Now that’s how you make a movie. Porsche made a video of driver Patrick Long taking the 918 Spyder through a lap or two at the Circuit of the Americas, and it’s a masterwork of visceral, first-person helmetcam and uber-fluid steady shots reminiscent of David Fincher.
The blend of HD shots as if you’re the driver, along with surreally floating external shots that make the 918 Spyder look like something from Star Wars, is stupendous, particularly because the video features no music. As the 918 Spyder shoots by one fixed camera out of a curve, we could have sworn we heard the wail of a pod racer from Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.
The utter silence of the video is its biggest asset because it accentuates the deserted seats and early morning haze that lurk about the track, and lets the scathing rise of the 918’s exhaust note flare and fade with plenty of echo. The steady shots which let the Spyder overtake a vehicle, then blast out in front of it, are especially fun to watch. Why, oh why, are we sitting at a desk?
It’s eerie to watch the 918 roll away while you’re in the front seat with Long because at that moment the 918—as a quasi-hybrid—is acting purely by its electric motor, and thus is silent. But when the 874-hp 4.7-liter V-8 turns on you definitely know it, and the result is the most fun two-minute video you’ll watch today. We’re already planning our route home.
This video is a great way to rediscover your love of driving by reminding you what it can be, and possibly was meant to be. Lots of properly-revved downshifts and early braking in the turns, then full-out throttle in the exits.
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