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Porsche has today opened the order book for its new 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar - and set the price at $845,000, excluding destination and handling charges.

To ensure the 918 Spyder's worldwide exclusivity, Porsche will produce no more than 918 examples. Start of production at Porsche's famed factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen is planned for Sept. 18, 2013. The first car arrives in November 2013.

The U.S. base manufacturer's suggested retail price is $845,000 (excluding destination and handling charges) or 645,000 euros (£563k) plus VAT and local taxes in Europe.

Unlike the Geneva Motor Show concept car, the Porsche 918 Spyder two-seat production version, based on a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic monocoque, will feature a manual roof system with removable panels that can be stored in the front luggage compartment.

The 918 Spyder will be powered by a unique plug-in hybrid system that will include a high-revving, mid-mounted V8 engine with capacity of more than 4.0 liters and producing at least 500 horsepower.

Two electric motors – one each on the front and rear axles – together will provide approximately 218 additional horsepower. This configuration also will offer an innovative, variable all-wheel drive system with independent control of the drive forces on both axles. Electrical energy will be stored in a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery that can be recharged from a standard household outlet. Electric-only driving range is expected to be more than 16 miles on the NEDC. Recharge time will depend on each country's electrical power network, but charging is expected to take about seven hours at 110V/10A in the United States. A quick-charge option is being evaluated to further reduce charging times.

With anticipated combined fuel consumption of just 78.4 mpg (3.0 L/100 km) on the NEDC, this equates to CO2 emissions of only 70 g/km or 112 g/mile. On the other hand, the Porsche 918 Spyder will deliver super sports car performance. It is estimated that the final production version will accelerate from zero to 60 mph in about 3.1 seconds on its way to an estimated top track speed of 199 mph. It should also tackle Germany's famed Nurburgring Nordschleife in less than 7 minutes and 30 seconds, two seconds faster than the Porsche Carrera GT. Under the right conditions, the 918 Spyder will be able to drive on electric power alone at speeds up to 94 mph for limited distances.

Customers who order the 918 Spyder also have the opportunity to acquire a special-edition 911 Turbo S Coupe or Cabriolet. Also limited to no more than 918 units, the 911 Turbo S Edition 918 Spyder will have exterior and interior design elements echoing the plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder supercar's styling. It features similar exterior colors, carbon-fiber elements inside and out, enhanced leather equipment and numerous acid-green accents on items such as the brake calipers, illuminated sill plates, interior stitching and instrument cluster needles. A limited-edition badge on the glove compartment door will feature the same production number as the customer's 918 Spyder.

Worldwide 918 Spyder customers can begin ordering this special edition 911 Turbo S sports car today, and customer deliveries will start later in 2011. The U.S. base manufacturer's suggested retail prices for the Coupe and Cabriolet versions are the same as the standard 911 Turbo S models, $160,700 and $172,100 respectively, excluding destination.

Porsche AG will enter the Nürburgring 24 hour race on June 25, 2011, with a more advanced version of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. The priority for this latest edition was improvement of efficiency through the targeted optimization of hybrid components, which also resulted in a 20 percent weight reduction. Version 2.0 of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid is intended to achieve the same lap times as its predecessor but with less fuel consumption.

The general layout of the hybrid was adopted from the 2010 model. A portal axle with two electric motors drives the front wheels and supplements the four-liter - depending on the balance of performance classification - approximately 470 hp, six-cylinder boxer engine at the rear. The output of both electric motors has increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. For bursts of multiple seconds at a time, drivers now have almost an additional 200 hp at their disposal with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0. Depending on the programming, this power is automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal. Moreover, pilots can manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking.

The electric flywheel accumulator, with its rotor spinning up to 40,000 rpm and storing energy mechanically as rotational energy, is now housed with the other hybrid components in a carbon fiber safety cell on the passenger's side.

At first glance, the new GT3 R Hybrid is clearly distinguishable from the 2010 model. Thanks to the optimization of the hybrid system's high voltage components, the large louvers in front of the rear fenders were no longer necessary. This reduces drag and also lowers fuel consumption. All in all, the weight of the vehicle decreased from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms.

"We've collected a great deal of information from our races on the Nürburgring, at the ALMS race at Road Atlanta, as well as from the ILMC race on China's Zhuhai circuit. The data was invaluable for the further development of our racing laboratory," says Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche motorsport. "The emphasis of our work was on improving efficiency. That means we want to keep the lap times consistent with 2010 but use less energy, hence less fuel. In this way, we support future developments of road-going, sporting hybrid vehicles."

The cockpit of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid has also been completely revised. Most of the displays and controls have moved to the steering wheel. Drivers can operate the rest of the functions via backlit buttons now situated on the centre console. Priority was placed on the ergonomics and the clear layout for pilots – particularly in darkness.

