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Video: Leno steals Porsche 918 from The Quail for latest Garage episode

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Videos, Porsche, Misc. Auto Shows, Celebrities

Jay Leno's Garage drives the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

Just because he’s a famous celebrity doesn’t mean Jay Leno got to take it easy at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance earlier this month. Having already spent some time with the gorgeous Cadillac Elmiraj Concept and Ed Welburn for a recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, the late night talk show host also got to put a few miles on a prototype version of the Porsche 918 Spyder.

Like a usual episode of JLG, Leno first goes over the details of the car with Frank Walliser, head of the 918 Spyder’s development, before taking it out for spin. Check out the full episode, which is posted below, to hear what Walliser has to say about the car. More importantly, though, crank up your computer’s volume and let the car’s high-revving engine and amazing exhaust note do plenty of talking for itself.

Continue reading Leno steals Porsche 918 from The Quail for latest Garage episode

Leno steals Porsche 918 from The Quail for latest Garage episode originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Aug 2013 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Porsche 918 Spyder to birth stretched 2+2 version?

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Porsche, Earnings/Financials, Specialty, Luxury

Porsche is known for its ability to spin off a litter of variants from a single model, and according to a report in Automobile the 918 Spyder (pictured here) might not be spared the house trick. Having taken too many brains and too much money for too much time, company chiefs are said to be examining ways to get more for their development euro out of the supercar, and Plan A is apparently otherwise known as Plan 984. That would be a four-seater, rear-wheel drive supercar that uses a stretched mold of the 918’s carbon fiber tub, keeping the V8 in the same mid-mounted place and costing around 350,000 euro.

That would be less than half the MSRP of its inspiration, but the details don’t sketch out a car that’s just half as good. Automobile speculates it would get something like 700 horsepower in order to best the coming 911 GT2, and about 440 pound-feet of torque. The 984 is quite a ways short of being confirmed; even though a full-size study is said to exist, it’s like the 918 would need to become a bigger sales hit for the 984 to happen.

The 984’s fortunes don’t change those of the 960, the supercoupe Porsche is building to challenge Ferrari. Its potential specs haven’t changed since the last report in January, power coming from a 5.0-liter, twin-turbo, eight-cylinder boxer engine with something like 650 hp pushing a curb weight of roughly 3,100 pounds. The means a suspected 0-to-60 mile-per-hour time of 2.5 seconds.

And there’s even more than that coming from the Stuttgart fold. You can read the rest at Automobile, and you can register your reaction to a supercar version of the Panamera in Comments.

Porsche 918 Spyder to birth stretched 2+2 version? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Watch Porsche’s 918 Spyder break a sweat while hot weather testing

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Videos, Porsche

With five months left until the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder enters production, Porsche engineers are still putting the hybrid sports coupe through a battery of last-minute tests. To give us new reasons to ogle over the car – as if we needed any more – Porsche has released a short video showing the 918 Spyder undergoing shakedown tests in the hot Nevada desert. And you can’t drive through Nevada without visiting Vegas, too, right?

Although there’s really nothing new to see in this video, it’s still fun to watch as Porsche approaches one million test miles logged on this exciting new high-performance model. One interesting part (at around the 0:37 mark) shows the car taking off under electric power and then transitioning to engine power, which results in a mix of whirs and growls as the 918 Spyder switches from a 127-horsepower electric vehicle to an 887-hp hybrid supercar. Scroll down to watch – and hear – Porsche’s latest creation in motion.

Continue reading Watch Porsche’s 918 Spyder break a sweat while hot weather testing

Watch Porsche’s 918 Spyder break a sweat while hot weather testing originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #222: Chevy Colorado, Porsche 918, Tata Nano for U.S. and J.D. Power Reliability

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Chevrolet, Porsche, Tata

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Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Autoblog Podcast #222 is ready to go, and the crew this week is Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman and Dan Roth. Joining this trio is Dave Sullivan of AutoPacific, and topics range from the next-generation Chevrolet Colorado, to the Porsche 918 Spyder, the possibility of the Tata Nano in the States and J.D. Power Reliability results. Your feedback in our Q&A module winds us up, and we’ve embedded that in the post below, as well. Thanks for listening, we’ll see you next week!

