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    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    hello guys.

    I'm not new in here, but haven't posted a lot.

    The reason I'm posting today is because I wanted to share this new information about 918 development.  Very interesting.

    http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/porsche-918-spyder-prototype/?pid=1659

    wasn't too sure about the copyrights, so here I'm just putting a link


    --
    "When you begin with something right, something true, the job is to improve it, not change it."

    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    So cool seeing such an early prototype!! Thanks for posting!







    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Very cool Smiley


    --
    Happy Driving

    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    WTF??? angel


    --


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Whohooooooo! Fantastic post, thanks mate!


    --

    Porsche, seperates LeMans from LeBoys

    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Carrara:

    So cool seeing such an early prototype!! Thanks for posting!






     

    "An Exclusive Ride in the World’s First Plug-In Hybrid Supercar"
     
    (19 March 2012)
     
    NARDO, Italy – There’s a digital clock mounted above the door of Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser’s office counting down the days until the launch of Porsche 918 Spyder. It’s a constant reminder of what Walliser and his team have been tasked with. They’re reinventing the supercar for the 21st century and we’ve traveled all the way to the high-security Nardo Test Track for an exclusive ride in the world’s first plug-in hybrid supercar.
     
    This is most definitely not a Prius.
     
    Granted, it doesn’t look like much right now. The original concept debuted two years ago at the Geneva Motor Expo and stole the show. Within months the Porsche board approved the project for production and engineers have been working overtime ever since.
     
     
    The 918 prototype you see here was in bits and pieces just a few weeks ago, and it’s one of only three in existence. The Porsche team assigned with 918 development arrived in Italy in early January and furiously began testing all the components before slapping together an assortment of chopped and mismatched 911 bodywork to get it ready for the track. And us.
     
    Few outsiders get access to a vehicle this early in the development process – not even a cheap econobox, let alone a next-generation halo vehicle in Frankenstein form. But Porsche wants to show off what it’s been up to and give us a taste of how it’s reworking the recipe for world-beating performance.
     
    The formula for the 918 starts in stereotypical supercar fashion: mount a race-bred V8 amidships that sends power to the rear wheels. In this case, Porsche pulled a variant of the 4.6-liter V8 originally fitted to the three-time ALMS LMP2 Championship-winning RS Spyder. That engine put out a comparatively paltry 503 horsepower, but fitted to the 918, output is up to 570 hp. That figure is before you account for the 918′s two electric motors, and it’s also where the similarities to past supercars ends. Abruptly.
     
    As opposed to most engines, the eight cylinders’ exhaust outlets exit in the middle of the V, driving spent hydrocarbons out and over the engine into a muffler fitted atop the engine. That means heat in the engine compartment is kept to a minimum and – in an ingenious bit of form following function – a duo of exhaust outlets protrude upwards like two titanium trumpets signaling to the heavens. And it gets better.
     
    The 918 Spyder is a full parallel hybrid, with a 90 kW electric motor sandwiched between the engine and seven-speed transmission. Easy enough for a Toyota, but Porsche takes things three steps further.
     
    Another 80 kW electric motor is mounted on the front axle, powering the two front wheels and effectively making the 918 all-wheel-drive on-demand. That motor alone is good enough to get the 918 up to speed and driving around town on just electricity for 16 miles, but the combination of the two electric motors – on their own more powerful than the 1974 911 Turbo – and the mid-engine V8 singing at 9,000 rpm brings total output up to 770 hp, with an even more impressive 553 pound-feet of torque available across the rev range.
     
    Flick the steering wheel mounted switch into “Hot Lap” mode and in third gear Porsche claims you’ll be thrusted forward with an overboosted total of 700 lb-ft of twist. That’s good for a zero to 60 mph run of less than 3 seconds, 124 mph in less than 9 seconds and on to a top speed of 202 mph. And if you’ve got enough juice from the liquid-cooled, lithium-ion battery pack, you can hit 90 mph without using a single drop of fuel.
     
