Green Supercar

2011 Porsche 918 Spyder 

A lot of people have said that it's physically impossible to convert a high-end supercar into a hybrid. Some have done it though, but most unsuccessful. Tesla has done it with their all-electric roadster, the greenest sports car on earth. It's fast, lightweight, and money-saving. Unfortunately, its not built for hardcore racing and serious sporty driving. If you do this to this car, you may burn out the batteries in the back. So, there's an important question to ask here. Is it possible to build a car that's fuel efficient, fun to drive, and can be used for hardcore racing? To find the answer, you'll have to turn to Porsche, because they've done it.

Green hybrid sports car

Now, Porsche has been notorious for making some of the ugliest cars on the market. For example, the 911 may look cool, but design-wise, it's an old Volkswagen Beetle. The Cayenne has been ugly since its birth, but it's gotten better (only a little bit). The Panamera, by far, is the ugliest a Porsche can get. If you look at it well, you'll see that it's similar to an ugly camel. The car that you see in front of you now is the sexiest a Porsche can get. This is the 918 Spyder. This is Porsche's answer to hybrid technology. Under the hood is the same 3.4-liter 500 horsepower V8 engine used in Porsche's LMP racer the RS Spyder. But, included with it are three electric motors in which all together make 218 horsepower, bringing the total horsepower to 718. So this is one powerful car. It's also very fast. Thanks to Porsche's 7-speed PDK (Doppelkupplungsgetriebe) transmission, it will reach 60 MPH from 0 MPH in 3.1 seconds on its to a top speed of 198 MPH. But, this isn't important. What is important is the mileage. Porsche claims this car will do over 70 miles per gallon. That's impressive for a car that ran a Nürburgring lap time of 7:30, faster than its predecessor, the Carrera GT.

2010 Geneva Auto Show

There is more science that makes this car so great. When driving, the car has 4 modes: Eco, Hybrid, Sport, and Race. In Eco mode, the petrol engine is turned off leaving only the lithium-ion batteries to do the work. This is good for about 16 miles. In Hybrid mode, the Petrol and Electric motors take turnes with the power and efficiency for descent performance. In Sport mode, the hybrid mode is tuned for more serious driving, delivering all power to the rear wheels for traction around corners. Finally, in Race mode, both motors are at full blast giving you full power of the car if you're using it on the track. In all 4 modes, you will save a lot of gas and that should be good, since gas prices are slowly increasing. 

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

So, this is a brilliant car. When it was unveiled at Geneva in July, Porsche agreed to put the car into production if more than a thousand people really liked it. They received over 2000 likes. This car will go into production and will be released by 2012 for over $600,000, over $200,000 more than its predecessor, the Carrera GT. But, if you don't want to wait that long, there is a way to drive it now. Coming this Tuesday, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit will be released. The 918 Spyder will make its gaming debut in this game as a hard-boiled supercar. And there's more good news. Silver won't be the only color you can race it in. You will be able to paint this car. So, you can get chased by the cops in a bright red 918 Spyder.

918 Spyder Face

So, the 918 Spyder: it's a brilliant car displaying the future of Porsche and hybrids. I don't think any hybrid can get any better than this.