918 Spyder

Porsche attempting to get tricky with the numbers, to make the 918 Spyder's weight "issue" look favorable in comparison to the Carrera GT!

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"we're not fat, just big boned"

 

Tbh, I’m kind of amazed the 918 only weighs 3602 in WP form. Put another way, it’s a spider that’s 200 pounds lighter than my Acura NSX with 300 more HP!

 

The development team of the 918 put a *huge* amount of effort into making everything lightweight, to compensate for the weight of the hybrid system. As can be seen in the graphic above, the car would be lighter than a Carrera GT without the hybrid system, even despite the other more modern safety tech and innovations such as rear wheel steering, etc.

 

Great thread! Good to have a place for 918 info. Here’s some more info:

3602 lbs with a full tank of gas is real world correct for a Weissach Edition 918 with minimal options. I weighed a heavy optioned 918 Weissach in the high 3600s (with front lift, electric heat, all comfort options added back).

The 397 lbs + 90 lbs refers to the weight loss from technical advances in the 918 compared to the CGT. The 918 uses a very similar tub and engine cradle to the CGT, but every aspect is heavily optimized for weight - the big loss is -68kg from the engine (the V8 is 137kg compared to 205kg for the CGT's V10 even though horspower is almost identical) , and everything else is optimized compared to the CGT. For example, -4kg from lighter doors, -2.4 kg from the iconel exhaust, 1.85kg from the CFRP oil tank, -1.5kg from carbon CFRP anti-roll bars, etc.

 

Do you still have your 918?

 

This is great stuff, thank you for sharing. The difference in engine weight is rather impressive - people often talk about horsepower per liter, but the reality is that horsepower per pound is a more valuable thing in terms of performance.

 

Yes, still a special car that will be even more so over time. In future years, the 918 will be seen as a mad-cap twin engined hypercar bridging the two eras of combustion and electric. Other than the AMG Project One, not clear if there will ever be other such hypercars.

Technical understanding of the car is from a combination of factors - ownership, love of technology, and many visits to Stuttgart in recent years. And finally, I am not shy to use the car properly, some times with a data logger attached

 

Do you mind sharing your best data results?

 

Sure...
2.2 seconds to 60mph and 4.7 to 100 on a 1 percent uphill.
In electric mode, 5.1 seconds to 60mph

And some related info to add to this thread:
The production car's electric power is almost 10 percent greater than that of the pre-production cars used in magazine tests and the Nordschleife lap. Also electric rpm limit is higher - the front electric motor disengages at ~172mph instead of 165 quoted, and 145 in the pre-production cars. Estimated total power for the prodcution car is 930 horsepower calculated from 3rd gear vbox data and actual weight, drag, and rolling resistance, and assuming 14 percent drivetrain loss. The car will do a rolling burnout at 70mph in the dry

To preserve the drive train, maximum power is limited for the first 1 second after launch so a 911 Turbo S is slightly quicker/tied until then. Car is engineered to do 300 launches without problems until CV joints need replacing from wear. After launch, the first 4 gear shifts need to happen in 5 seconds so very difficult to get maximum acceleration without automatic shifting. Car is too fast to paddle shift!

 

Amazing stuff, thank you! I think 200 kph is 6.8/6.9 seconds or thereabouts. Am I right?

 

Sounds about right but I have not measured to 200 km/h.
Development target for acceleration to 200 km/h was the Veyron, but actual acceleration is similar to Veyron Super Sport.

 

Arrow Blue, may be one of my favorite colors I've seen on the 918 Spyder thus far!

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918 is my dream car. My first purchase if I won the lotto or decided to just do something crazy.

 

Fantastic reviewer from the UK, Jethro Bovingdon, pits the 918 Spyder against the 911R:

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/porsche-918-spyder-911-r/

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More photos:

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Let me add a rolling shot...

Countersteering a 918 exiting a right hand turn with the tires lit up at ~65 mph....


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918 Spyder owners in the USA who may consider selling, please reach out @ [email protected].

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Bump for the 918 Spyder search, see above.

 

Porsche-released images to commemorate the 918 Spyder's record-breaking time of 1:42.627 on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit.

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A special Weissach worthy of a special owner...

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918 Spyder making full use of its all-wheel drive capabilities in the wet at Sepang Circuit, in Malaysia

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I’ve heard the car is a real handful in the wet and breaks away very unnaturally.

 

The majority of track-tuned sports cars and supercars are a handful in the wet, so that's nothing new

 

Weissach Package car looking sinister

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