The Porsche story 9

How long do great moments last? Sometimes they last for a bat of an eyelid, an instant. Sometimes they can last for hours, weeks and years, from the first glimpse to the first date, from the inspiration to the finished sonnet, from Oslo to the South Pole, or from the flash of inspiration to the prototype. During the eventful history of Porsche, there have been many great moments – some of short duration, some longer. One of them lasts precisely six minutes and fifty-seven seconds: from start to finish, a distance of precisely 20.8 kilometres, from zero to 345; once around the North Loop of the Nürburgring in the Porsche 918 Spyder.

Up until September 4, 2013, the record for a street-legal car on the legendary race track was about 7:11 minutes. The 918 Spyder goes to the starting line to break this record: with a displacement of 4.6 litres in a specially developed V8 high-revving engine supported by two electric motors on the front and rear axles and a total of 887 hp; with an acceleration of 2.6 seconds from 0 to 100 and a top speed of 345 km/h, the magical seven minute mark is in danger of being topped; that is what numerous test drives, simulations and calculations have shown in the run-up to this moment. But still, even the best simulation is not the same as reality by a long chalk. The excitement mounts.

One moment that goes to prove: hybrid technology belongs to the future

As the sun gradually melts through the morning mist over the Eifel hills, the black monster waits at the ready. 6.30: the final route inspection. Porsche GT driver Marc Lieb gets into the super sports car and taxis to the start. The acceleration of the 918 Spyder is pure brute force; it shoots through Hatzenbach and over the airport, through Fuchsröhre and Bergwerk, through the Eiskurve and over the Galgenkopf. After just under 20 kilometres Lieb turns into the final straight – and the old record is smashed to smithereens: 6:57 minutes, faster than any other street-legal car ever before. One moment that goes to prove: hybrid technology belongs to the future. And a moment that again shows that decades of know-how, top-notch engineering and the eternal striving towards innovation and perfection are the path to truly outstanding performance. This philosophy has been part and parcel of Porsche for decades – this has made all the great and small, spectacular, loudly applauded or even totally personal Porsche moments so special. And this will continue – to initiate further unforgettable moments.

918 Spyder: Combined fuel consumption: 3,1 – 3,0 l/100 km; CO₂ emissions: 72-70 g/km; Electricity consumption 12.7 kWh/100 km

918 Spyder (Weissach package): Combined fuel consumption: 3,0 l/100 km; CO₂ emissions: 70 g/km; Electricity consumption: 12.7 kWh/100 km