BLOWN AWAY AT WEISSACH!

Porsche has made a plug in hybrid to appease the multiple governments pushing for greener automotive regulations. Plus this will increase its MPG average across the board

 

The only logical answer I can think of is that they can gauge potential customer reaction and adjust the car accordingly. The car has already undergone very drastic changes since it was first revealed and there is still time to make more.

 

Well, I suppose if you damage the gasoline engine you can still get to the dealership on electric power?

 

agreed.

I think it tends to dilute the single-minded focus of a hypercar.

 

... and you incur a significant weight penalty ... all the time, every time you drive ... for this feature

 

It will provide 4 wheel steering and torque vectoring, though.

 

No, it won't.

The car may indeed have these features you mention. But the extra weight you must carry in the battery pack (to be able to drive xx miles on "electric alone") doesn't provide 4 wheel steering or torque vectoring.

 

Well, I don't like the added weight either and I'm pretty certain betteries do more damage than good to the envirorment, but in this case they will provide some kind of pseudo AWD with added torque vectoring. And none of the competitors has that, so it's a good selling point.

 

separate issues.

The features you mention may indeed be good selling points, and improve hypercar performance, but they could be provided by batteries that weigh less. Think about it this way : Porsche engineers design a KERS car (with batteries efficiently sized for best track performance) for a great driving experience, INCLUDING a certain AWD "flavor" from electric motors Then, the marketing department steps in and demands that extra weight be added to the battery pack (maybe 60 or 70 pounds) so they can also advertise the ability to drive xx miles on "electric alone"

I'm not saying the 918 will be a dog, or anything of the sort ... it's just that I don't see the ability to drive xx miles on "electric alone" as a valuable feature in a ultra-high performance hypercar. It's a little disappointing to incur a weight penalty for this "feature", and i'm glad that Ferrari stands apart from McLaren and Porsche in this regard.

 

The "excess" battery capacity may well be a design issue (partly or mostly)driven by the longetivity of the batteries, especially under hard use on the track.

 

As i see it :

LaFerrari is a KERS car, designed for the road.
Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 are hybrid cars, designed for high-performance.

The distinction is subtle, but significant.

 

Some of us can't help but evaluate on things like weight, power, acceleration, lap times, sound, etc ... in addition to beauty Fortunately for me, i suppose, i find LaFerrari to be the most beautiful as well

 

can someone pls tell me why we need batteries in any of these cars? or point me to the post discussing it?

 

To power the electric motors.

 

let me re-phrase, why do they need electric motors?

 

Schedule a test drive in a Tesla and then you'll understand.

Instant boost of torque the moment you press the accelerator.

>8^)
ER

 

Low-end torque and instant throttle response.

High RPM horsepower is nice, but what shoves you back in your seat when you press the throttle is low-end torque. That's fun.

 

so performance? presumably better than just getting more power/torque from the regular engine via displacement or turbos

 

I just got a press kit on the 918 spyder. A fancy book about the 918 including all the dimensions, the technical specs and even performance data.

It describes all the ways you can personalize and order the car: Paint (optional Martini Racing Decals), interior colors, wheel options (magnesium wheel upgrade) etc.

There are no more surprises. Except if they change the price.

It is expensive at $870K but still quite a bit less than the $1.3M LaFerrari.

It was priced about $250K less a year ago. But perhaps development costs were higher than predicted. And/or after looking at the final car, Porsche decided to adjust the price in terms of where the car will be rightfully positioned in the current supercar heirarchy.

 

@FXEFFECTS Thank you very much for amazing news

About batteries & other tricky parts:
I have no worries about parts reliability in 918. Porsche`s engineers like to test their cars to the point of insanity until they are happy with results of durability and balance. Cant wait for comparison test between LaThing, P1 & 918!

 

Almost no one will explore the top speed limits of these cars, nor the 0-300kph acceleration, nor the full braking potential, nor the lateral-G limits, nor the laptimes at the 'ring. And yet, all these factors tend to establish the "iconic" status of these cars, and their manufacturers. I suspect that's one reason why many people tend to pay attention to these metrics, even if most owners will never explore their full limits.

Weight matters; seventy pounds is not trivial. McLaren and Porsche decided to add extra weight, for a feature that almost no one will care about in a hypercar ... namely, the ability to drive xx miles on battery alone. At least, it's not an important feature to me.

To each his own

 

All those things take time to build up to provide their maximum available torque benefit.

Take a look at this dyno chart for the Mission One electric superbike - look where the available torque starts for a gasoline motor versus an electric motor. I don't know of another way you can create that force and it will be a game changer in this space.

>8^)
ER
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

makes sense. soon it may be time to kiss the internal combustion motor good-bye altogether.

but we'll see. each technology has its pro's and cons. why do i need so much torque below 2000rpm anyway? these arent dragsters and modern turbos spool almost instantly as well at very low revs...and are lighter

it comes down to a mix of performance, aesthetics and marketing. we'll have to wait and drive them to really know. and see how they sell.