The new Porsche 911 GT3 RS may be faster around the Nurburgring than the five-year-old 918 Spyder, but the hybrid hypercar is no slouch.
Quite the opposite, as even 2016 Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg couldn’t stop smiling after a recent drive.
The German was handed the keys to a beautiful silver 918 Spyder and let loose on a section of the Silverstone F1 circuit. Despite years of experience driving the fastest cars on planet Earth, he was shocked by the 918’s abilities.
In a straight-line, Rosberg says that the 918 Spyder seems to accelerate just as rapidly as a Formula 1 car. For a production car that’s half-a-decade old, that’s extremely impressive.
But it’s not just on the straights where the 918 shines. Rosberg says that it has the perfect neutral balance for a vehicle of this sort, allowing the driver to easily push it to the limits with the utmost confidence. Seeing such a talented and experienced driver throw the 918 into the corners really is a sight to behold.
Powering the 918 Spyder is a naturally-aspirated 4.6-liter V8 mated to a pair of electric motors and a 6.8 kWh lithium-ion battery. All up, it delivers 875 hp and 944 lb-ft of torque and, according to Porsche’s official figures, can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in roughly 2.5 seconds, 200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.2 seconds, 300 km/h (186 mph) in 19.9 seconds and top out at 345 km/h (214 mph).
Porsche says that it will build a replacement to the 918, but that it won’t launch until a breakthrough in battery technology is made. With electrification being all the rage in the automotive industry right now and many companies working on next-gen batteries, this might be sooner rather than later.