After 21 months of production, the final Porsche 918 Spyder came off the assembly line recently in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen right on schedule.
But the legacy of this technology pioneer will reach far beyond its production time. Future generations of sports cars will benefit directly from innovations found in the 918 Spyder.
The 918 Spyder was systematically developed to be a performance hybrid with plug-in technology. The hybrid super sports concept car made its debut at the 2010 Geneva International Motor Show where it was met with overwhelming approval.
More so than any of its predecessors, the 918 Spyder is now providing a strong push for the advanced development of technologies for the sports cars of the future.
The key technology is a drive concept which combines a high-performance combustion engine with two electric motors; its ingenious operating strategy is one of the unique aspects of the 918 Spyder.
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It considers the various requirements ranging from an efficiency-oriented driving profile to maximum performance. In doing so, it provides important know-how for future production developments. To maximize the efficiency and performance of the drivetrain depending on the individual driving situation, Porsche developers defined a total of five different operating modes.
As in a racecar, they are activated by a “map switch” on the steering wheel. Porsche applied its leading hybrid know-how in preparing the characteristic maps and the algorithm stored in them for controlling the three drive units and other systems.
In September 2013, the super sports car – with 887 total system hp – set the lap record for street-legal vehicles with production tires on the North Loop of the Nurburgring with a time of 6 minutes 57 seconds – a record that has never been equaled by any other production car since.
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