New Porsche 918 Spyder in saucy Martini Racing livery

Porsche fans will well-know the brand’s rich racing history, and in some seriously beastie cars – like the Le Mans-winning 1971 Porsche 917 Short Tail Coupe pictured below.

These 70s Porsche racers were unbeatable at times; both on the track and in the styling department - especially when wearing those famous Martini Racing colours. Martini was the official partner of the Porsche factory team between 1973 and 1978. Indeed, these white-racers are nearly as gorgeous as the baby-blue and orange Gulf colours of the same era.

So, why not dress up the latest and distinctly sexy new Porsche in those historic colours? Why not indeed.

Driving trials of the Porsche 918 Spyder are continuing at high speed, according to Porsche, and an important part of the testing programme for the new plug-in hybrid super sportscar – as is the case in the development process of all Porsche cars – is the 20.8km Nurburgring-Nordschleife race circuit.

The 918 Spyder combines a high-performance internal combustion engine – a 4.6-litre V8 - with electric motors on the front and rear axles to achieve four-wheel drive acceleration performance and grip, while keeping an eye on the tailpipe emissions. It’s all very green and all very fast.

The total power output of the petrol/electric hybrid drivetrain is a whopping 770bhp, while said emissions are quoted at around 70g/km. That’s truly incredible for a car that will hit around 325km/h and 100km/h in under 3secs. And, under electric power alone, the new 918 Spyder can still hit 150km/h and travel 25km. Then just plug it into the mains for a charge up.

Keeping the 918 Spyder light and aerodynamic is key to much of this impressive eco-performance, with a monocoque chassis made from carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), which reduces vehicle weight over aluminium, and is said to deliver remarkable rigidity and dynamic precision. Other 918 Spyder delights are fully variable aerodynamics, adaptive rear axle steering and the ‘top pipes’ exhaust system which routes the big-bore exhaust pipework upwards at the rear of the car, through the engine cover. Just gorgeous.

And the price? Currently unconfirmed, but one expects we’ll be needing a stiff Martini when we see all the zeros!




 


 

The Le Mans-winning 1971 Porsche 917 Short Tail Coupe in historic Martini Racing colours  


By Daniel Anslow

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