In case you had anything else to do for the next 13 minutes, you can stop and put it away. Automobile Magazine’s Ignition web series has something quite special for their 100th episode: a Spanish track run of the Porsche 918 Spyder. Prefaced by an intro worthy of Michael Bay, this is essentially what Porsche fans live for: a lovingly crafted video of their favorite Porsches put to the test. In fact, the only thing better than watching the video is driving the car for yourself. And what a car it is.
The 918 Spyder is one of the most beautiful hypercars we’ve ever seen. Jerry Seinfeld, an avowed Porsche lover, is trying to get one for an upcoming episode of his web show, and we can see why. Besides the things you expect out of car that looks like this, one thing you might not see coming is that it doesn’t rely solely on a traditional internal combustion engine.
The 918 is a mixed hybrid, which means that it can depend solely on its 4.6-liter V-8 engine to get 887 horsepower and almost 900 lb-ft of torque. Those stats alone are amazing for an engine so modest (typically an automaker needs 10 cylinders or more to get into that range). The 918 can also run in hybrid mode using electric motors to balance the gas engine, just like a regular hybrid such as the Toyota Prius. If push comes to shove, the 918 can even operate in pure electric mode for 20 miles, which is on par for most electric vehicles.
All of that, however, is just window dressing for the car itself. We definitely found ourselves resenting Carlos Lago for his job. Sure, we’re sitting in a chair just like he his, but his chair is flying through Spanish countryside in one of the most amazing Porsches we’ve seen this year. At the very least, though, we can be inspired to drive our own Porsche with a little more fuerza on the way home.
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