     
    Topping up that 6.8 kWh battery pack mounted behind the passenger compartment will take around six hours on a traditional 110-volt outlet, but Porsche will supply owners with a quick-charging setup that will reduce that time to 2 hours. Engineers we spoke with also mentioned that they’re working on an even more robust charging setup that could bring that time down to 20 minutes, because, in their words, “Porsche wants to do everything faster.”
     
    But the enemy of fast is weight. It’s something Fisker learned the hard way with its nearly three-ton plug-in hybrid Karma and it’s been nothing short of an obsession with the 918′s engineers.
     
     
    The entire chassis is a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum, including the passenger compartment and associated crash structure, which weighs in at a scant 485 pounds. Carbon fiber construction has come a long way since Porsche’s last super car, the Carrera GT, and Porsche illustrates that by pointing out that the passenger tub of the GT took five days to make. Today, they can crank out five 918 tubs a day thanks to new innovations in composites and assembly methods.
     
    All told, the production version will tip the scales at less than 3,700 pounds – not bad for something packing a brace of batteries – but more importantly, nearly 80-percent of the weight is below the centerline of the car, giving the 918 the proper amount of grip to match it’s hybrid-electrified go.
     
    All this sounds phenomenal until we realize that due to the lack of bodywork and its associated affect on grip and downforce, today during testing, the engine/motor combo is only configured to output 50-percent of what’s available – a mere 400 hp and a redline of only 6,000 rpm. More frustratingly, because of instability at speed, our ride will max out at around 80 mph. But getting up to that speed is the interesting part.
     
     
    We strap into the carbon fiber bucket seat on the passenger side, a five-point race harness holding us tightly inside the sparse cabin and our posterior a scant 10 inches off the ground.
     
    One of the lead engineers flicks a few toggle switches on a makeshift aluminum panel below the windshield and selects one of five driving modes. The first is “E-Power”, the all-electric setting, and a second later he nails the throttle to the floor and we’re whisked up to speed in near complete silence. Acceleration is rapid, but far from brutal, with the only noise coming from the massive tires scrubbing the tarmac and wind rushing around the cobbled together body work.
     
    A hundred yards down the track, he bypasses the standard “Hybrid” mode, which blends electric and engine power for optimum efficiency, and sets the system to “Sport Hybrid”. The mid-engine V8 bursts to life and it sounds like the Cookie Monster is shouting in our ear through a megaphone. Another matting of the throttle has us maxing out at our engineering-imposed top speed in seconds, at which point our pilot slams on the carbon-ceramic brakes and flips a quick U-turn.
     
     
    A moment later we’re back up to speed and doing a flyby passed the assembled engineers before the driver expertly flicks the wheel left and right a half-dozen times. With the weight so centralized, body roll is completely and utterly nonexistent. The 918 stays perfectly flat with each undulation, the adaptive dampers working in concert with the torque vectoring traction control and rear-wheel steering.
     
    Another U-turn and we’re back in the pits, more impressed with the overall balance than the sheer force of the 918. But then again, we’re only working at half its potential. Things can only get better once the finalized body work is applied and the engine/motor combo sorted out. But Walliser and his crew have time, as the first of 918 production examples won’t go on sale until September 18, 2013.
     
    Nine Fast Facts About the Porsche 918 Spyder
    • $800,000 price (appox.), $200k deposit
    • More than 50 CPUs
    • Electrical system alone took 9 months to develop
    • Every single light is an LED, from the headlamps to the interior
    • The passenger sits 20mm further forward than the driver for optimum weight distribution
    • The transmission was pulled from the new 911 and flipped upside down to fit the 918
    • Every body panel is carbon fiber, save the bumpers
    • There’s a “Manufactured in Flacht” sticker on the back as a reminder that Porsche Motorsport is the main developer
    • If you leave the two carbon fiber targa panels at home and it starts to rain, you’re out of luck. Porsche doesn’t offer a soft top option

    All images: Porsche

    Article link: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/porsche-918-spyder-prototype/?pid=1659

    Smiley SmileySmiley


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    I though it had two motors in the front, one per wheel. So since only one is used, it has to have a diff up front as well right


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    linkrain:

    hello guys.

