Porsche 918 Spyder Concept unveiled at the Geneva Show

The Porsche 918 Spyder is a very high-tech, very high-performance hybrid car...

Porsche has unveiled its new 918 Spyder Concept at the Geneva Motor Show, which starts today. The concept car features hybrid and electric drive technologies and Porsche aims for CO2 emission levels of as low as 70gm/km and fuel consumption that’s as low as 3 litres/100km. However, the 918 Spyder will still not compromise on performance – the car will be capable of accelerating from zero to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 320km/h.

The Porsche 918 Spyder is powered by a high-revving 3.4-litre V8 that produces 500 horsepower and electric motors (mounted on the front and rear axles) that together produce 160kW (218bhp). A seven-speed PDK transmission feeds all that power to all four wheels.

The Spyder has four different drive modes that a driver can select from; The E-Drive mode is for running the car under electric power alone, with a range of up to 25km, the Hybrid mode uses both the electric motors and the combustion engine as a function of driving conditions and requirements, the Sport Hybrid mode uses both drive systems, with the focus on performance, and the Race Hybrid mode is for pure performance, with the highest standard of driving dynamics on the track.

The 918 Spyder Concept is one of three Porsche models with hybrid drive making their world debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. This trio – made up of Porsche's new Cayenne S Hybrid SUV with parallel full-hybrid drive, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car with electric drive on the front axle and a flywheel mass battery, and the two-seater high-performance 918 Spyder mid-engined sports car with plug-in hybrid technology – clearly shows how serious Porsche is about developing electric/hybrid powertrain technology.