Porsche 918 Spyder update: announced in 5/2012 the latest (above) iteration of their supercar hybrid, a first. The image (below) most identified with the 918 announced in 2010: note the side pipes by the rear wheel well. They are gone in v2.0. The pipes have been relocated venting out the rear window to improve heat dissipation. The 918 Spyder will go into production at the end of September 2013 as planned, with the first customers receiving their vehicles before 2013 is out.

The 918 is designed as a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The focus is on combining a high-performance (770 hp) combustion engine with two cutting-edge electric motors – one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels – for extraordinary performance: on the one hand, the dynamics of a racing machine, on the other hand, fuel consumption 78mpg ( 3L/100km). Moreover, Porsche is breaking yet more new ground such as the full carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque with unit carrier, fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering and the upward-venting “top pipes” exhaust system. [ 918/2012] [ 918/2010 ]