    I'm not new in here, but haven't posted a lot.

    The reason I'm posting today is because I wanted to share this new information about 918 development.  Very interesting.

    http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/porsche-918-spyder-prototype/?pid=1659

    wasn't too sure about the copyrights, so here I'm just putting a link

    Fantastic, thank you Linkrain.

    A new dawn of sportscars, lead by Porsche, naturally. This is so exciting!

     


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    mojeIme:

    I though it had two motors in the front, one per wheel. So since only one is used, it has to have a diff up front as well right

    I think the author messed up the details.  When I saw the presentation at Weissach, there were definitely separate electric motors for each front wheel.  They were contained in a common cylindrical housing, but there were two individual motors. 

    He mentions torque vectoring and glosses over the requirement for individual front wheel torque control.  Too messy to add an e-diff when separate electric motors are easier to package and control.

    YMMV

    --

    Mike

    Carrera GT + Tesla Roadster 1.5 + Panamera Turbo +  BMW Z8 + BMW 3.0 CSi + Bentley Arnage T + GT3 RS 4.0


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    W8MM:
    mojeIme:

    I though it had two motors in the front, one per wheel. So since only one is used, it has to have a diff up front as well right

    I think the author messed up the details.  When I saw the presentation at Weissach, there were definitely separate electric motors for each front wheel.  They were contained in a common cylindrical housing, but there were two individual motors. 

    He mentions torque vectoring and glosses over the requirement for individual front wheel torque control.  Too messy to add an e-diff when separate electric motors are easier to package and control.

    YMMV

    --

    Mike

    Carrera GT + Tesla Roadster 1.5 + Panamera Turbo +  BMW Z8 + BMW 3.0 CSi + Bentley Arnage T + GT3 RS 4.0

    My thought exacly


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    u guys should read this!! by far the best source of information....

    http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/exotic/1103_porsche_918_first_ride/viewall.html#ixzz1pc1bO1qy

     

    epic!


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Wow, this is by far the coolest prototype i've ever seen! So hardcore and focused. For Porsche to release pics of this thing is just cool. They just cut some 991 panels on this beast. Notice how the rear bumper was cut in half to compensate for the 20cm wider width of this beast!!! Sexy.


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    SmileySmiley


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Porsche 918 Spyder First Ride by Motor Trend...

    (19 March 2012)

    "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." John F. Kennedy was sticking his neck out a long way in May 1961. It was still some nine months before John Glenn had even orbited the earth. There's that sort of bold aspiration in Porsche's announcement that production of the first of the 918 examples of the 918 Spyder will begin on 9/18/2013. They said that before they'd ever had a prototype running. And this is no ordinarily predictable project. It's the most technically ambitious sports car ever.
     
    It's a hyper-performance two-seater with an all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid drivetrain. It shares barely a single component with any other vehicle. But if you think that gives grounds for uncertainty, you just don't think like a Porsche engineer thinks. The company decided to build a concept-car only in September 2009; it was unveiled at Geneva in March 2010. But that really was just a show-pony, not an engineered package. Feasibility studies were undertaken that summer, so the production green light occurred a scant three years before job one. In an industry where it usually takes two years just to perform a mid-cycle facelift, the 918 Spyder represents engineering at lightning speed.
    Yet here I am at the Nardo high-speed test track in southern Italy standing by the 918 Spyder test car, and precision engineering might not be the first phrase to come to mind. It's mostly un-bodied, and even where there are panels they have several-inch gaps between them. Everywhere you look it's duct tape, cable ties, crooked screw heads and unintelligible German scribbles. Exposed pipes and wires untidily snake all over the place. The cockpit is near uninhabitable; you share it with any number of temporary controls, data acquisition equipment and a noodle-salad of cabling.
     
