Photo : D.R. - Porsche AG

After the 918 Spyder at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, this new version is unveiled as a world premiere at the Detroit Motor Show (January 10-23, 2011) and owes much to motor racing.

With its highly-efficient flywheel accumulator, the 911 GT3 R hybrid demonstrated its massive performance potential under realistic motor racing conditions against top competitors in the American Le Mans Series races (ALMS) in Road Atlanta/USA and the ILMC run in China's Zhuhai. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid, referred to internally as the "Race Lab" actually surpassed the high expectations of Porsche Motorsport. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid obtains its additional power from its own vehicle dynamics when braking. This additional power is available for around eight seconds when the system is fully charged. In the successful 911 GT3 R Hybrid, this additional power can also be used as a consumption aid depending on the racing situation, e.g. to delay pit stops or reduce the fuel tank volume and therefore the weight of the vehicle. Porsche is now transplanting this technology into the mid-engine coupé 918 RSR, the motor sports version of the 918 Spyder concept car.

Motor racing technology also dominates within the carbon fibre-reinforced plastic monocoque. The V8 engine is a further development of the direct injection engine from the successful RS Spyder race car and now offers an output of precisely 563 hp at 10,300/rpm in the 918 RSR. The electric motors on the two front wheels each contribute 75 kW, i.e. a total of 150 kW, to the peak drive power of exactly 767 hp. This additional power, which is generated during braking, is stored in an optimised flywheel accumulator. In the 918 RSR, the two electric motors offer a torque vectoring function with variable torque distribution to the front axle. This additionally increases agility and improves steering response. Mounted upstream of the rear axle, the mid-engine is integrated with a racing transmission also based on the RS Spyder race car.

Finally, the starting number 22 pays homage to the anniversary of a further triumph. Back in the days when overall victories in Le Mans were not yet an entirely routine matter within the Porsche racing department, the pilots Dr. Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep were the first to cross the finishing line in 1971's 24-hour classic. The distance record set by their Porsche 917 short-tail coupé – 5335.313 kilometres at an average speed of 222.304 km/h – did not remain unbeaten for an eternity, but for exactly 39 years until 2010.

(Based upon Porsche press information)