The star attraction of the Forza Motorsport 6 Porsche Expansion pack is none other than the pinnacle of Porsche's engineering excellence; the 918 Spyder. With the 918 Spyder here, the dream of having the Hybrid Hypercar Holy Trinity consisting of this, the P1, and the LaFerrari, can finally be settled once and for all. But first, I want to talk about the 918 and to find out, I want to recreate a Top Gear moment that Richard Hammond tried the 918 round the Yas Marina Circuit in nighttime.
Like the McLaren P1 I tried a few moments ago, the Porsche 918 features a combination of a 4.6L V8 engine which produces 612HP of power by itself, two electric motors bolted on the axles, and a 6.8kWh Li-ion battery. The electric motors deliver around 500lb-ft of torque at 8000rpm, a torque that a Ferrari 458 deemed impossible.
Compared against the McLaren P1, the 918 is a tad 7mph slower than the P1's 218mph top speed but the 0-60mph time is what the 918 got its Ace of Spades. 2.6 seconds to the P1's 2.8 seconds, courtesy of the 4WD drivetrain and its incredible torque. With those stats, both the P1 and the 918 will keep fighting and fighting. It's Love Live's Sunny Day Song against THE IDOLM@STER's M@STERPIECE.
Time for some interesting facts about the 918 and it features some cool stuff that the P1's feeling jealous at. It comes with regenerative braking which can retrieve energy generated by braking and feed it back into the batteries. Since this is labeled as a "Spyder", the roof can be removed for open-top cruising, and on the interior, there are concessions of comfort that the P1 doesn't have, including the center console, touch-screen, and glovebox.
Aside from that, the 918 features four driving modes. In E-Power mode, its battery-only mileage is around 18 miles compared to the P1's 7 miles. Then, when switched to hybrid, the petrol and the electric battery can be alternated on various driving conditions. When switched to Sport mode, only the V8 engine kicks in. Now, onto Race mode and talking about this feature is tad boring, let's find out just how good the 918 is when all the power from both sides kicked in.
It's no surprising the 918 lapped round the Nurburgring faster than every other car in the world and thanks to its clever four-wheel drive system and the extensive use of lightweight materials, all that Porsche motorsport DNA is implied in this civilized, grown-up, hypercar and despite being well-mannered and well-behaved than the P1, the dynamics are surprisingly accessible even for a 4WD hypercar.
Think about this, a Weissach Package-spec 918 Spyder, noteworthy with a unique livery and 60kg weight drop, lapped round the Nurburgring of less than 6:57, making it the fastest series production street-legal car to break the seven minute barrier. In context; a Lexus LFA Nurburgring Package did it in 7 minutes and 14 seconds while the Nissan GT-R did it half a second slower. For the P1, McLaren claimed it made it through the sub-7 minute mark but they're not saying an actual time.
Like what Richard Hammond felt during his Top Gear years, the 918 may not be as powerful as the P1 but its dynamics will really upset the McLaren P1 and once I'm done evaluating with the LaFerrari later on, I can finally settle the Hybrid Hypercar trio round the Top Gear track and see if one of these hybrids seal their fate on the failed attempt to rename Jeremy Clarkson into Jennifer until their inevitable demise in the world of Top Gear.
For now, you can settle one yourself by trying the awesome 918 Spyder on the Forza Motorsport 6 Porsche Expansion pack, available now.
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