2015 Porsche 918 Spyder (2024)

All-wheel drive is a major factor in the 918’s stability, but the motor on the 918’s front axle hits its 16,000-rpm redline and disengages at 165 mph, so keep that in mind before executing any rapid directional changes at ludicrous speeds. A center of gravity right around the wheel bearings contributes to the 918’s having all the roll and dive of a parking block. The steering is of course electrically assisted, but we almost don’t believe that this helm, so heavy and direct and alive, could be. Rear-wheel steering helps the 3750-pound (or 3650 with the weight-shaving and über-expensive Weissach package) 918 turn in as immediately at low speeds as would a much smaller car, while it lends the stabilizing sensation of a longer wheelbase above 50 mph.

And when you want it all to stop, the 918’s brakes are some of the strongest we’ve experienced in a production car. The brake pedal here is ever so slightly squishier than the benchmark pedals in other Porsche sports cars but still better than about everything else on the market. And, yes, the brakes incorporate energy recuperation—up to 0.5 g of braking, at which point the honking, 15.4-inch carbon-ceramic rotors finally get bit by the Acid Green calipers. But as with the powertrain, any trade-off is imperceptible to the driver. To the sole of your foot, the pedal just feels firm and progressive.

Whisper-whisper-whisper—HEY!

In a typical hybrid, great care is taken to soften the transition from electrical to gas-fired operation. Here, it’s sort of hard to hide. Remember that part about the 608-hp flat-crank V-8? The 918 is mischievous, always ready to startle you with a deafening bark from behind your ears. The driver has to push past a detent in the accelerator travel to light the engine, but it’s like intentionally triggering a mousetrap: The snap still makes you twitch. With the roof panels consuming all but about half a cubic foot of the trunk and the eight shrieking past 7000 rpm, conversing requires you to shout so loudly your vocal cords will hurt. With the roof panels in place, it’s only slightly quieter. The sound doesn’t just enter your ears—it fills the cabin with a tangible pressure. It’s exhilarating. And when you finally back off and the rowdy V-8 shuts down, the silence is equally jarring. Then, though, occupants can hear the whine of electric motors, the brushing of the brakes, and the crunch of pebbles beneath the tires. The 918 puts on a show for the people behind, too, as heat shimmer suddenly appears over the gaping exhausts when the engine fires up and disappears the instant it shuts down. You didn’t expect an $847,975 Porsche hybrid to behave like a regular car, did you?

Indeed, the 918 teems with special touches. Atop its sweeping center console is a touch-screen complete with an Audi-style writing surface that accepts inputs via fingertip scribbling, which will surely trickle down to workaday Porsches. All the knobs and even the vanes in the HVAC vents are real aluminum. And that mesh engine cover? It’s stamped from a solid sheet of stainless, and then a laser cuts 7335 holes in it over the course of about four hours. Our favorite detail, though, involves the tire sidewalls, portions of which are laser etched for a texture remarkably similar to that of suede. (The 911 GT3 offers the same touch at a saving of about $700,000.)

The Official 900-hp Hybrid of Black Friday

Before you start complaining that the 918 is too expensive, consider this: At a starting price of $847,975, it actually represents a saving of about a half-million bucks compared with its Ferrari and McLaren contemporaries. Those two, though, at 950 and 907 horsepower and each about 3300 pounds, have the potential to best even the 918’s astounding Nürburgring record. Those two are also sold out—the Ferrari before the public even knew anything about it. Porsche, on the other hand, still has about half its 918-unit 918 production run available.

Yes, it’s expensive, but so were the first microwaves, and now people who don’t own one of those are weird. We already know the next-gen Nissan GT-R will be a hybrid, and it’ll probably be a lot more affordable than this Porsche. Before you know it, hybrid hypercars will cost as much as a Chevy Cruze! Won’t that be a great day, when you meet somebody and decide he’s strange because he doesn’t have a 900-hp hybrid? We’ve a lot to be thankful for today, but tomorrow looks even more amazing.