PROJECT CARS 2: The Holy Trinity

For today's PROJECT CARS 2 session, it's time to recreate the first Grand Tour episode using the hypercar holy trinity at the racetrack as seen in the series opener, Portugal's Algarve circuit. It's hard to believe a year has passed since The Grand Tour began and looks like I'm reliving the beginning using the three hybrid hypercars in Algarve right here on PROJECT CARS 2.



First, let's start with the McLaren P1, the hybrid hypercar that started the craze. As the forefather of hybrid exotics, the P1 combines McLaren's motorsport knowhow with its promise to reduce global carbon footprint. With hybridization became the new norm for production vehicles, the P1 pushes the hybridization to uncharted heights with its revolutionary IPAS petrol-electric powertrain which combines the improved version of the 3.8L V8 twin-turbo engine as applied on the 12C and a single electric motor, making the combined power output of 903HP and torque output of 664ft-lb of torque. With its extensive use of carbon fiber, the P1 weighs 1395kg and overall, it has a 0-100kph time of 2.8 seconds and top speed of over 350kph.



The Porsche 918 Spyder, like the McLaren P1, is a hybrid hypercar and while this car is heavy and less powerful than the P1, its four-wheel drive system can easily shame the P1 by a second margin. With its carbon fibre reinforced plastic bodywork that weighs 1640kg, a combination of a 4.6L V8 engine, two electric motors bolted on the axles, and a 6.8kWh Li-ion battery, it delivers a combined output of 881HP of power, and mated with Porsche's 7-speed PDK, the 918 has has a top speed of over 340kph (211mph). As for efficiency, the 918's range can get up to 680km (420 miles).



Lastly, the LaFerrari is known to be the ultimate decider between the P1 and the 918 because this is the most powerful and the lightest of the three hybrid hypercars. It is powered by an upgraded version of the same 6.3L V12 engine lifted from the F12berlinetta and HY-KERS (Hybrid-Kinetic Energy Recovery System) which develops a combined power output of 963PS, making this the most powerful Ferrari ever made and it lapped the Fiorano Test Track faster than the F12berlinetta. Unlike the other two, the car's V12 engine and the electric motor are working in unison and cannot be separated, which is very clever by Ferrari standards but what's even more clever are the computer-controlled aerodynamics that makes the LaFerrari the automotive equivalent of a Typhoon fighter jet. Well, you get the point but Ferrari's F1 knowhow really payed off in the making of this car.



In the first Grand Tour episode, the boys sent professional racing driver Jerome d'Ambrosio to drive these three round Algarve. After his first impressions regarding the three hybrid hypercars, he then set off to see which one is the fastest or risk losing one of the presenters' home, basically Jeremy Clarkson's. Anyway, what am I going to do in this session is to recreate the three hypercars' Algarve lap, although my times aren't as fast as the real-world times set by d'Ambrosio himself but still, feel free to enjoy my re-enactment of the one as seen in the first Grand Tour episode.



And now the results...

LaFerrari -  1:57.600
918 - 1:56.962
P1 - 1:58.120

Hmmm...not as fast as what d'Ambrosio set in real life but this is just like the first episode! If I was on the P1's side, I would literally lost my house just like Clarkson's. How amusing. It really feels like what happened last year! Well, with season 2 coming this fall, I can't hardly wait to see what sort of mischief the presenters are up to so watch for it.

In the meantime, feel free to drive with the hypercar Holy Trinity on PROJECT CARS 2 on PS4 and PC via Steam.

Forza Horizon 3: The Holy Trinity

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the Porsche 918 Spyder which I got it from a one-day only Forzathon event while continuing the month-long celebration of Porsche's return to the world of Forza only here on Forza Horizon 3. With the 918 here, looks like the Hybrid Hypercar Holy Trinity consisting of this, the P1, and the LaFerrari are all here to settle the scores...once again. This time, underneath the Southern Star full of football, meat pies, and kangaroos.

We are already familiar about the Porsche 918 Spyder but for those who aren't, hear this; 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. Top speed is 211mph and 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds courtesy of its 4WD drivetrain and its incredible torque.  It comes with regenerative braking which can retrieve energy generated by braking and feed it back into the batteries. Couple that with space-age lightweight materials and the result is a hybrid hypercar that lapped round the Nurburgring faster than every other car in the world.







Now that the 918's taken care of, let's invite the P1 and LaFerrari to settle the scores once again in the Land Down Under, specifically the Grand Tour Sprint, and prove that the 918 is still the king of the Holy Trinity or face the worst bet of human history.



And now the results...

2013 McLaren P1 (903hp/663ft-lb/3,296lb/42%/3,799cc/S2 981) - 2:13.534
2013 Ferrari LaFerrari (963HP/663ft-lb/3,031lb/41%/6,262cc/S2 981) - 2:12.733
2014 Porsche 918 Spyder (887HP/829ft-lb/3,692lb/43%/4,593cc/S2 969) - 2:09.329

The 918 is still king and if I were on the P1's side, I would become homeless just like what happened to Jeremy Clarkson when he placed a bet that if the P1 is slower than the rest, he would have his home blown off...and it happened. End of discussion.

Forza Motorsport 6: Battle of the hybrid hypercars!

