 12 months to go before Porsche’s 918 Spyder hits the road, the development car has already exceeded Porsche’s goal of lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in less than seven minutes and 30 seconds.
In fact, earlier this week a Porsche 918 Spyder prototype turned in a single-lap best time of just 7min 14 seconds for the 12.9 mile circuit.
“By turning in a fabulous time of 07:14 minutes, the 918 Spyder prototype has already fully confirmed the viability of its future concept after just a few months on the road”, said Dr. Frank Walliser, project leader for the 918 Spyder.
Although Porsche didn’t confirm who was driving the prototype 918 Spyder, the tracking shots show rally legend and Porsche ambassador, Walter Röhrl at the wheel. It was Rohrl who set the 7min 28.71 second lap time for its predecessor, the Carrera GT, which was achieved back in 2004.
The prototype with over 784bhp was wearing production Michelin road tyres as well as the optional “Weissach” package, which integrates a series of modifications that boost driving performance.
The Weissach package is rumoured to include, enhancements to the 918’s four-wheel steering, upgraded carbon ceramic brakes, and numerous weight-saving measures that turn the cabin of the 918 Spyder into that of a pseudo race car.
Porsche will offer the package with the option of two exterior liveries – Martini Racing Design and Salzburg Racing Design. In addition to these two historic designs, other film packages in solid colours with carbon contrast elements will also be available.
Other colours offered for the standard 918 Spyder include; solid colours – White, Black, Racing Yellow and Guards Red. Metallic colours – Rhodium Silver, Basalt Black, Sapphire Blue, Dark Blue, Meteor Grey and GT Silver.
Two premium quality ‘Special’ colours are also available – Liquid Metal Silver and Liquid Metal Chrome Blue – which are uniquely applied directly to the carbon-fibre reinforced plastic.
The 918 Spyder is powered by a mid-mounted 4.6-litre petrol engine, producing 572bhp and ‘two’ electric motors adding a further 212bhp to deliver a total of 784bhp. Peak torque is quoted at 627lb-ft (850Nm), more than 44% greater than the Carrera GT.
The combustion engine drives the rear wheels, while each electric motor is used to power either front or rear axle respectively.
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