Jul 28, 2010

Porsche to build amazing hybrid 918 supercar

12:58 PM

By Martin Meissner, APThe

Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid supercar is a go.

Porsche's supervisory board approved production of stunning supercar that can catapult from zero to 60 mph in about 3.2 seconds, Bloomberg reports.

By Martin Meissner, AP

Expected to be fabulously expensive, perhaps as much as $650,000, the 918 Spyder will be a poster child for how a performance maker like Porsche can go "green," even if most of the gains are being used for performance instead of economy.

The two-seater combines a 500-horsepower V-8 and a hybrid electric-drive system to reach a top speed of 199 mile per hour, yet it can run about 14 miles on electric power alone. We guess that would make it a great, pollution-free commuter car if you were, say, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates or some other mogul. It could hit the streets as soon as 2013.

Porsche will develop the production version at a research lab near Stuttgart, Germany, and it will be built in Zuffenhausen. Porsche is owned by Volkswagen Group.

At least 2,000 would-be buyers have expressed an interest in the 918 since it was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March, about twice as many as the automaker hoped to have in order to make a production decision.

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