World's Fastest Hybrid OK'd For Production 208
thecarchik writes "The Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid supercar, first shown as a concept at this spring's Geneva Motor Show, got official approval as a production model today from the company's board of directors. Just consider the specs: a 500-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-8 engine with a 9200-rpm redline, 0-to-62-mph acceleration of 3.2 seconds, and top speed of 198 miles per hour. Oh, and did we mention it gets 78 miles per gallon on the European cycle? The astounding fuel efficiency comes courtesy of an E-Drive mode that lets the 918 Spyder drive up to 16 miles on pure electric power, though [ahem] not at 198 mph."
SI units (Score:5, Informative)
78 miles per gallon is about 3 liter for 100 km.
198 miles = 319 kilometers
Re:Tesla (Score:2, Informative)
The Tesla Roadster Sport would like to have a word with you.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/convertibles/112_1004_2010_tesla_roadster_sport_2011_porsche_boxster_spyder_comparison/index.html [motortrend.com]
Re:0 to 62? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Tesla (Score:5, Informative)
http://nexus404.com/Blog/2010/07/29/porsche-918-spyder-goes-to-production-kind-of-confirmed-back-in-march-the-green-light-on-the-porsche-918-spyder-is-now-officially-on/ [nexus404.com]
Re:Hybrid - Worst of both worlds. (Score:3, Informative)
Because, YOU TWIT, 198 mph and 0-62 in 3.2 seconds isn't really fast.
Sheesh.
Re:Tesla (Score:3, Informative)
The Spyder was $72.5k. But it won.
Re:0 to 62? (Score:3, Informative)
It was to 100kph. It is a German car.
Re:Deceiving. (Score:3, Informative)
It is accurate if you remember that the "G" in "MPG" stands for "Gallon", as in, gasoline. Yes, additional energy is required, but energy isn't the main problem - gasoline is. If you live in France, for example, most of that extra energy comes from a nuclear power plant, doesn't contribute to global warming, and doesn't sponsor terrorism.
Re:16 whole miles on battery? wow. (Score:3, Informative)
Plenty of modern electronic fuel injected vehicles get infinite MPG for periods of time, without having to employ dangerous shenanigans like shutting off the engine (and consequently shutting off safety systems and power control). They simply stop injecting fuel when the vehicle is moving sufficiently fast while in gear and without any accelerator input.
Re:Question for car engineers (Score:4, Informative)
Electric motors can produce torque at all RPMs, so you don't have to mess around with complex gearing to keep the engine in the "power band."
Sure, if you wanted to burn rubber, an electric motor would be happy to comply, but if you want a car that is easy to control, you only supply as much torque as the tires can handle (even ICE-powered cars do this). You don't want super-wide tires, because you increase rolling resistance, making the car less efficient. Tire contact patches are optimized for traction and resistance (and then the owner screws that up because he thinks 22" wheels on a sub-compact looks "gnarly!").
How about some apples to apples? (Score:2, Informative)
Yes, and I strongly suspect that -- don't know, but think about it -- the Tesla, with 288 hp, running against the Porsche at 218 hp... would kick its ass. That's about a 25% difference in power in favor of the Tesla; also the Tesla weighs 2690 lbs, and the Porsche weighs 3300 lbs... another 18% win for the Tesla.
Yeah, I think the Tesla is a better car all around. Gasoline... LOL.
Huh? (Score:4, Informative)
They compared a Porsche Boxster variation (320 HP, $70,000, 2900 pounds) to the Tesla (288HP $155,000 , 2800 pounds), and the Porsche won.
There is no Porsche made in the last 20 years that had only 220 HP
Now for $150,000 you can get a new Porsche 911 Turbo 0-60 3.2 seconds, 3400 pounds, and that will trounce the tesla a bit more than the Boxster.
Re:Wow! (Score:5, Informative)
As for Tesla? Screw 'em. We're paying them (government subsidy??) to develop a car they will sell us back at a ridiculous price.
It's a loan you twat, not a subsidy
http://www.google.com/search?q=doe+loans+electric+vehicles [google.com]
Hell, Nissan got $1.4 billion+, Fisker got around $500 million, GM got $14.4 billion and Chrysler got $8.5 billion. You know who has a solid, proven drivetrain and energy management system? Tesla. There should be some sort of test before you're allowed to post here.