    Don't be deceived. This is the very first rolling chassis. It's only seven weeks old when I ride in it. That's in itself an astounding fact: a major manufacturer letting an outsider experience a car so early in its development journey. This vehicle contains all the major production-intent systems. These systems are bewilderingly exotic in themselves, but they don't just need to work as standalone pieces. Obviously they will need to integrate with each other under the command of 55 electronic controllers. The prime mover is a bespoke 4.6-liter V-8, with flat-plane crank and titanium connecting rods. It's derived in principle from the V-8 in the RS Spyder ALMS racer, but no parts are shared. It revs to 9000 rpm, an astonishing figure in isolation but even more so when you consider it has direct injection. The engine weighs just 290 pounds, a scant 25 pounds more than the race engine, even though it's rated to pass all Porsche's road-car durability tests. It makes 570 horsepower -- wildly impressive for just 4.6-liters, and a better power-to-displacement number than the 5.7-liter V-10 found in the 604 hp Carrera GT. Still though, Porsche's old super-duper car made more power, right? Not quite.
     
    We haven't yet talked about the 918 Spyder's the two electric motors. The one at the back, between engine and transmission, makes 90kW (121 hp), and the one for the font wheels is 80kW (107 hp). These numbers are provisional; they might rise some more. Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz isn't shy of talking about a final total system power north of 800 horsepower.
     
    The rear powertrain consists of the V-8, and behind it a decoupling clutch, then the e-motor, then a seven-speed PDK twin-clutch transmission. The decoupler aft of the V-8 means it can be shut down permanently for the driver-selectable electric-only mode, and temporarily for the hybrid mode. So the rear electric-motor drives through the seven-speed box and can operate at all road speeds up to the 202mph top-end. The front motor runs a single reduction ratio and is decoupled at 146mph to avoid over-revving. In pure-electric-mode, the 918 Spyder can pull 0-60s in about 9 seconds, and thanks to its 6.8kWh battery capacity should go about 15 miles if you drive like the man from the EPA.
     
    But you don't drive like that, do you? So for you there will be a little rotary knob on the steering wheel. Turn it out of e-mode, through hybrid mode and into sport mode. Now the V-8 is permanently clutched in, which should do away with worries about system lag when you mash the gas. It also means permanent exposure to its ear-tingling cadenzas: the exhaust system is packaged inside and above the V, and the two pipes fire obliquely backwards like anti-aircraft guns, from a position just less than two feet behind your ears. Where you see them on this mule is where they will be in real life. In this position, their heat is easily vented, rather than soaking into the engine bay and towards the battery.
     
    Another twist of the dial and you're in race mode. All systems are set to maximum, and the battery will cycle deeper. In two-second bursts the electric motors alone will make 260 hp -- the same total amount as a 1974 911 Turbo. And the output power of the electrical systems means they have huge input power too: the system can generate 0.5g worth of deceleration via regenerative braking. That means more electrical energy is available next time the car accelerates. Zero to sixty should fall under 3 seconds flat -- in fact Porsche claims 0-100 km/h will be under 3.0, and it always claims conservatively. More fantastically, 0-125 mph should happen in less than nine seconds, and 0-186 mph (300km/h) in under 27. Those are hypercar figures boys and girls.
     
    The car comes to rest beside me, and I'm invited to the passenger seat. Strangely, the engine is running. I guess, and my engineer-driver confirms, that because they are doing a lot of electric-only acceleration runs today, they're using every chance to keep the battery topped up via the gas engine -- this is a hack mode exactly similar to what Chevy did with the Volt on press outings, and not normal for the production car. So when I'm strapped in, the V-8 cuts out, and we bowl up the straightaway, eventually getting to about 60 mph before he lifts off. Turns out the electrical systems are running at about half power today and 0-60 mph takes longer than the 9 seconds they're claiming for full electric. Also, with no gas beng consumed, the e-mode 918 should do 90+ mph "flat out". In gentle electric acceleration from rest, it's the front motor that does the driving, because the single-speed front gearbox has less friction than the 7-speed PDK at the rear. Yes, a FWD Porsche. At certain times, anyway.
     
    We swing around and return. This time the V-8 kicks in, and hard. The driver pulls the upshift paddle every time it gets to 6000 rpm, by which time it's beginning to sound pretty darned Le Mans. Then instead of going back to the pit, he peels off to the right, down another wide runway, and takes the chance to saw the wheel left and right repeatedly. The lateral forces pull my five-point harness like a heavy bear is running on my chest.
     