The new 911 GT3 R Hybrid is a perfect example of the 'Porsche Intelligent Performance' philosophy, a principle found in every Porsche - more power on less fuel, more efficiency and lower CO2 emissions – on the race track and on the road.

Porsche have released a video of the hybrid version of its Panamera four-door sedan due to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show next month.

Porsche has introduced an electric version of its Boxster roadster as part of an e-mobility pilot programme in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart.

The three fully electric prototypes of the small sports car are intended to be “rolling laboratories” that will help engineers gauge the practicality of electric vehicles’ everyday use.

“Electric mobility will be one of Porsche's central challenges in the coming years, and our engineers are ready to meet the challenge with their usual high standards,” said Porsche boss Matthias Müller in a statement released on Thursday.

The e-Boxsters are part of a larger scheme to maximize electric cars in Stuttgart and the surrounding state of Baden-Württemberg.

Scientists will also use the cars to learn about the infrastructure needed to support electric mobility on a mass scale, Müller said.

Stefan Mappus, the premier of Baden-Württemberg, added that the Porsche pilot project is an important one in a state known for automotive prowess.

“Together with the auto industry, we want to further develop methods of sustainable mobility in Stuttgart and surrounding regions,” he said. “Porsche is an important partner in this endeavour.”

Stuttgart is one of eight “model regions” of electric mobility in Germany, where projects for electric vehicles and infrastructure are being tested through mid-2011.

The Federal Ministry of Transportation has committed about €130 million total for the eight regions to research electric mobility.

Transportation Minister Peter Ramsauer praised the progress Porsche has made.

“We need marketable products that excite the consumer and win him over with their functionality,” he said. “That is why we support research into electric vehicles’ everyday use.”

The Porsche Boxster roadsters each have two electric motors with a combined 240 horsepower, and are intended to perform at a level similar to Porsche’s traditional internal-combustion engines. The electronic components used in the cars were manufactured by Volkswagen, which recent took over the sports carmaker.

While BMW, Mercedes, VW and Audi already offer several electric hybrid models, Porsche currently has only one consumer vehicle, the sports-utility Cayenne, available in hybrid form.

Porsche will likely unveil a hybrid version of its Panamera four-door sedan at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show next month, with possible plans to start selling the car in the U.S. later this year.

The Panamera already has a brake energy recuperation system as standard.

Porsche started making a hybrid version of its Cayenne SUV available in the U.S. late last year. That car, with pairs a V-6 with an electric motor, can drive solely on electric power at speeds up to 37 miles per hour and gets an EPA-rated 21 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, compared with an 18 MPG rating for the convention Cayenne S.

Bigger steps towards Porsche's electrification are likely to follow the two hybrid models, as the European Union has given Porsche five years to cut its CO2 emissions by about 15%. Porsche will produce its first electrically-powered sports car, the 918 Spyder, in three to four years.

Last October, new Porsche Chairman Matthias Mueller told reporters at the 2010 Paris Auto Show that the German automaker is testing a plug-in electric concept version of the Panamera sedan, though it has no plans to show the car publicly. The company will also field-test three electric-powered Boxsters starting next year, Porsche said in July.

Porsche’s development boss has insisted the Detroit show-stopping 918 RSR hybrid race car will be developed alongside the open-topped Spyder road project, instead of replacing the 2010 Geneva concept.

The 756bhp RSR mixes the hybrid systems from Porsche’s 911 GT3 R hybrid project, the engine from the RS Spyder race car and the bodywork of the 918 Spyder, modified for vertically opening doors and a roof.

The RSR’s launch at Detroit — marking Porsche’s return to the show after a four-year gap — prompted speculation that the 918 project as a whole had evolved into a hard-top.

But Porsche’s outgoing board member for development, Wolfgang Dürheimer, insisted that the hard-top development would be focused on motorsport. “The road application of this car is the 918 Spyder, There is no decision taken that the coupé type will be available on the Spyder. We learned from the Carrera GT that the driving pleasure of the car is enhanced when you have the possibility to drive open or closed.

“We have always told people interested in the 918 Spyder that it will have a roof concept similar to the Carrera GT’s, with a lightweight carbonfibre panel. A closed car is better for motorsport, though.”

Porsche is said to be in talks with race series organisers about making the car eligible, although sources suggest it could struggle to gain entry to a major event in 2011.

Dürheimer also said the firm is preparing to offer petrol-based hybrids across its entire range in future.

It's not the greenest battery-powered car on the planet (at between 21 to 25 MPG) but it’s a Porsche so still does 0 to 60 in 6.1 seconds.

