Porsche. There Is No Substitute.

Well, the response to the 918 Spyder has been good enough for Porsche to put the car into serial production – the company has announced that dealers around the world will begin taking customer orders for the vehicle, which is set to begin production in September 2013. To keep things exclusive, only 918 examples of the plug-in hybrid sportscar will be built.

The company says that the production 918 Spyder will remain faithful to the concept car which made its debut in Geneva last year, though the two-seat production version, based on a carbon fibre-reinforced plastic monocoque, will feature a manual roof system with removable panels that can be stored in the front luggage compartment.

The car will be powered by a high-revving 500+ hp V8 engine that will have a minimum 4.0 litre displacement, assisted by two electric motors with a total of at least 218 hp. The engine will be based on the Porsche RS Spyder racing unit, and power will be transferred to the rear wheels via Porsche’s compact, seven-speed PDK double-clutch gearbox.

Meanwhile, the two electric motors – one each on the front and rear axles – will offer an innovative, variable all-wheel drive system with independent control of the drive forces on both axles. Electrical energy will be stored in a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery that can be recharged from a standard household outlet.

Electric-only driving range is expected to be more than 25 km on the NEDC cycle. Recharge time will depend on each country’s electrical power network; on a 110V/10A line, the charge time is around seven hours. A quick-charge option is being evaluated to further reduce charging times.

Performance figures include a 0-100 kph time of 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 320 kph. Porsche adds that under the right conditions, the 918 Spyder will be able to drive on electric power alone at speeds up to 150 kph for limited distances.

The 918 Spyder customer gets a further deal sweetener – he also gets the opportunity to acquire a special-edition 911 Turbo S Coupe or Cabriolet, which he can hope to get much earlier, in this case later this year. Also limited to no more than 918 units, the 911 Turbo S ‘Edition 918 Spyder’ will have exterior and interior design elements echoing the 918 Spyder’s styling.

It features similar exterior colours, carbon-fibre elements inside and out, enhanced leather equipment and numerous acid-green accents on items such as the brake calipers, illuminated sill plates, interior stitching and instrument cluster needles. A limited-edition badge on the glove compartment door will feature the same production number as the customer’s 918 Spyder. All this for no added cost over a standard 911 Turbo S model, be it in Coupe or Cabrio form.