    The 918 has to handle properly. Has to: Porsche has given itself a public target 7 minute 22 second Nordschleife time, so to miss it would be (as the kiddies say) an epic fail. To achieve it, there's a 'hot lap' mode that allows the battery to end the lap more depleted than it starts. That's 10 seconds quicker than the Carrera GT. Well, in the workshop where this prototype lives, I also saw a Carrera GT crudely modified to use the suspension geometry, tires and dampers of the 918, and with ballast weights to simulate the new car too. Sad to see this lovely car brutalized, but at least it's for a good reason. I spoke to several chassis engineers and they all admit now (as does Walter Rohrl) that the Carrera GT was evil on the limit. This simulator has a higher but friendlier outer edge. And that's without the front-axle drive that will further stabilize the final, production 918 Spyder.
     
    The dynamics engineers had clear priorities for the packaging guys: low weight, and weight mounted low. That's difficult when there were 700 pounds of hybrid gubbins to include. But they have kept it under 3750 pounds, all-in. The V-8 is dry-sumped and is mounted almost entirely below the center-height of the wheels. The PDK is upside-down from the usual orientation (and so has a bespoke casing as well as almost all-new internal parts versus Porsche's other units), and the battery is behind the occupants' buttocks. Increased efficiency allows the fuel tank to be 18.5 gallons versus 23.8 in the Carrera GT, and it's mounted low, too.
     
    The electronic stability system will not only be able to call on the front wheels to keep the car pointing where you ask: it also commands rear-wheel steering. That's right, all-wheel steering. It's normally programmed to counter-steer at low speed for agility, and work in phase with the front wheels at speed for stability. Active dampers are standard too, and carbon-ceramic brakes of course.
     
    By a margin of 0.05 of an inch over the Cayenne, the 918 Spyder is the widest car Porsche makes, at 76.4 in, with a length of 182.8 in. It's by far Porsche's lowest, at 45.9 in -- the driver sits even lower than in the Carrera GT. That helps it roll so very little and grip so hard. The space taken up by the hybrid equipment means the 918 doesn't have space for Carrera GT-type inboard pushrod-operated springs and dampers, and anyway they were deemed too heavy. The next phase of prototypes, which were being built while I rode in the rolling chassis, will have the production car's active aerodynamics. The system comprises a four-position rear wing, an active front diffuser, an active underfloor flap, and an active radiator flap. Acting under central control, these allow drag, downforce and cooling to be tuned as needed, in real time.
     
    It will be a habitable car, not too stripped of comfort. The twin carbon fiber roof panels will fit in the front trunk. There will be an 11-speaker sound system. All the instruments will be part of a reconfigurable TFT screen. A new touch-screen navigation/entertainment/connectivity system is being designed for the center console. Air conditioning will be standard, and an electric cabin heater an option. So will be a nose lifter for steep car park ramps. Porsche knows its buyers: another option is to be a 'track pack' of lighter wheels (magnesium: minus 26 pounds) and even lower, stiffer suspension, plus further weight-cutting measures. A high proportion of the buyers are likely to use the car on-track, the engineers all say.
     
    Ah, the buyers. I can't with much ease climb inside the minds of people who drop a million bucks on a supercar. Well, 768,000 Euros at any rate. But I voiced my guess what some of those potential richies would holler: chuck away the hybrid nonsense and give us an ultra-light racetrack murdering double hyper car. It turns out that about half do indeed say that, at least when they first express an interest in the car. But the sales technique is simple. They're just strapped into the passenger seat of one of Porsche's experimental four-wheel-drive electric Boxsters, and the accelerator is floored. Apparently they soon come to see the appeal of a powerful electric motor or two. Whether they want the highest-tech supercar around, the highest-efficiency or simply the highest-performance, the 918 Spyder is on course to have all the bases covered.
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Right Side
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Front
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Front Three Quarter
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Right Side Door Open
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Front Three Quarter On Track
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Passenger Cell
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Seat Molds
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Engine
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Left Side
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Front On Track
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Electric Motor
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Head
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Connecting Rod
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Engine Block
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Camshaft
     
     
    Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype Crankshaft
     
     

    Smiley SmileySmiley

     


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    It's great to see all the detailed photos, so early......this is so unlike Porsche....kudos to them.