ICE + EV gives 380 hp and 428 ft/lb of torque. The Porsche SUV Hybrid retails for $67,700.

Playing on past glory and hinting at possible future Le Mans ambitions, Porsche have unveiled the 918 RSR at the North American International Auto Show.

The Porsche 918 RSR is a high-end synthesis of successful Porsche hybrid concepts: a medium-sized coupe: it's got kinetic energy storage.

Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is continuing to extend its performance and high efficiency competence via intensive development work in the field of hybrid technology. With the Porsche 918 RSR, the manufacturer of sporty premium vehicles is presenting a high-end synthesis of 2010's successful hybrid concepts. The two-seater mid-engine coupé 918 RSR clearly reveals what happens when the technology fitted in the 911 GT3 R hybrid and the design of the 918 Spyder are transferred to a modern, innovative super sports car.

With its highly-efficient flywheel accumulator, the 911 GT3 R hybrid racing car proved to be an attention magnet during competition racing on the Nürburgring Nord schleife circuit, during the American Le Mans Series races (ALMS) in Road Atlanta/USA and the ILMC run in China's Zhuhai. It demonstrated its massive performance potential under realistic motor racing conditions against top competitors. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid, referred to internally as the "Race Lab" actually surpassed the high expectations of Porsche Motorsport. Competi tive ness, high reliability and exemplary fuel efficiency combined with top performance underscored the Porsche technicians' basic idea of generating additional power in an intelligent manner.

The 911 GT3 R Hybrid obtains its additional power from its own vehicle dynamics when braking. Porsche is now transplanting this technology into the mid-engine coupé 918 RSR, the motor sports version of the 918 Spyder concept car.

From the tradition established by classic Porsche long-distance race cars such as the 908 long-tail coupé (1969) and the 917 short-tail coupé (1971), the Porsche designers created a link to the postmodernism of the "form follows function" philosophy. In the 918 RSR, the lines' elegant flow is dominated by muscular wheel arches, dynamic air intakes and a pulpitlike cockpit. A visible fan wheel between the ram air intake tubes and a rear spoiler with RS Spyder dimensions additionally emphasise the racing laboratory function. The new "liquid metal chrome blue" colour which has been created underscores the sculptured curves of
the forms, whilst the typical Porsche hybrid orange colour on brake calipers and the body's longitudinal stripes lends remarkable touches.

Motor racing technology also dominates within the particularly light, torsionally stiff carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque. The V8 engine is a further development of the direct injection engine from the successful RS Spyder race car and now offers an output of precisely 563 hp at 10,300 rpm in the 918 RSR. The electric motors on the two front wheels each contribute 75 kW, i.e. a total of 150 kW, to the peak drive power of exactly 767 hp.

This additional power, which is generated during braking, is stored in an optimised flywheel
accumulator.

In the 918 RSR, the two electric motors offer a torque vectoring function with variable torque distribution to the front axle. This additionally increases agility and improves steering response. Mounted upstream of the rear axle, the mid-engine is integrated with a racing transmission also based on the RS Spyder race car. This further developed six-speed constant-mesh transmission with longitudinally mounted shafts and straight-toothed spur gears is operated using two shift paddles behind the racing steering wheel.

The vehicle's functional equipment underscores its puristic motor racing character. Whether it be the characteristic doors which open obliquely upwards, the air intake in the roof between the wing doors, the quick-action locks on the front and rear CFRP lids, the two roof-mounted aerials for pit radio and telemetry, the RS Spyder-like small, lateral front flics or the air splitters beneath the front lip or no-profile racing slicks on 19" wheels with central locking, the vehicle can be clearly recognised as an experimental racing laboratory.

In contrast to the 918 Spyder concept car, unadorned racing atmosphere predominates in the interior of the 918 RSR. The figure-hugging bucket seat's brown leather covering cites the history of the gentleman driver; the gear flashes on the racing steering wheel and a recuperation display on the steering column in front of the display screen supply the pilot with information. Instead of the futuristic, ergonomically avant-garde centre console with touch-sensitive user interface from the 918 Spyder concept car, the 918 RSR's cockpit is split by a minimalistic console with rocker switches. Instead of a second seat, the flywheel accumulator is positioned to the right of the console.

This flywheel accumulator is an electric motor whose rotor rotates at up to 36,000 rpm to store rotation energy. Charging occurs when the two electric motors on the front axle reverse their function during braking processes and operate as generators. At the push of a button, the pilot is able to call up the energy stored in the charged flywheel accumulator and use it during acceleration or overtaking manoeuvres. The flywheel is braked electro magnetically in this case in order to additionally supply up to 2 x 75 kW, i.e. a total of 150 kW, from its kinetic energy to the two electric motors on the front axle.

