Saturday, August 4, 2012

The £670,000 Porsche


    It’s the supercar set to please both petrolheads and the green lobby.
For Porsche has released images of its new 201mph 918 Spyder which is set to be more economical than a Toyota Prius.
It will be able to accelerate from 0-62mph in less than three seconds – making it faster than most supercars on the road.Porsche claim the 918 will be capable of 94mpg. (Picture: SWNS)
But it is also going to be as attractive to the green lobby as it is the Top Gear audience thanks to some incredible eco-statistics.
Porsche claim the 918, which is a ‘plug-in hybrid’, will be capable of 94mpg – making it twice as economical as a 1.6-litre Ford Focus.
In comparison, a Toyota Prius will do 72.4mpg while the greenest version of the UK’s biggest-selling car, the Ford Fiesta, manages 78.5mpg.
This is because of Porsche’s new hybrid system where two electric motors generate power alongside the car’s 4.6-litre V8 engine.
There is also an ‘EV’ mode where the car can be driven for around 15 miles entirely on electric power at a top speed of 93mph.
It will only emit an average of 70g/km of carbon dioxide, making any UK-registered models exempt of road tax as well as the London Congestion Charge.
The level of emissions means UK registered models will be exempt of road tax. (Picture: SWNS)
However, this new model is greener and faster than the average family car, it is also around 30 times more expensive – costing £670,000.
The convertible supercar was first announced as a prototype at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show but Porsche has just released these images of the car undergoing full testing.
And executives at the Stuttgart company say the 918 Spyder, which will be limited to just 918 models, will go into full production by September 2013.
Wolfgang Hatz, member of the executive board research and development of Porsche AG, said: ‘What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance.’