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    964C2:

    It's great to see all the detailed photos, so early......this is so unlike Porsche....kudos to them.

    They need to fill the order books on this project to match production slots.  Also unlike them.


    --

    Mike

    Carrera GT + Tesla Roadster 1.5 + Panamera Turbo +  BMW Z8 + BMW 3.0 CSi + Bentley Arnage T + GT3 RS 4.0


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    What gets me so excited is the fact that - despite it being only a rolling chassis with some odd 991 body panels losely attached, it resembles the CGT so much in these pics...


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    Porsche, seperates LeMans from LeBoys

    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Anyone have a clue at what kind of a camshat that is?


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    mojeIme:

    Anyone have a clue at what kind of a camshat that is?

    Looks like its made out of cas segments or plate segments. Judging from the way these segments are joined together, there may be some variable timing involved as well...


    --

    Porsche, seperates LeMans from LeBoys


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Joost:
    mojeIme:

    Anyone have a clue at what kind of a camshat that is?

    Looks like its made out of cas segments or plate segments. Judging from the way these segments are joined together, there may be some variable timing involved as well...

           If this (pic.)  is a "camshaft "  -  then it will be a camless ( fully pneumatic ) valve train engine


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    It seems that the engine is a stressed member of chassis like in racing cars.

    Engine details are state-of-art!Smiley But how does this camshaft work?Smiley

    --

    sportcars-history.com


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Misha011:       If this (pic.)  is a "camshaft "  -  then it will be a camless ( fully pneumatic ) valve train engine

    Hi Misha, Can you explain something more about that concept? I am a total noob to engine technology, so some "howstuffworks" explanation level would be appreciated!


    --

    Porsche, seperates LeMans from LeBoys

    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Some info also here.

    http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/261931/

     


    --

    "Form follows function"


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Porker:

    EVO diary video -- Porsche 918 Spyder

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJfxtjl7Lhw

    Smiley SmileySmiley


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    2014 Porsche 918 Spyder Prototype -- First Ride -- Car and Driver

     
    Porsche's science project is coming along nicely...
     
    (March 2012)
     
    In its present form, Porsche’s upcoming hybrid supercar, the 918 Spyder, looks more like something out of Doc Brown’s imagination than the flashy concept that stunned the crowds at the 2010 Geneva auto show. Its body, such as it is, consists of a collection of  ill-fitting chopped-up 911 pieces bolted to a carbon-fiber tub bristling with snorkels, fat bundles of wires, and what appears to be a Zero Halliburton aluminum suitcase.
     
    We’re at the Nardo high-speed test track in southern Italy to get a taste of this rolling science project. As we enter the mule through a flat-black 911 door, we see the ignition key to the left of the steering wheel, just as in nearly every other Porsche. This is about the only thing familiar about the 918 Spyder. When the key is turned, the car remains quiet. There’s no snorting or crackling coming from the exhaust, as you might expect from a super sports car. There is only a gentle buzz from behind the seats. The hybrid-powered 918 Spyder starts moving under electric propulsion.
     
    A 107-hp electric motor drives the 918 Spyder’s front wheels, up to 16 mph. This makes the 918 Spyder the first front-drive sports car in Porsche history. Sort of. Say you want to go a little faster in this nearly million-dollar targa. That’s when a second electric motor, mounted behind the driver, kicks in. This 121-hp machine is part of the main ­propulsion system that includes a 570-hp, 4.6-liter V-8.  As with other Porsche hybrids, this centrally located power unit works as a parallel hybrid driving the rear wheels.
     
