Porsche has a history of looking toward the future. They’ve been pioneering performance technology since the sixties, and don’t show any sign of stopping. Whether it be the use of turbochargers in the early seventies, or the electric boost provided in the 918’s acceleration range, Porsche is ahead of the curve. Whether on the race track or on the street, Porsche is a driving force, and their advances in tech shape the cars of tomorrow.
Motor Trend’s Carlos Lago and legendary racing driver Randy Pobst find out what makes the Porsche 918 Spyder tick, just how amazing it is, and how it relates to the 959. Both are extremely advanced for their time, and yet both provide an amazing driving experience without compromise. Contemporary performance cars are all about compromise, making you sacrifice fuel economy, comfort, and reliability for the pursuit of outright speed. These two Porsche super cars don’t make you do that. The 959 was a do-it-all kind of car, and from what they say, the 918 seems to follow in that same vein. You can be fuel efficient when you need to be, you can toodle around town in traffic while still remaining comfortable, but you can dump all of that and be irresponsibly rapid when you want to be.
Lago equates the 918 to a ‘video game’ in the way it recovers energy, provides extra power boost, and simply melts your mind with its speed, calling it both “emotional” and “efficient”. “This car is indicative of the future… If the future is like that, sign me up!” After some sporty conversation, covering both the 959 and the 918 in great detail, Pobst takes the 918 out and wrings its neck for an on-board lap of “Big Willow” at Willow Springs in Southern California. He posts an impressive 1 minute 23.5 second lap, putting the 918 well into open-wheel racer territory. Watch the video, and try to stop yourself from giggling at the ridiculousness of a car like this.
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