Porsche's plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder broke the Nürburgring's seven-minute barrier
A plug-in hybrid that could creep silently through town on battery power was also, in September 2013, the first street-legal production car to lap the Nürburgring's long road course in under seven minutes. The Porsche 918 Spyder paired a racing-derived V8 with two electric motors and nearly 900 horsepower.
The car began as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010. After some 2,000 people registered interest, Porsche's supervisory board approved development that July. Production started on 18 September 2013 and was deliberately limited to 918 cars, developed at Weissach and assembled at Zuffenhausen. Prices began at around 781,000 euros, and the run ended as planned in June 2015. The United States took the most orders, 297 cars.
Its heart is a 4.6 litre naturally aspirated V8, built on the architecture of the RS Spyder Le Mans prototype racer and revving to 9,200 rpm. One electric motor helps drive the rear wheels and doubles as the main generator; another powers the front axle and disconnects when not needed. Together the system makes 875 horsepower. Porsche claimed 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 2.6 seconds, and independent testers went slightly quicker, with Motor Trend calling it the fastest car to 60 miles per hour it had ever tested.
The hybrid side is more than decoration. A liquid-cooled 6.8 kilowatt-hour battery behind the cabin charges from a socket, from braking, or from spare engine output, and the V8 can refill an empty pack on about a litre of fuel. In electric mode the car could reach 150 kilometres per hour, with an official US range of 12 miles.
The record lap came with the optional Weissach package, which used magnesium wheels and extra carbon fibre to save weight. Time was 6 minutes 57 seconds, 14 seconds under the previous mark.
Source: Porsche 918 Spyder