     
    Hard to see here, but you are looking almost directly down the top-mounted exhaust pipes. Hope you didn’t actually want to see the engine
     
    The rear electric motor kicks in without interruption as the front motor gets decoupled and goes asleep. The rear electric motor powers the now rear-drive two-seater up to 93 mph. In electric mode, acceleration is sufficient but not breathtaking. According to project leader Frank Walliser, the 918’s electric range is 16 miles. It seemed easy to maintain this mode as long as the throttle wasn't depressed to the kickdown point. At that point, the V-8 fired, adding its considerable thrust to the electric motor’s torque. The transition from e-mode to combustion mode is amazingly smooth, especially for a vehicle with more than a year of additional development work remaining.
     
     
    Both electric motors are powered by a 6.8-kWh, liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack mounted between the seats and the V-8. Because the 918 Spyder is a plug-in hybrid, the batteries can be charged with 240-volt household electricity in about four hours or with a higher voltage system in a couple of hours. An AC-to-DC converter located near the battery pack is fed by a power socket built into the passenger’s-side B-pillar.
     
    Predictably, the 918 Spyder will use regenerative braking to stretch its electric range. Porsche says this system is three times more powerful than those the company uses in its other hybrids. The two electric motors decelerate the 918 up to 0.50 g versus 0.15 g in a Panamera hybrid. Naturally, the 918 Spyder also can be slowed with its carbon-ceramic brakes.
     
     
    The road to the future is littered with wires and black boxes. Try as we might, we were unable to locate the flux capacitor
     
    As in the Panamera hybrid, there’s no regeneration until the driver hits the brake pedal. Lifting off of the throttle only allows the car to coast, or, in Porsche parlance, to “sail.” The harder the driver pushes the brake pedal, though, the more electrical energy is generated.
     
    But we’re more interested in the right pedal. And when it's kicked hard enough to fire the V-8, the 918 Spyder is transformed from an advanced tram into a serious race car. As a result of two special design features, the mid-mounted V-8’s voice has an extraordinarily aggressive timbre. “Our target is to emulate the sound we know from the Carrera GT’s V-10,” says Walliser. The exhaust manifolds sit between the two cylinder banks in a “hot-V” configuration, with collector pipes running over the top of the engine just behind the occupants’ heads. This reminds us of historic racers such as the 1965 Indy 500–winning Lotus-Ford with its high-mounted double-barrel exhaust.
     
     
    The mule’s hot-V arrangement is a departure from the 918 concept’s, on which the exhaust outlets poked out the sides of the car just ahead of the rear wheels. For all its racy coolness, the new configuration—which the Germans call “heisse Seite innen,” or “hot on the inside”—is mainly here to keep the battery pack from overheating. This exhaust routing concentrates more heat between the cylinder banks, leaving the flanks and the bottom of the engine near the battery pack relatively cool.
     
    Porsche developed the 4.6-liter, dry-sump V-8 engine exclusively for the 918 Spyder from the 3.4-liter V-8 that powered the company’s RS Spyder Le Mans prototype racer. Thanks to titanium connecting rods, plastic oil pumps, and a thin-walled crankcase, it’s extremely light. Porsche has eliminated belt drives by powering all accessories electrically.  Another departure from normal practice is the use of a flat, 180-degree crankshaft instead of the more common 90-degree design. What this sacrifices in smoothness, it more than makes up in high-rpm volumetric (breathing) efficiency. With a power peak of 9000 rpm, the 918’s engine certainly revs.
     
     
    Power flows through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Using the hybrid system’s full 770 horsepower, we think the 918 Spyder will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than three seconds (0 to 100 in about six seconds; quarter-mile just north of 10 seconds). That’s quicker than what Ferrari is claiming for its new 730-hp F12 Berlinetta. Figure on a top speed of 205 mph.
     
    For all its technical chops, though, the 918’s fuel efficiency may be its most spectacular attribute. Porsche claims this car will top the supercar segment in gas mileage. Head of development, Wolfgang Hatz, says it’s 40 percent more efficient than the dearly departed Carrera GT. The 918’s powertrain gains a major advantage by running on electric propulsion for a few miles. Its consumption will be certified in Europe at just 3.0 liters per 100 kilometers (78 mpg). This figure is a bit misleading, though, because it implies that the 918 Spyder is more efficient than any Volkswagen Golf. In fact, actual mileage will be the result of  how hard the driver pushes the 918 and how far it’s driven after the battery is depleted.
     