This additional power is available for around eight seconds when the system is fully charged. In the successful 911 GT3 R Hybrid, this additional power can also be used as a consumption aid depending on the racing situation, e.g. to delay pit stops or reduce the fuel tank volume and therefore the weight of the vehicle.

With the new 918 RSR racing laboratory, Porsche is now elevating this motor racing hybrid concept to an experimental level. In the 918 RSR, "Porsche Intelligent Performance" equates to research into methods for further sustainable efficiency improvement under the intensified conditions of the race track, lap times, pit stops and reliability – a metier in which Porsche has been demonstrating its success for over 60 years.

Finally, the starting number, 22, pays homage to the anniversary of a further triumph. Back in the days when overall victories in Le Mans were not yet an entirely routine matter within the Porsche racing department, the pilots Dr. Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep were the first to cross the finishing line in 1971's 24-hour classic. The distance record set by their Porsche 917 short-tail coupé – 5335.313 kilometres (3315.21 miles) at an average speed of 222.304 km/h (138.13 mph) – did not remain unbeaten for an eternity, but for exactly 39 years until 2010. At the time, the 917 in the Martini colours was also an experiment and far ahead of its time: a magnesium space frame set new standards in Porsche's lightweight
construction domain.

Porsche has since its inception by Ferdinand Porsche been a maker of high performance sports cars. Most notably the iconic 911 model which has continually evolved throughout the years to become a benchmark against which many other sports cars are measured. The 911 in all its iterations has been Porsche's bread and butter, along with the Boxster and Cayman in more recent years. Every decade or so

The Porsche Cayenne is available in five different variants. The entry level model is the standard Porsche Cayenne. Next is the Cayenne S. This is followed by the Cayenne GTS and then there are the two top-of-the-range models; the Cayenne Turbo and Cayenne Turbo S. All of the Cayenne vehicles are powered by petrol engines. The entry level model has a 3.6-litre V6 (232 PS) unit. The S and GTS

The new Porsche Cayenne is an SUV car with sports car performance. Cayenne could be most prestigious SUV available on earth. BMW X5 and Mercedes Benz ML 550 at the similar class are not overtly sporty like Cayenne. As a car company, Porsche was really brave entering the SUV market. Do they have the expectation in leading the premium SUV market?Though critics have knocked the fact that the sporty

The car Porsche 911 GT3 was built in RR layout platform. Moreover, GT3 racing version had won about 24 different races and used to dominate their class at Le Mans. The car was offered with a 6-speed manual transmission system along with a wheel base of 92.7 inches. The car is equipped with 3.6 L, 380 hp and H6 type engine. The length of the car was about 174. 3 inches, whereas its width and

Engine's performance is specially tested for achieving the optimum delivery of the same. There are many other aspects regarding the Porsche Boxster parts that were of equal importance and these contributed to the overall performance status of the modelA mid-ranged roadster, amongst the most expensive cars in its class, the Boxster is the first road vehicle made by Porsche since 550 Spyder.

Pictures' CopyrightsAudi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW

Germany's Spiegel Auto reports Wolfgang Dürheimer, Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Porsche AG, admits Porsche have designed the 918 Spyder hybrid sportscar to take advantage of European fuel efficiency regulation loopholes.

That would explain why the 918 Spyder has an EV mode range of just 25 km (16 mile), as this is the minimum standard set in regulations for electric cars in Europe. Or as Dürheimer puts it: "We read a regulation and build the car accordingly."

As it happens, a 25km range is just enough to pass the European fuel efficiency test, thereby qualifying the Porsche 918 Spyder as a "3-liter car" (3L/100km or 78mpg), allowing Porsche customers to drive straight through the most favorable automotive regulation loopholes as they power down the autobahn in their 320 km/h (198 mph) roadster powered by a high-revving V8 developing more than 500 horsepower.

Engine's performance is specially tested for achieving the optimum delivery of the same. There are many other aspects regarding the Porsche Boxster parts that were of equal importance and these contributed to the overall performance status of the model.The sports cars transmission comes in manual or automatic versions and some race enthusiasts will enjoy the optional seven-speed Porsche

Porsche Boxster had its initial launch in the 1990s. The comfort offered by Boxster is exceptional and unique. The smooth handling of Porsche Boxster models and their parts were positive aspects.Surprisingly, these cars are fairly fuel efficient at 19 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway with the seven speed transmission. But, these cars require premium fuel in the expansive 16.9 gallon fuel

New Porsche Panamera Turbo a slouch in the horsepower department, but if you happen to be one them, you may want to take a look at the new performance enhancement program from APS, the UK importer of the Swiss tuning firm Sportec.Buyers can start off with the Stage One conversion that uses a reprogrammed ECU with optimized settings for fueling, ignition and turbo boost parameters to bump