2015 Porsche 918 Spyder
Spark - MAP02019515 (resin)
Published 06/04/18
The 918 Spyder is a mid-engine hybrid sports car by Porsche, the company’s flagship car that was the successor to the previous flagship, the Carrera GT of 2004. It was first shown as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010, and with the very positive response from the public, consequently the Board of Directors at Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, approved the development of the car. In September 2013 the final production version of the 918 Spyder was ready.
The 918 is powered by a 4.6 liter V8 with DOHC and 32 valves that produces 608 hp. To spice things up, there are also two permanent-magnet AC synchronous electric motors, one in the front (127 hp) and the other at midships (154 hp), producing a combined output of 887 hp. All those horses are released on the pavement through Porsche’s 7-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic gearbox with manual shifting mode and also all-wheel drive, steered by all-wheel steering.
The combined engines allow five different running modes. From fully electric (~20 km of range) to full-ahead-warp-speed-mr.scotty mode . Though Porsche uses the much more boring “hot lap mode” denomination for that last one. With that on the 918 goes from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.6 seconds. With just 4.6 seconds more you’re at 200 km/h. And from a standstill to 300 km/h it takes 19.9 seconds, with a top speed of 343 km/h. Porsche made a nice video explaining the power train here (3’30”).
From 2013 to 2015, Porsche only produced 918 units. When new, it was sold for around US$ 845,000.00, but nowadays you can’t have one for less than double that. I confess that when I first saw the 918 it didn’t speak to me. But after I read more about it and the performance it delivered (at the time it was the fastest production car to lap Nürburgring, at 6’57”), it started to grow on me. In brief, I now think of the 918 is the modern 959, a car made to showcase Porsche’s engineering at its finest. Ok, maybe not as ground-breaking as the 959, but with the same spirit.
In scale it’s fantastic, and this is one of the few models that represents the car with the top on. Yes, that’s a VERY important feature in my book, especially when it rains. Model-wise it’s a Spark at it’s best, thus with the usual great detail level. So I dare say it should be a must buy for all Porsche fans.