WR TV: 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder – Detroit 2014 Walkaround

At this year’s Detroit Auto Show, Multimedia Editor Chris Amos spent some quality time with Porsche’s newest hypercar, the 918 Spyder. Set to take on the likes of the McLaren P1 and the Ferrari LaFerrari, the 918 looks to set a benchmark in sportscar engineering. 

 

Much like the Ferrari and McLaren, the 918 is a decidedly next-generation vehicle, and as such, it’s been built from the ground up with a hybrid drivetrain – an item of considerable consternation for sportscar purists. But if typical hybird-like horsepower is your main concern here, fear not: Combined output from the 4.6 liter V8 and dual electric motors is a whopping 875bhp, and is sent to all four wheels.

 

0-60mph is dispatched in a mere 2.5 seconds, and the 918 recently lapped the Nurhburgring in under seven minutes, potentially obliterating the production car record – if the 918 is considered a production car, which is still up for debate. 

 

Here though, at rest, the numbers the 918 is capable of generating take on a less urgent importance, and we can simply appreciate the new Porsche as an object of beauty. It looks quite fetching in white, doesn’t it?