Porsche 918 RSR Concept
It is 6:30 a.m., and a bunch of journalists have gathered at Detroit's Cobo Hall. Most managed just a few hours of sleep following a kick-off party across the street the night before. Is this ridiculous press-conference slot Porsche’s penance for shunning the Detroit auto show for three years?
There is a more charitable way to look at it: This is a rehash of the September 28, 2000 gathering in front of the Louvre to witness the unveiling of the Carrera GT. It was pouring rain, but absolutely no one regretted rising early, as automotive history was made that day.
The car we are seeing now is called the 918 RSR. It is not entirely new, but a stunning evolution of the 918 Spyder that took last year's Geneva auto show by surprise. Not long after the 918's debut, Porsche's supervisory board gave it the green light for series production.
When the Spyder debuted, Porsche claimed "over 500 hp" from a version of the 3.4-liter V-8 found in the RS Spyder race car, plus electric motors front and rear. With the RSR, Porsche is getting more specific. The direct-injection V-8 makes 563 hp at a screaming 10,300 rpm; two 75-kW electric motors, powering the front wheels only, boost maximum power to 767 hp.
Imagined as the racing version of the 918 line, the RSR has a flywheel-based hybrid system like that in the GT3 R hybrid race car, rather than the hefty lithium-ion battery pack the first concept toted. The flywheel stores electrical power and is charged during braking. At the push of a button, it provides extra power for up to eight seconds. (The 918 Spyder’s battery pack, meanwhile, was said to be able to propel the car for 16 miles on its own, which would take considerably longer than eight seconds.) The motors can vary torque side to side for increased agility. To the same end, the RSR has a six-speed racing-style sequential transmission in place of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission fitted in the 918 Spyder. Instead of the Spyder's futuristic touch-screen, the RSR’s center console sports a purposeful spread of rocker switches.
I See Racing in Your Future
The 918 Spyder—like the Carrera GT, which was developed from the LMP2000 racing concept—was a convertible. But the 918 RSR is a closed-roof racer with gullwing doors, clearly hinting at future racing programs. The RSR keeps the carbon-fiber monocoque of the Spyder, and is an altogether stunning design, with a fan on the rear deck above the engine and a huge carbon-fiber rear spoiler. The two-tone paint job—what the press release calls a "liquid metal chrome blue" and "the typical Porsche hybrid orange color"— evokes the Gulf racing livery of the 917, the unforgettable racing monster developed by Ferdinand Piëch. Piëch also was a driving force behind the 918. In the German newspaper F.A.Z., he recently said that, "With its top models, Porsche needs to reach the level of Ferrari." As usual, it seems Piëch’s minions were listening. (Indeed, the front end apes the Ferrari F430’s perhaps too much.)
Although the 918 program is confirmed, the final execution is still wide open, and it will be some time before the first 918s are delivered. We wouldn’t be surprised if there were actually two series-production models: the 918 Spyder and a gullwing, hardtop version called the 918 GT. Sounds like Porsche has paid its penance in full for skipping the Detroit show these last three years.
It is 6:30 a.m., and a bunch of journalists have gathered at Detroit's Cobo Hall. Most managed just a few hours of sleep following a kick-off party across the street the night before. Is this ridiculous press-conference slot Porsche’s penance for shunning the Detroit auto show for three years?
There is a more charitable way to look at it: This is a rehash of the September 28, 2000 gathering in front of the Louvre to witness the unveiling of the Carrera GT. It was pouring rain, but absolutely no one regretted rising early, as automotive history was made that day.
The car we are seeing now is called the 918 RSR. It is not entirely new, but a stunning evolution of the 918 Spyder that took last year's Geneva auto show by surprise. Not long after the 918's debut, Porsche's supervisory board gave it the green light for series production.
When the Spyder debuted, Porsche claimed "over 500 hp" from a version of the 3.4-liter V-8 found in the RS Spyder race car, plus electric motors front and rear. With the RSR, Porsche is getting more specific. The direct-injection V-8 makes 563 hp at a screaming 10,300 rpm; two 75-kW electric motors, powering the front wheels only, boost maximum power to 767 hp.
Imagined as the racing version of the 918 line, the RSR has a flywheel-based hybrid system like that in the GT3 R hybrid race car, rather than the hefty lithium-ion battery pack the first concept toted. The flywheel stores electrical power and is charged during braking. At the push of a button, it provides extra power for up to eight seconds. (The 918 Spyder’s battery pack, meanwhile, was said to be able to propel the car for 16 miles on its own, which would take considerably longer than eight seconds.) The motors can vary torque side to side for increased agility. To the same end, the RSR has a six-speed racing-style sequential transmission in place of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission fitted in the 918 Spyder. Instead of the Spyder's futuristic touch-screen, the RSR’s center console sports a purposeful spread of rocker switches.
I See Racing in Your Future
The 918 Spyder—like the Carrera GT, which was developed from the LMP2000 racing concept—was a convertible. But the 918 RSR is a closed-roof racer with gullwing doors, clearly hinting at future racing programs. The RSR keeps the carbon-fiber monocoque of the Spyder, and is an altogether stunning design, with a fan on the rear deck above the engine and a huge carbon-fiber rear spoiler. The two-tone paint job—what the press release calls a "liquid metal chrome blue" and "the typical Porsche hybrid orange color"— evokes the Gulf racing livery of the 917, the unforgettable racing monster developed by Ferdinand Piëch. Piëch also was a driving force behind the 918. In the German newspaper F.A.Z., he recently said that, "With its top models, Porsche needs to reach the level of Ferrari." As usual, it seems Piëch’s minions were listening. (Indeed, the front end apes the Ferrari F430’s perhaps too much.)
Although the 918 program is confirmed, the final execution is still wide open, and it will be some time before the first 918s are delivered. We wouldn’t be surprised if there were actually two series-production models: the 918 Spyder and a gullwing, hardtop version called the 918 GT. Sounds like Porsche has paid its penance in full for skipping the Detroit show these last three years.
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