Autoblog Podcast #222: Chevrolet Colorado concept, Porsche 918 Spyder, Tata Nano in the U.S. and JD Power Reliability

Next-generation Chevrolet Colorado unveiled
Porsche 918 Spyder
Tata Nano to be offered in the U.S.?
JD Power Dependability study
Detroit News’ Scott Burgess resigns

In the Autoblog Garage:

2011 Jeep Patriot
2011 Audi A8
2011 Hyundai Equus

Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman

Guest: Dave Sullivan

Runtime: 01:28:10

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Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #222: Chevy Colorado, Porsche 918, Tata Nano for U.S. and J.D. Power Reliability originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Porsche bookmarks new flagship with special 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder”

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Porsche

Porsche 911 Turbo S

Porsche 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder” – Click above for high-res image gallery

The big news from Porsche lately is the go-ahead and pricing attached to the production of the 918 Spyder. But if you read the fine print on the official announcement, you may have noticed the German automaker’s current performance flagship mentioned.

To celebrate the launch of the 918 Spyder, Porsche is offering a special edition of the 911 Turbo S. Called, appropriately enough, the 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder”, it’s essentially the same as the standard Turbo S, only with some extra decals, special colors and unique trim. The model will be available exclusively to customers ordering the 918 Spyder, can be had in either coupe or convertible, and carries the same sticker price.

So what’s the point? To keep customers who are waiting for delivery of their 918 happy in the meantime. Now that’s one heck of an appetizer if we’ve every seen one. And at $160k+ (on top of the $845k price of the 918) one very pricey option as well.

Gallery: Porsche 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder”

[Source: Porsche]

Porsche bookmarks new flagship with special 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder” originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Porsche dealers will order the 918 Spyder

Filed under: Car Buying, Performance, Porsche, Earnings/Financials

Porsche 918 hybrid

Porsche 918 Hybrid – Click above for dealer ordering information

Getting a 918 Spyder out of Porsche’s supercar death-grip is going to take some serious doing. First of all, you have to come up with the $845,000 Porsche is asking for the car in the U.S. and Canada, not including destination charges. Once you’ve gotten over that little hurdle, you’ll need to find a Porsche dealer authorized to sell the 918.

According to Porsche, you can buy a 918 Spyder from any Porsche dealer anywhere in the world, provided they’ve signed a participation agreement with Porsche. Details are few and far between on what that agreement entails. What Porsche is saying, though, is how dealers who sign the agreement will order their cars.

Dealers who want to place an order for a 918 will have to submit an “Allocation Request Form.” Porsche will reply with an “Allocation Response Form,” which tells the dealer whether there’s a car available for them. Once that’s done, the dealer submits an order form, along with a $200,000 down payment. Porsche will respond with a confirmation and an estimated month for production.

The next step is another $200,000 deposit 12 months before the production date. The balance – $445,000 plus shipping, if you’re counting – is due when Porsche says the car is done. Porsche says the car will not be shipped until it has been paid for in full. The reason, apparently, is that it won’t be building any of the hyper-expensive 918s on speculation, and that each car needs to have an owner before it is built.

Despite all that rigamarole, we’ll bet Porsche sells out of these things quickly, even if the production shape is yet to surface. Thanks for the tip, Anon!

Gallery: Porsche 918 Hybrid dealer information

Porsche 918 Hybrid dealer information

Gallery: Porsche 918 Spyder

[Source: Porsche]

How Porsche dealers will order the 918 Spyder originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Porsche to unveil competition-spec 918 in Detroit?

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Motorsports, Porsche, Racing

2013 Porsche 918 RSR rendering

2013 Porsche 918 RSR renderings – Click above for high-res image gallery

Some automakers are in it for the racing. Others make cars to preserve some sort of legacy. But most are in the business, like any other company, to make money. And Porsche is certainly no exception. But while its road car division rakes in the dough hand over fist, the German automaker has made a science out of making its racing division profitable.

How is that, you ask? Because unlike some of its rivals, Porsche first and foremost provides factory-built racing machines to privateer customers. That’s how the 911 dominates GT racing grids around the world with such variants as the recently unveiled GT3 RSR. And if the latest reports from Germany are anything to go on, Porsche could be preparing a new racer at the rapidly approaching Detroit Auto Show.

Now we already knew that Porsche was planning something big for its return to the NAIAS after a four-year absence. And the signs seemed to point towards a new variant of the 918 Spyder concept we saw in Geneva last year. But the latest word from Auto Bild suggests that instead of a roadgoing production coupe version as some had suspected, Stuttgart will instead unveil a racing version of the new mid-engine flagship supercar in Cobo Hall.

