Porsche 918 RSR Debut +video

The Porsche 918 RSR – the Hybrid Racing Lab

We thought that Porsche’s something special was likely to be a Porsche 918 Spyder Coupe for the track, especially after this morning’s tease. And it is. The Porsche 918 RSR takes the 918 Spyder from Geneva last year and crosses it with 911 GT3 R Hybrid to create the next stage of Porsche’s hybrid journey.

The 918 RSR gets a V8 producing 555bhp at 10,300 rpm and adds a pair of front mounted electric motors worth an additional 210bhp. The electric motors use energy stored during braking in a flywheel spinning at 36,000rpm and brought in to play by the push of a button – just like the GT3 R Hybrid – for up to eight seconds when fully charged.

In essence the 918 RSR is a coupe version of the 918 Spyder. The shape – minus the huge track wing – probably tells us what the production 918 will look like and the interior – much more than track car basics – is also probably nearer the real interior on the production 918.

The Porsche 918 RSR is the next stage in Porsche’s hybrid evolution. The car will be used as a test bed for all that Porsche plan, and we’re sure to see it out racing this year, probably at the Le Mans 24 hour. But we don’t expect a production version to go on sale until 2012.

The Racing Lab 918 RSR. A hybrid we think we like.

By Cars UK