2015-Porsche-918-Spyder

If you’ve been saving up for a Porsche 918, there’s some bad news. The very last 918 Spyder has just rolled off the production line at the Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen factory. According to Porsche, this happened “right on schedule”. Oh how very German. What makes the very last 918 rather special is the colour the lucky owner has chosen, which to my eyes makes the 918 look even more beautiful.

Production of the 918 lasted 21 months, at which time 918 examples were produced – all in left-hand drive. Luckily for NZ, two have found homes on our shores. The 918 now enters the history books and joins the like of the 904 Carrera GTS, 959, 911 GT1, and Carrera GT. As Porsche say, “they were technology pioneers and stood among the ultimate sports cars of their respective decade”. Each car represented the advancements and trends in supercars at the time, the 918 was no different. It was the part of the hybrid hypercar ‘Holy Trinity’ alongside the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari.

To refresh your memory of the 918’s impressive stats here’s a quick run down. The 918 is powered by a 4.6-litre naturally aspirated V8 mated to two electric motors. The combined output is 900bhp/661kW and 1275NM of torque. 0-100 km/h is done in 2.5 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 7.2 seconds, and 0-300 km/h in a shade under 20 seconds. Top speed is rated at 340 km/h. The 918 has set the fasted lap time around the Nurburgring for a production road car on standard production road tyres, a blistering 6:57. Despite the high performance numbers, Porsche still claim an average fuel consumption of 3L/100km. Now that’s something I’d love to see.

2015-Porsche-918-Spyder-Manufacturing

All 918 produced have been accounted for, just like all P1s and LaFerraris have been sold out. Proof of German efficiency, Porsche finished productions of all 918, er, 918s before Ferrari and McLaren finished all 499 LaFs and 375 P1s.

While the 918 may be gone, its legacy will live on. There’s no doubt in my mind it’ll go down in history as one of Porsche’s greats and will be a sought after classic in the future, much like how the Carrera GT and 959 are in hot demand right now. Where Porsche will go from here in 10 years is anyone’s guess. But the technology and the know-how Porsche have got from the 918 project will certainly make their way to the rest of the Porsche range in the future.

Previous articleSpeedshow Women in Motorsport display participants named
Next articleAston Martin DB9 GT Last Hurrah For 12 Year Old Model
Ken Saito
Words cannot begin to describe how much I love cars but it's worth a try. Grew up obsessed with them and want to pursue a career writing about them. Anything from small city cars to the most exotic of supercars will catch my attention.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.