Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid

So I was going to write about the 2010 World Sustainable Energy Days going on in Europe this week, but then I saw a picture of this car and lost my train of thought completely.  So enough with the serious stuff.

At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Porsche unveiled its latest concept car: the 918 Spyder Hybrid.  Just…just take a look before doing anything else.  Grab a towel first to wipe up the drool.

All right, now that we’ve seen that this car is gorgeous, let’s talk about what it can do.  When it was first written about, it was said the Spyder could get 78 mpg, zero to sixty in 3.2 seconds, and 198 mph top speed.  Sounds pretty sweet, right?  Well, those numbers aren’t exactly accurate.  According to a New York Times review, the Spyder has four separate modes ranging from all-electric to hybrid to full-bore sports car, and those numbers come from different modes.  It has a 500-horsepower gas engine and two electric engines, one on each axle, for a total of 718 horsepower.

So this concept car isn’t an absolute super-car.  But I think it goes a long ways towards showing that you can have the beauty and speed of a fun sports car with some environmental benefits, too – it doesn’t have to be one or the other.  It’s still a concept car, but I’m hoping it goes into production.  Not like I could ever afford it, but it’s nice to know that there are green options at every level.