Now that everything I need to know about the McLaren P1, the Ferrari LaFerrari, and the Porsche 918 Spyder in Forza Motorsport 6 are all checked and done, it's time for me to do the one thing Clarkson, Hammond, and May never got the balls to attempt this ultimate decider to show which of these three hybrid hypercars is the fastest round the Top Gear Test Track and this is the surreal test to prove if Clarkson's name is going to change to "Jennifer". As a matter of fact, I got a high probability on what's going to happen next.

But first, let's have a quick review of the hybrid hypercar trio. The P1 is a hybrid hypercar that incorporates most of McLaren's motorsports know-how. It's powered by an improved version of the 3.8L V8 twin-turbo engine as applied on the 12C and a single electric motor, making the combined power output of 903HP and torque output of 664ft-lb of torque.It's strictly limited to 375 units, each costing GB£866,000, and all of the units have sold out.

The 918, meanwhile, 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. 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.

Finally, the LaFerrari may come with the same hybrid layout as the other two, meaning its V12 engine is bolted with electric motors and a Li-ion battery, but unlike the McLaren and the Porsche that can run on electricity alone, the LaFerrari doesn't have that kind of feature because Ferrari is not heavily interested in electric power alone. Instead, the LaFerrari comes with HY-KERS (Hybrid-Kinetic Energy Recovery System), a tech similar to the one used in Formula One cars. It captures energy during braking and feeds it back when needed. That's why the engine-motor combination are all working together and cannot be separated, therefore it produces 963HP of power and 663lb-ft of torque, while mated with a 7-speed F1 gearbox. Not only that, the LaFerrari's dynamics are unique thanks to its bodywork that was built entirely from different kinds of carbon fiber as well as the lowered center of gravity but it's the high-tech active aerodynamics that sets them apart and because it's computer-controlled; the faster the LaFerrari goes through the corner, the better it works.

Now that everything is all settled out, the it's time to decide who flies and who falls from grace. The game is on!



So, how did the hyper three performed at the Top Gear Track? Well, time to read the results! The P1 did it in 1:14.976 while the LaFerrari, thanks to its active aerodynamics that work when it gets faster round the follow-through, 1:14.567, and the 918, the least powerful of the three, made it in a surprisingly quick 1:13.597, meaning the 918 is the fastest of the three and Jeremy Clarkson's going to rename himself as "Jennifer" should the three kept their hosting duties if they didn't messed up with the producers, well Clarkson that is.

Hard to believe that the 918 won the battle despite its power output but because of its Porsche motorsport DNA, its low center of gravity, its 4WD system, and lots of stuff that made the 918 great. It's no surprisingly it lapped round the Nurburgring faster than almost everything and if McLaren managed to file a full report on how fast the P1 went, it would be somewhat a second slower than the 918 and that could be the outcome I might be looking forward to.

With everything settled out, I'm going to close this case completely, concluding that the 918 is the fastest of the three round the Top Gear track but the battle is not yet over so these muscles need to hustle for more.

Forza Motorsport 6: The Awesome Porsche 918

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.

FH2 Porsche Expansion: The Spectacular 918 Spyder!

Yes, it's that time of the day again when I got myself a one-way ticket to the Horizon Finale. I once finished the finale and looks like I am now doing it again, this time in a different vehicle, specifically from the DLC portfolios. Of course, every car is welcome to the finale but for my second attempt, I have sealed my fate in this.





What I have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a Porsche 918 Spyder, which is part of the game's Porsche Expansion pack. However, it's not just any other 918 Spyder, this is my 918 festooned with all the 765 Production idols from THE IDOLM@STER series, made to celebrate the series' 10th birthday. Awww, too soon?! Still, as told in the portfolio, they will continue to make new dreams out of this!



But first, what is the Porsche 918 Spyder? From concept to reality, this is Porsche's first ever PHEV hypercar designed and engineered to compete against the revolutionary McLaren P1 and the Ferrari LaFerrari. Like the P1 and the LaFerrari, the 918 Spyder features a 4.6L V8 engine bolted to the middle and three electric motors working together to generate over 880bhp of power output. May not be much than the P1 and the LaFerrari and neither is the top speed of 210mph but unlike the McLaren and the Ferrari, the 918 is an all-wheel drive hypercar and thanks to this powertrain, its 0-60mph time is 2.6 second, which is better than the other two. It's mated with Porsche's 7-speed dual clutch gearbox which perform seamlessly in shifting gears. Fun fact that the 918 set the fastest production car lap at the Nurburgring in under 6:57, faster than almost any other known car in the world.

Anyway, no need to explain more about what's what about the 918, time to carry out the 918's biggest wish, especially mine, to create new dreams as it undergoes the Horizon Finale with all of its might. Obviously, the Horizon Finale is a very tough race indeed so extensive improvements have been made to make it more competitive against the foreign Johnnies. With all set, the final encore commences...



That was one heck of a battle but after all this, me and my 918 finally won the finale with everything or nothing at its dispersal. I'm so happy that these cars worked so hard to push new dreams for everyone in the name of driving pleasure here at Forza Horizon 2. The 918's work in Horizon is well and truly done because it got what it truly deserved but not for me.

To celebrate the occasion, I've orchestrated a little party piece...