adrial

The original press release was saying the 918 was going to use a flywheel system, I didn't realize they changed it to the same old environmentally unfriendly battery system.

As for the GT3 R ... the 25% boost in fuel economy helped them run 10 laps before refueling at the Nurburgring, as opposed to 8 for the competition.
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/17/u...hours-spoiler/

I was hoping the 918 would use the flywheel system, which is a lot more promising than the same ole battery technology.

bbs993tt

[QUOTE=ADias;7814281]On the 918 while the batteries are charged it delivers a surge a power. But I bet after a few laps the batteries are depleted and the advantage is gone - batteries do not charge very quickly. [QUOTE]

The video posted on this thread has audio of Hurley saying it is a KERS system, which recovers energy under braking, right? I understood KERS regenerates power very quickly which is why it was used in F1 last year. They keep calling the 918 a hybrid though, which I equate to having to plug in to recharge. Can someone clarify?

Either way, I can't wait to see it in MIA next week.

Tacet-Conundrum

I promised myself long ago when I do spend over $500K on a car it will be a 959!

911SLOW

Always wanted one too. (after a GT1)
And the service cost is no bad either.

ADias

[QUOTE=bbs993tt;7814919][QUOTE=ADias;7814281]On the 918 while the batteries are charged it delivers a surge a power. But I bet after a few laps the batteries are depleted and the advantage is gone - batteries do not charge very quickly. See this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QnAkFf8a_0

mooty

8mm silent films
VHS
8 track
casettes
vacuum tube amps

i am old.

911SLOW

^ What no Hasselblad?

ADias

I would love to see/hear those.

fayence

Here's a quick vid I did of my viewing of the 918 yesterday...

http://vimeo.com/channels/exotics#14141291

mooty

i did in college. but they have been sold to finance other drug addictions.
a few leica left that's it.
haven't been inside a dark room for 15 years or so... probably confuse the developing chemicals with my drink

911SLOW

Leicas are nice but sorry to tell you, eventually you ll go digital. Bought a Nikon D700 and was converted. You cant beleive what it does with a hi ISO and a f/1,4D fifty lense

John

we f**ed the thread sorry guys

CyCloNe!

if you want more mpg and less air deposits just add a hydro-electric carburetor to your current porsche and call it a day.... 10-50% more mpg depending on the size you make the carburetor, and they actually work lol....though i am considering this for fun

Carrera GT

There's not much left to say about the 918 anyway. The sales pitch video by the bored member was most of it.

What was explained at the 918 presentation was 50% fact with a margin of error of 50%. What we see is certainly not what we get.

Just look at the changes in the Boxster from the first concept shown at Geneva to the actual car. Any first year university student in a design and engineering course will point out the thin windshield in composite frame, the gorgeous but abruptly short overhangs, the compound curves of the body lines and so on. We don't have to wait for the TUV and DOT/EPA clouds to darken the horizon to anticipate the crash test, noise and emissions issues. For example, much as the Weissach team will fight for those side-exit pipes, it's going to be hard to keep them. Here's hoping.

Those "electric motor winding" wheels just get worse as you get closer, but their size aids the illusion of the low slung proportions. We'll never see another 918 look like this one.

I have to imagine we'll see a hard top version. That was something Porsche heard from their Carrera GT owners and Porsche has put more time and energy into listening to customers than they have in building this prototype.

Full credit to the design team for (painfully) setting aside the altruism of another V10 Le Mans car and somehow balancing the polar opposites of a car for the driver and yet dealing with irrational government regulators gone mad. I think we can see in this car an awe inspiring mid-engine V8 Boxster that even the died-in-the-wool 911 driver would appreciate.

I think it's self-evident the engineers were put to task to package an electric traction motor platform that will serve this car and justify itself. The same design and innovation has to yield benefits to the other Porsche vehicles with emphasis on future technologies. If the 918 were brought to market today, it would cost multiples of the cost to build a Carrera GT. With the rate of advances in battery, conductor, power management and motor design, within two years, one could anticipate the 918 could be built and sold at a profitable level, priced only a little above the Carrera GT. In round figures, the Carrera GT was sold in 2005 in the USA for $400K. Studying the complexity of its design, I would reckon the 918 Spyder price could be kept down to say $500K. For example, a US$100K 100Kg "battery" could well become a $50K $50Kg storage device with integral cooling and management. In terms of performance and expectations -- such as comparing a 7:32 Carrera GT lap to a 7:28 918 lap (not forgetting to bow down to the forthcoming GT2 RS 7:18 lap) the impulse storage has a finite ability to take on charge and release charge (in part limited by cooling.) In the space of two years, perhaps sooner, innovation in short term electric impulse potential seems set to go from, let's call it 1000:1 (today) to close to 100:1 based on technology that already exists, but hasn't reached the market. In other words, instead of having one "push to pass" event per lap, the impulse unit could release one pop for every main braking area and could well store more than one pop in reserve. Anyone who developed the skill to drive an early 911 Turbo

Well, I could go on for a couple of more paragraphs trying to regurgitate what I learned there in the space or two hours or so. For this humble track junkie, I'm overjoyed to have the new RS. If Porsche listens to "me," they'll eventually build a 918 and offer a "delete" option in the order guide that takes out all the electric parts bin stuff and leaves just a 10K rpm V8 and PDK. Please.

The 918 says many things in vague half tones, but it says one thing in full voice: Hail Carrera GT.

mooty

"...they'll eventually build a 918 and offer a "delete" option in the order guide that takes out all the electric parts bin stuff and leaves just a 10K rpm V8 and PDK..."

THAT would be IT.

Carrera GT

Of course that can be done today at about US$350K or at about US$100K. The later is a 3.8 Sharky engine in a Boxster or Cayman. The former is the Carrera GT. If one were buying the Carrera GT as a track car, I'd suggest ferreting out a couple of engine carrier and cabin monocoques as spares.