Porsche 918 eventually reaches speeds well over 200 miles per hour, but is it enough to beat the Agera R?
The Porsche 918 is one of the best-performing cars to ever come from the German automaker and when you consider the legendary history of the brand, calling it one of the best is a serious statement. The 918 was the first production road car to lap the NürburgringNordschleife in less than seven minutes, and while it has been surpassed, it spent a long time serving as the fastest road cararound the legendary road course.
However, in the video above from the GT Board YouTube channel, we see that the 918 is no match for the Koenigsegg Agera R on a long, high-speed roll race, but the driver mourns his loss with a run up to 349 kilometers per hour.
Out for a Cruise
The video above begins with a first-person look at a passenger’s view of a cruise in the Porsche 918. We do not know for certain, but based on the speeds reached in the video, we are guessing that this footage was captured somewhere on the Autobahn. At first, the hybrid hypercar is cruising along behind a Mercedes and when the Benz moves, the Porsche driver hammers down for a quick pull until he runs up on traffic.
As he changes lanes, the Koenigsegg Agera R goes blowing past, at which point the 918 driver jumps back into the left lane and gives chase. At speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour, the Agera is still pulling away from the hard-charging Porsche, until they are both forced to slow down due to traffic. When that traffic clears, the two hypercars climb back into the throttle and the Koenigsegg inches away, and while the cameraman zooms in, the Agera is clearly pulling away from the 918.
At one point, they get side-by-side with plenty of open road in front, so they battle from a roll. Once again, the Agera R beats the Porsche and with this start, we can clearly see how hard the Koenigsegg pulls compared to the 918. They race one more time after that and as you might imagine, the 918 comes up short.
Top Speed Run
The Koenigsegg eventually stops playing, at which point the 918driver takes advantage of the open road to see just how fast he can get going. On this run, which goes on for nearly a minute, the Porsche reaches 349 kilometers per hour, or 217 miles per hour, which is a bit better than the stated top speed of 214 miles per hour.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
