Porsche 918 RSR Spyder

It is 6:30 a.m., and a bunch of journalists have gathered at Detroit's Cobo Hall. Most managed just a few hours of sleep following a kick-off party across the street the night before. Is this ridiculous press-conference slot Porsche’s penance for shunning the Detroit auto show for three years?                                                

There is a more charitable way to look at it: This is a rehash of the September 28, 2000 gathering in front of the Louvre to witness the unveiling of the Carrera GT. It was pouring rain, but absolutely no one regretted rising early, as automotive history was made that day.                                                                                 

The car we are seeing now is called the 918 RSR. It is not entirely new, but a stunning evolution of the 918 Spyder that took last year's Geneva auto show by surprise. Not long after the 918's debut, Porsche's supervisory board gave it the green light for series production.                                                                                     

When the Spyder debuted, Porsche claimed "over 500 hp" from a version of the 3.4-liter V-8 found in the RS Spyder race car, plus electric motors front and rear. With the RSR, Porsche is getting more specific. The direct-injection V-8 makes 563 hp at a screaming 10,300 rpm; two 75-kW electric motors, powering the front wheels only, boost maximum power to 767 hp.                         

Imagined as the racing version of the 918 line, the RSR has a flywheel-based hybrid system like that in the GT3 R hybrid race car, rather than the hefty lithium-ion battery pack the first concept toted. The flywheel stores electrical power and is charged during braking. At the push of a button, it provides extra power for up to eight seconds. (The 918 Spyder’s battery pack, meanwhile, was said to be able to propel the car for 16 miles on its own, which would take considerably longer than eight seconds.) The motors can vary torque side to side for increased agility. To the same end, the RSR has a six-speed racing-style sequential transmission in place of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission fitted in the 918 Spyder. Instead of the Spyder's futuristic touch-screen, the RSR’s center console sports a purposeful spread of rocker switches.

                                                                               918  

                                                                                   RSR  

INFORMATION:

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/porsche-918-rsr-concept-debuts-porsche-918-spyder-news