    The balance between fuel efficiency and performance also depends on which of five powertrain modes is selected. An e-power mode is the default setting. Unless the driver chooses another option, the 918 will operate as described earlier: first powered solely by the front electric motor; then, above 16 mph, by the rear electric motor. The V-8 engine kicks in at speeds of more than 93 mph, or when the driver buries the throttle pedal, or if the battery’s charge is depleted.
     
    Push a button to activate the hybrid mode, and both electric motors and the V-8 are at the ready, though with parameters favoring fuel efficiency. The gas engine will not be running all of the time.
     
    Push the button again to activate “sport-hybrid,” and the combustion engine runs continuously; one or both electric motors add their power to the mix depending on throttle application. This is the base-level sporty-driving mode.
     
     
    The 918’s carbon-fiber structure helps offset the weight of all the electrical gear
     
    “Race-hybrid” turns up the wick.  All four of the 918’s wheels are now continuously driven, with torque vectoring in effect at the front wheels to achieve optimum cornering. In this mode, all power-producing equipment runs at maximum effort and the rear motor serves as a generator to supply electrical energy to the front motor.
     
    Not enough for you? Well, there’s an additional submode called “hot lap.” After pushing this button, the 918 Spyder is capable of a few laps powered by the engine and both motors, as long as energy from the battery is available. The “hot lap” mode reverts to “race-hybrid” when the battery’s charge is depleted.
     
    Naturally, this stunning level of powertrain complexity (there are 50 motor- and engine-control units) increases the car’s weight. Porsche compensated by designing extremely light structural components consisting of a carbon-fiber tub and engine cradle. The 918 Spyder comes with integral rollover protection and two removable roof sections. All body panels are carbon fiber. Walliser promises that the production version will weigh no more than 3750 pounds.
     
    The mule still has a long way to go, and our experience at Nardo is far from a test drive. That test, Porsche promises, will take place on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife. The company’s computer simulations say that the 918 Spyder should lap the course in 7 minutes 22 seconds, a full 10 seconds quicker than Porsche’s official time for the race-car-for-the-road Carrera GT.
     
    There’s a different kind of clock in Walliser’s office—one that has his more immediate attention. It’s counting down the days until the 918 Spyder goes into production. When that timepiece clicks to a stop next year on September 18 (9/18), at 9:18 a.m., you’re going to see some serious, er, stuff.
     
     
    What's changed...
     
    The production 918 Spyder will look less like the Porsche Rat Rod from Nardo and much more like the concept car that made so much noise at the 2010 Geneva Auto show (above). The production car’s exhaust will sprout from the top of the engine bay, displacing the intake cannons seen on the concept. No word on whether the concept’s transparent wheel covers will make it to production.
     
     
     
     

    Smiley SmileySmiley


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    Looks much better with the exhausts replacing those "cannons".kiss


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    The Car and Driver article also refers to a single front electric motor. I wonder if there has been a design change from the original two front motor idea?  Or maybe it is some sort of two-in-one design?  They are still talking of torque vectoring with the front wheels so independent power would seem a necessity.


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    I guess there has been a design change.  See this from Auto Express:

    It’s immediately clear that significant alterations have been made since the 918 was revealed. For starters, there’s been a complete rethink on the electric motors acting on the front wheels. Instead of two, there’s now a single 80kW motor powering both wheels via a single-speed transfer gearbox.

    Read more:http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/280651/porsche_918_spyder_exclusive.html#ixzz1pqr9Y2aK


    Re: 918 latest news Thread Closed

    7:22 for the Nürburgring..

    wasnt the official Porsche claim for the GT2RS 7:18..??

    3x times the price - but slower..this cant be true..or?

    10sec. of the C-GT...out of these 10 - 5 are only due to newer tires..if not more..


     
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