The reports further suggest that the race-spec 918 will carry a more conventional V8 powertrain than the hybrid setup of the previous concept, and that the car will – like the rest of Porsche’s aforementioned customer racing paddock – be available to privateer teams to purchase and campaign on the world’s racing circuits. Sounds tempting – and profitable – and fortunately we won’t have long to wait before we find out one way or another.

[Source: AutoBild via Motor Authority | Images: TeamSpeed]

Porsche to unveil competition-spec 918 in Detroit? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you a production-bound Porsche 918 Spyder teaser?

Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Hybrid, Performance, Europe, Porsche, Design/Style

Porsche 918 Spyder Clay Model

Porsche 918 Spyder Clay Model – Click above for high-res image gallery

Porsche may have inadvertently given us our best glimpse yet at the upcoming production version of the company’s 918 Spyder. The German sports car manufacturer has announced its intention to invest mountains of cash in its Weissach facility, and has released a bevy of images from inside the studio walls to mark the occasion. Tucked among the images of designers furiously sketching away and engineers toying with crash-test dummies is one very interesting shot of a 918 clay model. Of particular interest is that single, massive side-exit exhaust nestled behind the passenger door; clearly a different design from the double-stacked tips of the concept. Could this be a 1:3 scale clay of the future production car? Or is it just an older take on the 918 that predates the eventual showcar? We won’t know one way or the other until the eventual production car makes its debut.

Porsche says that it intends to invest €150 million (around $202M USD) in its Weissach facility through the addition of a new wind tunnel. Additionally, the company plans to open a new state-of-the-art design center and what it calls an “electronic-integration center.” We aren’t positive, but our guess is that portion of the facility will play a big role in the Porsche hybrid program moving forward. Hit the jump for the official press release.

Gallery: Porsche Weissarch Research and Development

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Are you a production-bound Porsche 918 Spyder teaser?

Are you a production-bound Porsche 918 Spyder teaser? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Porsche considering new model between 911 and 918 Spyder?

Filed under: Performance, Porsche, Luxury

Porsche badge

Porsche – which currently offers the Boxster/Cayman twins, umpteen different variations of the 911, the Cayenne SUV and the Panamera sedan – is endlessly rumored to be considering more models. Most often, speculation seems to revolve around another nameplate to slot in below the entry-level Boxster, and certainly that’s still a distinct possibility. We already know a smaller ‘ute called the Cajun is (probably) on its way, along with the show-stopping 918 Spyder.

But Porsche chief Matthias Müller has apparently hinted that he sees room between the 911 and the upcoming range-topping 918. It seems that the high(ish)-end sports car would be based on existing components, which makes us wonder if it could possibly be a mid-engine car on the 918’s platform that eschews that car’s hybrid configuration for something more traditional… a flat-six from the 911, perhaps?

Whatever the case, Porsche’s plans call on sales of roughly 150,000 units per year, which is nearly double what the marque manged to sell last year. Considering that each of Porsche’s current models sell at a pretty decent clip for their individual classes, that much of an increase is likely certain to come from new machines in new segments. We just have a hard time seeing Porsche do anything that might diminish the relevance of the 911 range.

[Source: Autoweek.nl]

Porsche considering new model between 911 and 918 Spyder? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Porsche 918 Spyder to get more power when it reaches production?

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Porsche

Porsche 918 Spyder – Click above for high-res image gallery

What could be better than a mid-engine Porsche with a 500-horsepower 3.4-liter V8 and an additional 218 ponies courtesy of a pair of electric motors? More power, obviously. And that’s exactly what a report from Autocar alleges is going to take place for the upcoming 918 Spyder. According to the report, Porsche is said to be enlarging the displacement of the gas-swilling engine in order to extract more grunt from the mill.

The Brit pubs goes on to posit that the production 918 Spyder, which was first seen moving under its own power at Pebble Beach, will sport both soft and hard tops along with a somewhat beefier front end in order to provide adequate crash resistance. Also, somewhat predictably, the concept’s 22-inch wheels are very likely to be downsized and the side exhausts may be rerouted to the rear when the hybrid supercar hits the market.

Assuming all goes according to schedule, Porsche is said to be planning a run of about 1,200 918 Spyders, each costing over $625,000 (£400,000) when it finally goes on sale sometime around 2014.

Gallery: Monterey 2010: Porsche 918 Spyder at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Porsche 918 Spyder concept in Monterey

Porsche 918 Spyder to get more power when it reaches production? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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