Porsche is still continuing the testing on the upcoming 918 Spyder. Porsche has just announced that driving trials of the Porsche 918 Spyder have entered the next phase where the 918 Spyder will attempt to tackle the famed Nürburgring race course. A permanent fixture of the test program for the 918 Spyder – and in the tuning process for all Porsche vehicles – is the 12.92 mile long Nordschleife of the Nürburgring race course. Porsche has set the goal of a lap time of less than seven minutes and 22 seconds for the plug-in hybrid sports car.
The 918 Spyder combines a high-performance V8 engine with electric motors at the front and rear axles to achieve extraordinary driving performance and excellent efficiency. The entire system generates more than 770 hp. It’s expected that the 918 Spyder will get around 78 mpg.
The latest 918 Spyder test vehicle is now turning laps on the Nürburgring in the legendary Martini Racing look of many historic Porsche racecars, particularly from the 1970s. Martini was the official partner of the Porsche factory team between 1973 and 1978. Back then, the “Martini Porsche” racecars took numerous victories. These victories included finishing first overall at the Targa-Florio in 1973, winning the Sports Car World Championship in 1976 and overall victories at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1976 and 1977. As early as 1971, a Porsche 917 finished first in the legendary endurance race in Le Mans with the support of Martini. Whether a Porsche 908, 917, 935 or 936 or one of various 911 RS or RSR models, common to all of these race cars was the memorable Martini Racing livery implemented in a wide variety of designs.
Porsche and the Martini brand have signed a new partnership agreement to create a modern Martini Racing design to be exclusively available on the 918 Spyder. Production of the 918 Spyder is expected to begin by the end of next year with production limited to 918 units and pricing reportedly set for around $850,000.
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