Porsche sure knows how to grab our attention with the 918 Spyder. After the matte black with white racing stripes prototype, which harked back to the iconic Porsche 917 racers of the 1970s, the German firm’s engineers outfitted a pre-production model with colorless Martini livery.
Perhaps Porsche’s objection with the new dressing was to divert our attention from what really matters about this test car and which is the new aerodynamic add-ons in the form of cannards positioned on all four corners of the 918 Spyder.
It also appears that this model was wearing a slightly larger rear wing than the previous prototypes. One explanation for these changes is that it could be a more hardcore / track-focused edition of the standard model.
In regular trim, the Porsche 918 Spyder will be fitted with a plug-in hybrid driveline linking a mid-mounted, 4.6-liter V8 with more than 570PS (+562hp) and a 7-speed dual clutch transmission to a pair of electric motors for a combined system output in excess of 770PS (+762hp) and a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of under 3 seconds.
Production of the new range-topping Porsche model will be limited to 918 units with pricing set at €645,000 (about US$792,100 at today’s exchange rates), excluding taxes and country-specific charges.
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