Porsche has nearly 900 buyers for 918 Spyder, needs 1,000 to justify production

Porsche 918 Spyder Concept

Porsche says that it has almost 900 potential buyers for its new 918 Spyder, a plug-in hybrid open-top supercar with a mid-mounted V8. Porsche will probably decide to build the model once 1,000 potential customers have pledged interest, Porsche”s development chief, Wolfgang Duerheimer, said in an interview at the 2010 Beijing Motor Show.

“I”m confident that we will soon reach the threshold of 1,000,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We need 1,000 seriously interested people to make a sound business case.”

“We”re very optimistic that we”ll be able to further expand our leading position in the sports-car segment,” he said.

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Refresher: Power for the Porsche 918 Spyder Concept comes from a 3.4L mid-mounted V8 making 500-hp. The engine is mated to two electric-motors sitting on the front and rear axle with an additional output of 218-hp. Power is driven to the wheels by Porsche”s 7-speed Doppelkupplungsgetriebe PDK transmission, allowing the 918 Spyder Concept to go from 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 198 mph. Drivers are allowed to choose from four different driving modes including E-Drive, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid and Race Hybrid. The E-Drive mode lets the 918 Spyder concept run on pure electricity with a range of 16 miles.

Porsche 918 Spyder Concept:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Bloomberg